Many people prefer a vanity in the bathroom to a freestanding sink, especially in full baths and master bathrooms.
But what size mirror do you need for a 60-inch double vanity?
We’ll show you in our complete guide below.
Choosing a Vanity Mirror Size
As a rule, you want the mirror over your vanity to be no wider than four inches less than the width of the vanity.
This measurement allows for a minimum of two inches on either side of the mirror.
If you go any wider than that, you’ll get the impression that your mirror is too much for the space. In most cases, you’ll want your vanity mirror to be around 50 to 56 inches.
How Wide Should My Double Vanity’s Mirror Be?
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While this two-inch-narrower guideline is practical, not every bathroom mirror is the same shape, so we need to consider what shapes and styles of mirrors we find in home bathrooms.
Rectangular Mirrors
Many bathroom mirrors are simple rectangles. They favor function over form (not that that’s a bad thing) and can offer simple, clean lines in your bathroom’s design.
When you have a 60-inch double vanity, you want a mirror that occupies a good deal of the wall, since the function of the mirror is to allow you to see yourself throughout your entire morning routine.
A big, wide rectangular mirror means fewer instances of you having to adjust while at the vanity and trying to get a look at yourself. Rectangular mirrors are less about decorative purposes than about simply seeing your reflection.
Mirrors aren’t cheap, historically being quite cost-prohibitive. They have become more affordable in the modern age. However, you’re talking about a mirror nearly five feet across for this type of project.
That’s a lot of glass, which is quite expensive anyway, and that’s before the silvering process. So you can forgive yourself for thinking you should go with the smallest mirror you can get away with. However, as the old saying goes, you get what you pay for.
If you have a lovely bathroom with a spacious vanity, double sinks, and his-and-her towels but have a tiny mirror on the wall because you wanted to save some money, well, you’ll regret that choice.
If you have more than a few inches of space between the mirror’s edges and the ends of the vanity, you’ll have a sense that something is out of place.
Either the vanity will appear too large for the room (even if it isn’t) or it will look like someone hung the wrong mirror.
Selecting the Height of Your Square Mirror
Deciding on the height of this single mirror over a 60-inch double vanity brings many more variables to the discussion. Ask yourself:
- What is the lighting situation?
- Is there a light bar or sconce mounted on the wall above the vanity?
- Are there sconces at the edges of your vanity?
- Is your bathroom ceiling unusually high?
Most of us have mirrors that sit a couple of inches above the vanity and go high enough to abut the light fixture on the wall. The best guide for the height of your bathroom mirror, though, is you.
You want to stand at your sink, look in the mirror, and see all of your head without having to genuflect to see whether your cowlick is behaving correctly or not. If you’re very large, a mirror tall enough for that may not be an option.
But the chances that you are 7.5 feet tall are slim—something like six billion to one. Get a mirror tall enough for you, but don’t try to run it up to your ceiling. You don’t need it to be that tall, and it would look too big for the room at such a height, anyway.
Round Mirrors
Something of a fad in bathroom design as of late, the round or oval mirror brings softer lines to your bathroom. Unless you’re one of those people with chrome-and-glass decor, more delicate lines are usually lovely things to have.
More common than a circle is an oval mirror. Geometrically, an oval mirror resembles a rectangular one in that it’s wider than it is tall, so similar guidelines govern their sizes over double vanities.
To wit, you want to have a couple of inches of space between the edge of the mirror and the ends of your vanity. You have a little more leeway here, as your mirror might be short and wide, or it might be a little closer to being a circle.
You will most likely need to simply center it to align with the vanity’s midpoint for a perfect circle mirror. Circles are tricky, though, since they can only be so tall to fit on the wall, and they may end up leaving too much space on the sides of the mirror.
Geo-shape Mirrors
Do you want to talk about trends? Well, here’s one. Oddly-shaped mirrors have grown in popularity, whether hexagons or asymmetrical polygons.
They allow for a little more personal expression in your bathroom design and can look interesting. Follow the same guidelines as before. If the mirror’s geometry resembles a circle, center it over your vanity.
If it’s closer to a rectangular shape, keep with the two-inch rule. Leave at least a couple of inches between the mirror’s edge and that of the vanity.
