Made to Measure Mirrors: A Guide for Commercial Buyers
Most interior products come in standard sizes because that suits the people making them. The problem is that developers rarely build commercial spaces for convenience. The gap between a standard mirror and the right mirror often makes a fit-out feel slightly off.
For contractors and commercial buyers, made to measure mirrors are not a premium option. They are the most practical route, particularly when consistency across multiple spaces, compliance requirements, or built-in joinery make off-the-shelf sizing unworkable.
Here is what you need to know before you order.
Why Standard Sizes Fall Short
Hotel bedrooms have specific furniture layouts. Retail fitting rooms have defined sightline requirements. Gym walls need to cover a precise run of flooring. Care home bathroom mirrors have compliance dimensions that standard stock simply cannot accommodate.
In all these scenarios, a bespoke mirror cut to size is not an upgrade - it is simply the correct specification.
Adapting a standard size around a commercial brief typically means compromise on proportion, fixing position, edge clearance, or compliance. None of those compromises are worth making when a custom size mirror is the better option.
Glass Types Worth Knowing
6mm silver mirrors glass is the standard for most commercial applications - durable, structurally sound for larger panels, and suitable for mechanical fixing. If in doubt, start here.
Low - iron (ultra - clear) mirror produces a crisper, whiter reflection than standard silver, which carries a slight green tint at scale. Worth specifying in premium hospitality or anywhere the quality of the reflection is part of the design intent.
Antique and tinted finishes - bronze, grey, antique mercury-effect - are popular across a range of mirror designs in restaurant, bar, and boutique hotel interiors. They read as decorative rather than purely functional, and the tinted reflection suits certain schemes very well.
Compliance: Get This Right First
In publicly accessible commercial environments, mirrors are subject to UK building regulations. The relevant standard is BS 6206, covering impact performance.
Safety backing - a protective film that holds glass shards together in the event of breakage - is a requirement in most commercial settings: hotels, restaurants, retail, gyms, care homes. It is not optional, and any manufacturer supplying commercial projects should be flagging this clearly.
For care and healthcare environments, additional requirements may apply, including anti-ligature fixing details or acrylic mirrors in certain areas. Discuss the specific environment with your manufacturer before you confirm the specification.
How to Brief a Manufacturer Properly
The quality of what comes back is usually proportional to the quality of the brief going in. A complete brief covers exact dimensions, quantity and whether it is a batch order, glass type and thickness, edge finish, backing specification, fixing method, and frame details including colour references in RAL or a named paint range.
For multi-site projects, also confirm how you manage finish consistency across batches, whether you will keep the specification on file for reorders, and what lead time you can meet against your programme. Good customer service at this stage - clear communication, honest lead times, and a manufacturer who asks the right questions - is one of the better indicators of how the rest of the project will go.
Ordering with TA Interiors
TA Interiors manufactures made to measure mirrors for trade clients across hospitality, retail, care and commercial sectors, all produced to order in our Lancashire workshop.
There is no minimum order value for trade account holders. Quotes come back within one to two business days of receiving a complete brief.