When I moved into Hawk Hill Cottage I knew immediately what I wanted to do with the second bedroom: a full-size dressing room with a large Svansele mirror grounding the space. While the bedroom to dressing room conversion is well underway- today I want to tell you about one of my favorite pieces that really takes the room from functional to phenomenal.
Getting the large Svansele mirror in Summer 2021
Since the large Svansele mirror was released on IKEA’s website and in stores, it’s almost constantly been out of stock. I priced other similarly sized mirrors and found nothing comparable to this large gilded and shaped mirror from IKEA. I knew that I wanted a shaped, rather than square or rectangle mere in my dressing room, but the options for large full-length mirrors with similar cuts were several hundreds of dollars through sites like Pottery Barn, Anthropologie, and even budget home goods retailer Wayfair.
Luckily, I didn’t have to wait long for IKEA to restock the Svansele mirror. It was restocked at the same time as the Elvarli shoe shelf I’d also been watching for stock alerts. By the time I mobilized help to get the pax wardrobe, the Svansele mirror, and the Elvarli shoe shelf picked up, there was only one large Svansele mirror left in stock in the St. Louis IKEA. On the way there, I was convinced that by the time we arrived the Svansele mirror would be sold out, but as luck would have it when we arrived the single in stock large Svansele mirror was still on the shelves in the warehouse portion of the store.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that the smear was significantly bigger and wider than I even anticipated based on having reviewed the measurements- it was the perfect size to form a central grounding feature in my master bedroom adjacent dressing room.
If you’re trying to snag yourself a large Svansele mirror, be sure and sign up for stock alerts on IKEA’s website (Pro tip: make sure you include a country code – in the United States that’s 1- in your phone number to successfully begin receiving stock alerts.
Unboxing IKEA’s Svansele Mirror
Ikea’s Svansele mirror arrives with the edges of the mirror framed in cardboard and plastic wrap covering the front and back of the mirror. If I’m honest, I kept the Svansele mirror in its packaging for a full two weeks after purchasing it- the mirror gave a decent reflection even with the plastic wrap covering, and with all the chaos happening with Elvarli shelf installation, Pax assembly, and beadboard-wallpaper application, and molding added for a built-in look, I decided that my Svansele mirror was probably safer with its protective cardboard and plastic wrap.
Because of this, I waited until the installation of all the other elements in my dressing room was complete before I unboxed and installed the Svansele full-length mirror.
Assembling & Installing IKEA’s Svansele Mirror
Thankfully, unlike the majority of IKEA products, the Svansele mirror comes preassembled. There is literally no assembly required for this mirror, just a lot of plastic and cardboard packaging to remove, bundle, and recycle.
Like many full-length mirrors, this mirror is very heavy- you’ll need to locate a stud or use special hangers to mount the Svansele mirror on a wall.
I chose to install my Svansele mirror in my dressing room styled so it appears to be leaning against a wall. Because a bump from my Roomba could disrupt this precarious placement and send my Svansele mirror into a bellyflop onto my Brentwood Pine Pergo flooring, I secured my mirror permanently into this leaned-against-the-wall appearance by using a bit of picture hanging wire to connect the metal rod on the back of the mirror to a drywall screw securely placed in the wall. If you may have children in your home, you should purchase a wall anchoring kit for additional stability.
What is the Svansele mirror made of?
This full-length mirror looks, from the back, to be made from a resin or plastic molded material, held together with metal at each joint. The mirror is held into the frame using small clips and a lot of glue, which is visible from the back but not the front.
The large Svansele mirror in my dressing room
I’ve owned the Svansele mirror for a few months now and have nothing but positive things to say about this full-length mirror with a budget price tag. It easily compares to the $300+ mirrors I considered purchasing before I found this $99 full-length mirror from Ikea.
Why I Turned my Spare Room into a Dressing Room
Rather than designating the second bedroom in my cottage as a “spare room” and outfitting it to be used by guests a few nights a year (and, inevitably, the clutter catch-all room for things destined for a flea market or garage sale) I decided to turn the entire upstairs into a bedroom-suite of sorts, designating the second bedroom as a room dedicated to getting dressed.
For me, turning the spare room into a dressing room felt like a bit of delightful rebellion. Growing up with a plus-size body, getting dressed was never fun. When I was in junior high and high school, in the 90s, the only plus-size clothing available was clothing designed for matronly women. With those options, getting dressed was always an act of futility and often one of shame. Through a lot of intentional work on embracing my body, I now view my body through a Health At Every Size (HAES) lens, which affirms that all bodies deserve dignity, equal access to resources, and freedom from shame (and further, that these things, far more than numbers, impact health outcomes).
So when I moved to a cozy urban cottage, and created my female master bedroom, it felt natural to add a closet that celebrated the fact that I now, even though I’m roughly in the same size body, have access to clothing and styles that fit and flatter my body, and to celebrate that, with a new mindset, getting dressed can now be fun. Creating a large walk-in dressing room with a large Ikea Svansele mirror as the centerpiece of the space felt like a powerful way to affirm the goodness of getting dressed and to make me and my body at home in this little cottage.
Thanks for Reading!!!
I hope you can tell that I love DIY, researching the best affordable solutions for every-day problems opportunities and documenting / sharing solutions!🙌 Hawk-Hill.com is reader-supported.
☕ Hawk-Hill.com is reader-supported. If this article saved you time or money, please consider donating $1 to help me cover the cost of hosting this website OR If you appreciate this information and want to throw a “Thanks!” my way by buying me a coffee – I would Of Course appreciate it! :]
Reader Questions and Recommendations
Readers, do you have any favorite topics / posts? What would you like to read more about in the future? As I hope you can tell from this and other articles on my site, I really enjoy DIY / a good challenge, and I’m not afraid to roll up my sleeves to figure out a great, and hopefully simple 😁 solution. So please feel free to let me know in the comments below (or reach out via social media)!
Ok Really – I’ll try to wrap this up now😂
Finally, if you’d like to continue to learn about interesting DIY options as well as how YOU can tackle creative new projects consider checking out the latest and most popular articles listed on the Hawk-Hill Home Page. I’m always trying to enjoy and write about the creative side of life so please don’t be a stranger – check back often!😍
If you enjoyed this post you may also enjoy reading / perusing / devouring😊 one or all of these articles as well!
Katie
Friday 1st of April 2022
Loved every bit of this article! Thanks for sharing!!!