Multiple Mirrors
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Some designers prefer to mount one mirror per sink. We love this look as well. When you have two mirrors above your vanity, don’t worry about the width of each mirror, but rather the size of both.
With multiple mirrors, don’t extend them past the two inches we’ve mentioned, but more importantly, center each mirror over its sink.
Place the mirrors at matching heights, making sure that the size is tall enough for you to use the mirror practically.
Things to Consider
We’ve covered a few things to think about, but there are always rules of thumb we should keep in mind when choosing and hanging a mirror above a double vanity.
- The bathroom lighting plays a role in what you can do with a mirror, so if the lights sit above the space your mirror will go, know that measurement, since knowing the height of the ceiling won’t do you much good in choosing the correct height of the mirror you select.
- Splashing water gets on things, so when deciding on how high to mount the mirror over your double vanity, think about how much you dislike water spots and cleaning them off—the closer your mirror is to the sink, the more water will splash on it.
- The most straightforward mirrors have edges like an ordinary pane of glass, but you may want a beveled edge (for a smoother look, sure, but a bevel also deters chipping and cracking) or perhaps a frame as you might have on a photo or painting.
Frequently Asked Questions
We can’t possibly answer every mirror-related question in an article of this size. However, in addition to the information above, here are some of the more common questions:
Is a 60-inch double vanity too small?
Typically, bathroom vanities need to provide at least 30 inches of space for the person using them. Three feet will allow for a more relaxing time at the vanity, but 30 inches is nothing to sneeze at.
With this in mind, a double vanity that’s 60 inches wide will provide the space two-bathroom users will need.
Of course, if you have lots of items involved in your morning and bedtime rituals, you may want more than 30 inches of space. However, a 60-inch double vanity should give enough room for most people sharing a bathroom.
How many lights should be on a 60-inch vanity?
Ideally, you want two lights per sink at the minimum, so we’re talking about at least four mirrors. In a bare-bones bathroom, you might find one overhead light in the ceiling. Good luck putting your makeup on in that situation.
A little better situation involves one light over the vanity or one light over each sink. While this provides a better light source (since the light comes from in front of you), you’ll still experience shadows and uneven lighting depending on where you stand.
Having one light on either side of each sink allows for the overlap of light, thus eliminating most shadows and giving you a more accurate sense of what you look like.
How wide should vanity light be compared to the mirror?
Unless your light fixture is a part of the mirror, it should be a few inches narrower than your mirror at the very most. Of course, if the fixture is too thin, you’ll deal with shadows as mentioned above with a single light source.
But you don’t need a vanity light fixture that spans the entire mirror. Also, if you have multiple mirrors, you may opt for sconce lighting— perhaps three on the wall.
You should have at least one on the outside edge of each mirror and a third in the middle. Since sconces are generally taller than they are wide, width probably won’t be a consideration here.
Should vanity lights point up or down?
Almost always, it would be best if you pointed your vanity lights down. We usually point lights up when lighting a large room.
But your bathroom doesn’t usually qualify as a large room. Lighting from above and pointing the lights down provides better light and fewer shadows.
Is soft white or daylight better for a bathroom?
This question is a personal preference. For seeing things, daylight bulbs may be better, but some people prefer the softer hues of soft white bulbs. There’s no correct answer.
But if we’re quantifying this decision, a daylight bulb produces more light than a soft white bulb of the same wattage.
If you’ve got multiple lights in your bathroom, the smaller output may not be an issue. Enough soft white bulbs can provide adequate lighting. Again, this decision comes down to what you like.
So, What Size Mirror Goes With a 60 Inch Double Vanity?
So what size mirror do you need for a 60-inch double vanity?
At the very least, you want a mirror that measures 58 inches across. Depending on the size of your bathroom, you may want to shave a couple of inches off that.
But you don’t want the mirror narrow enough that it doesn’t reach the edges of the sinks in your vanity. The shape of your mirror dictates the width you’ll use to some extent.
As we mentioned, you can only have it so wide before it’s too tall for the wall with a round mirror. Also consider your bathroom’s light fixtures.
If you use sconce lighting, you’ll want a mirror narrow enough to allow space for them to hang on either side of it.
Take measurements, consider what you want in terms of the look of your bathroom, and find a mirror that works for you the way you want it to work.