Mirror`

Photo by Norma Thatcher

The most inspiring book I’ve ever read on design is by John Wheatman: “Meditations on Design.” This short (126 pages), stunningly photographed book takes four main ideas

  • Looking Inside
  • Bringing the Outside In
  • Memory and the Things You Love
  • The Poetics of Home

and supports them with chapters that provide ideas and suggestions to help ordinary people assemble a home’s interior that is truly representative of themselves.

One of Mr. Wheatman’s main influences on me was the idea of “borrowing.” What he meant was the concept of bringing outside views to the inside by breaking down the separation of the two. But the photograph used to illustrate the point was of four simple vases on a window sill, each vase holding a single stem. And the vases were positioned to reflect into a mirror so that we saw eight vases. The view was “borrowed” and doubled the beauty. Thus began my collection of mirrors.

I don’t buy just any mirror. They have to be a reflection (no pun intended) of my personal style. My niece Sandy refers to them as “Aunt Norma mirrors.” They are in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, most with a frame representative of nature.

The mirrors are not grouped together so that a stranger entering my home would say, “Holy cow, you have a lot of mirrors!” Instead, they are strategically placed. Some are positioned to give a longer view of a room to make the rooms feel larger than they actually are. One provides a glimpse of a room that you can’t yet actually see from that point. Another catches the evening sunset.

One of the patterns I used in designing my home was to (in the words of Christopher Alexander) “have light on two sides of every room” (provided by windows, naturally). But by using mirrors, there is light on all four sides of each room in my house. By borrowing the natural light, the rooms are brighter and are more welcoming.

Just as mirrors borrow light and reflect back a view, so do our lives. I want to be a beautiful reflection of joy and grace and kindness, and strive to be that each day. Like most people, some days I am more of those qualities than on other days. I will admit that there are days when I feel I need to drape a cloth over what I might be reflecting. And I think that’s how it is for most of us: Imperfect, and still trying to be our best authentic selves.

To my readers:  Think of someone you love or admire. What aspect is being reflected by their lives?