Listen to this guide
Most people measure the wall before they order a 2 m mirror. Very few measure the stairs. Then the mirror arrives at the front door, two people pick up the carton, and halfway up the first flight it meets the turn at the landing and stops.
Whether it gets round is not luck, and it is not about the mirror. It is about three numbers on the carton and three you can take with a tape measure in ten minutes. This guide gives you all six for every size we sell, the check to run at the landing, and the size that goes up when the big one will not.
The short answer. Carry the carton on its long edge, never flat. A 200 x 100 mirror travels in a carton 206 x 106 x 6 cm; it needs about 80 cm of clear width at a square turn to go round level, or about 235 cm of clear height to be stood on end and turned on the landing.
The 180 x 80 carton is 186 x 86 x 6 cm. It needs about 73 cm at the turn, or 208 cm of clear height, which is why it goes up a lot of stairs the 200 x 100 cannot.
Measure the narrowest point at waist height, from the handrail to the wall, and the lowest point above the landing. Then read the two tables below.
Measure the carton, not the mirror
The size in a mirror's name is the glass and frame. What goes up your stairs is the carton, and it is bigger in every direction. Ours are flat cartons with the mirror packed inside, and each product page lists the carton under packaging dimensions. For the full length range they fall into four sizes:
| Mirror size | Carton (L x W x D) | Packed weight | Our mirrors in this carton |
|---|---|---|---|
| 160 x 60 cm | 166 x 66 x 6 cm | 17 kg | Svelte X and its Alba and Aurelia finishes |
| 180 x 80 cm | 186 x 86 x 6 cm | 20 to 26 kg | Titan 23 kg, Zenith X 23 kg, Titan Alba and Zenith Alba 23 kg, Titan X Aurelia 20 kg, Rachelle 26 kg |
| 200 x 100 cm | 206 x 106 x 6 cm | 32 to 39 kg | Bastia X, Bastia Aurelia, Tivoli X and Aldren X 32 kg; Magna X, Magna Alba, Magna Aurelia, Augusta X and Cascade X 36 kg; Grandeur, Grandeur Alba and Grandeur Aurelia 39 kg |
| 220 x 120 cm | 226 x 126 x 6 cm | 49 kg | Louis |
Carton sizes and packed weights from the packaging dimensions on each product page, read 30 October 2026. Mirrors with no stock or on pre order are left out.
That last point matters. Taking a 200 x 100 mirror out of its carton to get it upstairs saves 6 cm of length and 6 cm of width, and costs you all of its protection at the exact moment it is most likely to hit a wall. If the carton will not go, the bare mirror usually will not either. Keep it boxed until it is in the room.
Carry it on its edge, and decide who goes where
Flat, a 200 x 100 carton is 106 cm wide, which is wider than nearly every house staircase. On its long edge it is 6 cm thick and 106 cm tall, and that is the only way it goes up a stair. Every number in this guide assumes the carton is carried on its edge, with the arrows on the box pointing up.
With two people, the one below takes more of the weight on a stair, so put the stronger lifter at the bottom and let the person at the top steer and call the turns. A 36 kg carton is about 18 kg each on the flat and noticeably more for the person below once it tilts. Gloves help more than you would think: they stop the carton sliding through your hands at the landing, which is where it gets dropped.
Check 1: the straight flight
A straight run of stairs is rarely the problem. Carried on its edge along the line of the stair, the carton needs vertical room above the step nosings of its own height divided by the cosine of the stair's pitch, plus a little for lifting. For the 200 x 100 that is about 148 cm on a 40 degree stair, well inside normal stair headroom.
| Stair pitch | 160 x 60 carton | 180 x 80 carton | 200 x 100 carton |
|---|---|---|---|
| 35 degrees | 91 cm | 115 cm | 139 cm |
| 40 degrees | 96 cm | 122 cm | 148 cm |
| 45 degrees | 103 cm | 132 cm | 160 cm |
Vertical clearance needed above the line of the step nosings with the carton on its edge, including 10 cm of lift. Worked from the carton width and the pitch; your stair's pitch is its rise divided by its going.
Where it does catch is a bulkhead: the place near the bottom or top of the flight where the floor above cuts across, often with a light fitting or a smoke alarm on it. Stand on the step under the lowest point and measure straight up from the nosing. If you have the number in the table plus 10 cm, the flight is fine.
Check 2: the turn, carried level
The landing is where it gets decided. On a quarter turn, the carton has to swing through 90 degrees while staying on its edge, and the tightest moment is halfway round, when it sits at 45 degrees with its middle against the newel post or the inside corner. It is the same geometry as getting a ladder round a corridor corner, and it has a clean answer.
