Mirrors and Cabinets

Bathroom mirrors here come three ways: plain illuminated mirrors, mirror cabinets that double as storage, and Bluetooth models with a speaker built in so you can play music while you shower. The two features worth paying for are a demister pad, which keeps a patch of glass clear of fog after a hot shower, and edge or backlit LEDs that give you proper light to shave or do your make-up by.

If you want music, jump straight to the Bluetooth mirrors and cabinets. If you just want clean light, start with the illuminated mirrors, or go to the fog-free mirrors if beating the steam is the whole point. If you are short on storage, look at the mirror cabinets. Then pick a width that suits the wall or the vanity below it, and match the finish to your taps.

What to look for in a bathroom mirror

It comes down to four things: the features (LED, demister, Bluetooth, shaver socket), whether you want a flat mirror or a cabinet, the size, and the finish. Here is how to pick.

LED lighting: edge-lit, backlit or framed. The light either runs around the edge of the glass, sits behind it as a soft backlit halo, or comes from an illuminated frame. Any of them beats the room’s ceiling spots, which throw shadows straight down your face. The Mosca LED Mirror with Demister Pad and Shaver Socket 1200x600mm at £199 is a big edge-lit panel that hangs landscape or portrait, with a demister pad and a shaver socket built in. Hung landscape it suits a double vanity or a wide single basin. If you would rather have a frame around the glass, the Litchfield Alfie soft-edge LED mirror in black is narrower at 600 x 800mm and cheaper again at £129, with an anti-fog coating and touch control for the brightness. There is a brushed brass version at £159 if you are matching warm metal taps. Browse the full illuminated mirror range to see the sizes.

A demister pad is the feature that stops the fog. It is a heated film on the back of the glass that keeps a section clear when the room steams up. If your bathroom fogs the mirror solid every morning, this is the one feature genuinely worth the money. It is a separate thing from LED lighting and from a Bluetooth speaker, so check the spec lists a demister pad by name. The Mosca above has one, and so do both cabinets further down, but at £199 the Mosca is the least expensive of the three. If beating the steam is the whole point, the fog-free mirror range is the shortcut.

Flat mirror or mirror cabinet. A flat mirror looks cleaner and sits close to the wall. A cabinet gives you hidden storage behind the glass, which is the easy win in a small bathroom or a cloakroom where there is nowhere to put toothbrushes and razors. The trade-off is depth: the Jemima single-door cabinet is 135mm deep, and you notice that in a narrow room. At £319 the LED Mirror Cabinet 600 x 700mm undercuts the Jemima and still packs in touch-free infrared lighting, a demister pad, a shaver socket, soft-close doors, adjustable shelves and an IP44 rating for bathroom zones. See the full mirror cabinet range for the rest.

Bluetooth is a speaker in the mirror. It pairs to your phone and plays audio through a built-in speaker, so you get music or a podcast without a separate speaker balanced on the windowsill. Honest version: it is a convenience, not a hi-fi, and it does nothing for how well the mirror lights or demists, so buy on the lighting and the demister first and treat the audio as a bonus. If you want it all in one unit, the Jemima Single Door LED Mirror Cabinet at £389 is the one to look at: Bluetooth speakers, an infrared sensor that switches it on and off so you are not smearing the glass, a demister pad, mirrors inside the cabinet as well as on the front, and a built-in shaver socket. The full Bluetooth mirrors and cabinets range is the place to compare.

Size and finish. Measure the wall or the vanity first. As a rough rule a mirror looks right when it is no wider than the basin or unit beneath it, and a cloakroom wants something compact rather than a statement panel. Finish is about matching your metalwork: black for matt black or industrial schemes, brushed brass for warmer modern looks. You can shop straight by colour, brushed brass mirrors for instance, if the finish is the thing you are matching to.

Quick answers

What is a Bluetooth bathroom mirror? A mirror or mirror cabinet with a speaker built in that pairs with your phone over Bluetooth, so you can play music or a podcast in the bathroom without a separate speaker. The audio is a convenience feature: it does not affect how well the mirror lights or how well it demists, so choose on the LED and the demister first, then treat Bluetooth as the bonus. See the Bluetooth mirrors and cabinets range.

What is the best Bluetooth mirror? That depends on whether you want storage with it. If you want the speaker plus cabinet storage, the Jemima Single Door LED Mirror Cabinet at £389 covers LED lighting, a demister pad and a built-in shaver socket in one unit. Compare it against the rest on the Bluetooth mirrors and cabinets page.

Is a WiFi bathroom mirror the same as a Bluetooth one? No. Bluetooth pairs the mirror straight to your phone over a short-range link, with no router involved. If what you are after is a speaker in the glass, the Bluetooth mirrors and cabinets range is where to look.

What is a demister mirror, and do I need one? A demister mirror has a heated pad on the back of the glass that keeps a section clear when the room steams up after a hot shower or bath. If your mirror fogs solid every morning and you are forever wiping it, yes, it is worth it. If the room is well ventilated and the mirror is not right over the bath, you can probably skip it and save the money. Check the spec, because a demister is separate from LED lighting and from Bluetooth. Want the demister in a cabinet? The LED Mirror Cabinet 600 x 700mm and the Jemima both have one, and the fog-free mirror range is the place to browse the rest.

What size mirror should I get for a cloakroom? Something compact. A cloakroom or small WC suits a smaller mirror or a slim mirror cabinet rather than a wide statement panel, and a cabinet earns its place by giving you somewhere to hide the clutter when there is no room for a wall unit. As a rule of thumb, keep the mirror no wider than the basin or vanity beneath it so it looks deliberate rather than oversized.

Can I get a mirror with a shaver socket? Yes. A shaver socket is built into the mirror or cabinet for an electric razor or a toothbrush charger, so you are not running a cable across the room. The flat Mosca LED Mirror at £199 has one, and if you want storage too, the LED Mirror Cabinet 600 x 700mm at £319 and the Jemima Single Door LED Mirror Cabinet at £389 both include one. The shaver socket mirror range lists the others. One to note: a shaver socket means the mirror has to be wired in by an electrician. It is not a plug-in job.