Backlit mirrors buying guide

Backlit bathroom mirrors are fast becoming the must-have for traditional and contemporary bathrooms alike.

Backlit mirrors

With the "clean" mirror front (sans lights) and swathes of ambient lighting that exude from the mirror edges, a backlit mirror can breathe new life into even the most tired of bathroom spaces.

However, due to the nature of these mirrors, there are a few things that should be considered when purchasing. Without further ado, let’s get into the key considerations before you go ahead and make your mirror purchase.

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Backlit mirrors

Are you fitting in an alcove or recess?

If you're fitting the mirror into an alcove or recess in the wall, please be mindful of the space around your mirror.

If you choose a mirror size that is close to that of your recessed area - there will not be much room for the backlighting to radiate from. With this in mind, we suggest a 100mm clear perimeter on each side of your mirror to ensure that you get a good amount of ambient backlighting around the mirror.

If you are simply mounting the mirror to a flat wall then you need not worry about the recess/alcove hindering the area in which your backlighting will fill, as the light will simply exude out from each edge of your mirror and across your wall.

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Infrared sensor

The standard on/off operation for our bathroom mirrors is an infrared sensor.

This means that you can turn your mirror lights on or off with a simple wave of your hand, but there is a potential issue regarding access to this sensor.

You will require space between the bottom-right edge of the mirror and your sink/basin unit to be able to trigger the sensor with your hand. If there is a shelf between the bottom edge of your mirror and the wash basin, or if you intend to mount your mirror in such a way that the bottom edge sits almost flush with the basin/wash area – you may experience issues with triggering the sensor. This is especially true when fitting your mirror in a recess. The sensor has a range of 150mm and sits on the rear frame which is 50mm offset from the mirror front. Therefore, we advise ensuring that you have this around 100mm space/clearance directly below the bottom edge of your mirror.

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Additional on/off options

Across much of our range, the standard on/off operation of our mirrors is done via an infrared sensor.

This means that by waving your hand beneath the sensor (usually positioned bottom right for the mirror front) you can turn your mirror lights on or off.

However, this may not work within all bathrooms. For example, if the desired fitting placement of your mirror means that you would not have the required 150mm clearance required to trigger the infrared sensor.

In such a case, we advise the Diamond X Touch sensor. This is an illuminated touch button on the mirror surface that removes the need for the 150mm clearance that our infrared sensor requires. The touch sensor is illuminated and can be set up to not only control the on/off operation of your mirror but also to select between warm/cool lighting and even turn the heated demister pad on or off.

Another option is to use a simple push button (fixed to the mirror's rear frame) to switch your lights on/off. Unlike the IR sensor, you need not worry about having enough clearance for the sensor's range. Instead, you simply need to ensure that you have enough space to reach around the edge of the mirror curl a finger around and press the on/off button on the rear frame. This is inset 50mm from the edge of the mirror.

Finally, rather than having a mechanism to control the mirror built into the mirror itself, it is also possible to have the mirrors on/off operation externally controlled. Our mirrors can be wired into an external light switch so that your mirror lights come on with your standard bathroom lights.

If these options appeal to your needs and requirements, please refer to the form which you can enter your requirements and discuss with our Diamond Xperts.

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Electric shaver/toothbrush socket

As with much of our range, backlit mirrors come with a built-in shaver socket which will charge either an electric shaver or toothbrush.

The socket is on the bottom-right edge of the mirror's frame, close to the infrared sensor. Ensure you leave enough space to plug in your devices.

Remember to leave enough room to curl your finger around the bottom edge of the mirror to operate the rocker switch.

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Dual White Lighting

Our backlit mirror range features Dual White Lighting technology as standard, allowing you to switch easily between warm and cool lighting.

Select the perfect light temperature via a rocker switch on the frame positioned alongside the infrared sensor (used for on/off operation of the backlighting) and shaver socket (for charging your electric shaver or toothbrush).

Dual White Lighting is a powerful feature that makes the backlit mirror range one of our most versatile. With a simple press of a button, you can switch between a cool/daylight 5,000K that is perfect for applying makeup (and seeing "true colour") and a warmer 3,000K light that is much softer.

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Shaped mirrors

Here at Illuminated Mirrors, we pride ourselves on developing product options that align with the current (and evolving) bathroom and interior design trends.

From reviewing trends in the last 12-months we have now launched a range of shaped backlit mirrors. This includes round, oval, radius corners and capsule-shaped designs.

Backlit mirrors with rounded, radius corners follow the same rules/guidelines as our standard rectangular and square mirrors. However, when considering the circular, oval or capsule mirrors, there are a few differences to note.

As the backlit mirrors require an even spread of ambient lighting from the edge of the mirror – regardless of shape – the rear fitting frame on our rounded mirrors must be shaped to match the shaped edges of the mirror front. This means that, rather than a traditional rear frame with right-angles, we instead use a dodecagon shape. This means that when the LED light strip is fitted around the rear frame, the light that is emitted is well balanced with an even spread.

We use the same method for our oval and capsule-shaped mirrors, but for these mirrors we of course must skew some of the angles in order to ensure that these mirror shapes also give a well-balance and even glow.

With our more standard rectangular and square backlit mirrors, the integrated shaver socket and sensor are positioning on the bottom-right edge of the mirror (machined into the aluminium rear frame), whereas, with our shaped mirrors, we instead position these bottom-centre. This means that you must be sure to have enough clearance space centrally (below the mirror) to be able to access the shaver socket, sensor (around 150mm for the infrared sensor) and push button.

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