For a square turn with the same width on both sides, the carton needs a clear width of about 80 cm for the 200 x 100, 73 cm for the 180 x 80, 66 cm for the 160 x 60 and 87 cm for the 220 x 120. Those figures allow 4 cm for fingers on the faces of the carton. Give yourself another 5 cm of slack for the wobble of two people on a stair, and measure:
- The flight width at about 1 m above the treads, from the face of the handrail to the wall or balusters opposite. A handrail takes several centimetres off the width, and the width beside it is the width you actually have.
- The landing depth, the same way, on the side the carton swings into.
- The inside corner. A newel post or a corner with a square edge is what the middle of the carton rubs on. A wall that steps out at the corner makes the turn tighter.
- Take 5 cm off each and read the table.
| Flight x landing (after taking off 5 cm) | 160 x 60 | 180 x 80 | 200 x 100 | 220 x 120 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 70 x 80 cm | goes | goes | stuck | stuck |
| 75 x 90 cm | goes | goes | goes | stuck |
| 80 x 80 cm | goes | goes | goes | stuck |
| 80 x 90 cm | goes | goes | goes | stuck |
| 85 x 90 cm | goes | goes | goes | goes |
| 90 x 90 cm | goes | goes | goes | goes |
| 100 x 100 cm | goes | goes | goes | goes |
Carried level on its long edge round a right angle turn; carton thickness taken as 10 cm with hands. Worked from the carton sizes above. At 80 x 80 the 200 x 100 carton clears by a few millimetres, which in practice is a scrape.
Carried level means the carton stays near horizontal through the turn. To do that on a real landing the carriers lift it so its lower edge rides over the first two or three steps of the next flight, so the bottom of the carton is about half a metre off the landing at the tightest moment. With a 106 cm carton, that wants about 160 cm of clear height over the landing, which nearly every landing has.
Winders change the answer. If your stair turns on tapered steps instead of a flat landing, there is nowhere level to swing the carton or to stand it up. Measure the width at the narrow end of the winders, not the wide end, and treat the turn as tighter than the table says. A 200 x 100 on a winder stair is the case most likely to need a different plan.
Check 3: the pivot, standing it on end
If the turn is too tight to swing the carton level, the other way round is to stand it on its short end on the landing, turn it on the spot, and tip it back down onto its edge for the next flight. Upright, a 200 x 100 carton has a footprint of only 106 x 6 cm.
Here is the catch most people find halfway through. To get from lying on its edge to standing on end, the carton pivots on one corner, and part way up it stands taller than its own length: it passes through its diagonal. For the 206 x 106 carton that is 232 cm, so you need about 235 cm of clear height above the landing to stand it up, not 206.
| Mirror size | Carton diagonal | Clear height to stand it on end | Landing room to turn it upright |
|---|---|---|---|
| 160 x 60 cm | 179 cm | 182 cm | about 66 cm |
| 180 x 80 cm | 205 cm | 208 cm | about 86 cm |
| 200 x 100 cm | 232 cm | 235 cm | about 106 cm |
| 220 x 120 cm | 259 cm | 262 cm | about 126 cm |
Diagonal of the carton face, plus 3 cm. The landing room is the circle the carton sweeps when it is turned upright on the spot, so the landing needs at least that in the direction it turns.
Two things follow. First, a half tilt does not help. Lifting one end of a level carton makes it longer from above, not shorter, until it is more than about 55 degrees up; at around 27 degrees the 200 x 100 carton is 232 cm long from end to end in plan. Either carry it level or stand it right up. Second, a 2.4 m ceiling over the landing leaves only about 5 cm to spare for the 200 x 100, and a pendant light or a smoke alarm takes that. For the 180 x 80 the same ceiling leaves 32 cm.
When a 180 x 80 goes up where a 200 x 100 will not
Put the two checks together and the gap between the two sizes is clear. Take a narrow stair: a 75 cm flight between the handrail and the wall, an 85 cm landing, and 2.2 m of clear height to the ceiling over the landing. Take the 5 cm off and the turn is 70 x 80.
- 200 x 100: the level turn allows about 192 cm and the carton is 206, so it jams. Standing it on end needs 235 cm and the ceiling is 220. It does not go.
- 180 x 80: the level turn allows about 192 cm and the carton is 186, so it swings round with a little room. It goes.
- 160 x 60: goes either way, with room to spare.
Now take a newer house with a 90 cm flight and a 95 cm landing, both clear of handrails, and a double height stairwell. The level turn alone takes the 200 x 100 and even the 220 x 120 at 226 cm. On a stair like that the size question belongs to the room, and our guide to sizing up to 2 m is the place to answer it.
If your stair is the first kind and you want the 2 m look, the honest options are the 180 x 80, a different route in (a ranch slider or a wide opening window on the upper floor is sometimes the easier way), or a mirror that lives downstairs. The standing mirror guide covers the ones light enough to move around later.
Our mirrors that pass the stairs test most often
Magna X Arched Full Length Mirror, 200 x 100 cm
The 2 m arch. Carton 206 x 106 x 6 cm, 36 kg packed: needs about 80 cm at a square turn or 235 cm to stand on end. In stock, with Alba (white) and Aurelia (gold) frames in the same carton.
Augusta X Rectangular Full Length Mirror, 200 x 100 cm
The rectangle at the same size and the same carton: 206 x 106 x 6 cm, 36 kg packed. Same numbers at the landing as the Magna X. In stock.
Titan Arched Full Length Mirror, 180 x 80 cm
The arch one size down. Carton 186 x 86 x 6 cm, 23 kg packed: needs about 73 cm at the turn or 208 cm to stand on end, so it goes up most stairs a 200 x 100 cannot. In stock.
Zenith X Rectangular Full Length Mirror, 180 x 80 cm
The rectangle at 180 x 80, same carton as the Titan, 23 kg packed. Light enough for two people to take up a tight stair without a fight. In stock.
The Louis at 220 x 120 cm is the largest piece we make, and its carton is 226 x 126 x 6 cm and 49 kg. It needs about 87 cm at a square turn or 262 cm to stand on end. Unless your stair is wide and open, it is a ground floor mirror.
What delivery includes, and what it does not
Our mirrors travel with Mainfreight, at the live rate for your address shown at checkout. Our delivery page says Home Delivery is to your front door, with a two person team for large mirrors, and that stairs or internal placement may incur additional fees. So the stairs are yours to plan, and if the mirror needs to go up them, ask us about it before it is dispatched rather than on the day. At checkout you can also choose to collect from a Mainfreight depot near you. The nationwide delivery guide has how the rates are worked out.
Once it is up, the large wall mirror guide covers weight and fixings if it is going on a wall, and the leaning mirror guide covers securing it if it stands on the floor. For a mirror headed for the hall at the top of the stairs, the hallway mirror guide covers the narrow wall.
The limits of this guide
The turn and pivot figures come from the carton sizes on our product pages and plain geometry, with the carton treated as a flat panel on its edge and 4 cm allowed for hands. They have not been tested on your stair. Real landings have skirting, light switches, handrail brackets and walls that are not square, which is why we take 5 cm off every measurement. The pitch table assumes the carton travels along the line of the stair. None of this says how heavy a carton you can safely carry: if 36 kg up a flight is beyond the two people you have, get a third or get help.
Frequently asked questions
Will a 2 m mirror fit up my stairs?
It depends on the turn, not the flight. Our 200 x 100 mirrors travel in a 206 x 106 x 6 cm carton, carried on its edge. At a square landing it needs about 80 cm of clear width on both sides, measured at waist height from the handrail, or about 235 cm of clear height to stand it on end and turn it. A straight flight with normal headroom is almost never the problem.
How big is the box a full length mirror comes in?
About 6 cm longer and wider than the mirror and 6 cm deep. Ours are 166 x 66 x 6 cm for 160 x 60 mirrors, 186 x 86 x 6 cm for 180 x 80, 206 x 106 x 6 cm for 200 x 100 and 226 x 126 x 6 cm for the 220 x 120 Louis. Each product page lists its carton and packed weight under packaging dimensions.
Should I take the mirror out of the box to get it upstairs?
No. Unboxed, a 200 x 100 mirror is only 6 cm shorter and 6 cm narrower than its carton, and you lose all of the protection at the point it is most likely to knock a wall. If the carton will not go round the landing, the bare mirror usually will not either. Keep it boxed until it is in the room.
Why does tilting the mirror up not help it round the corner?
Because a carton tilted part way is longer from above, not shorter. A 206 x 106 carton lifted at one end to about 27 degrees spans 232 cm in plan, its full diagonal, and only gets shorter than level past about 55 degrees. Either carry it level round the turn or stand it fully on end, which needs clear height of about 235 cm.
Will the delivery team carry the mirror upstairs?
Our delivery page says Home Delivery with Mainfreight is to your front door, with a two person team for large mirrors, and that stairs or internal placement may incur additional fees. If the mirror has to go up stairs, ask us about it before it is dispatched, and measure the landing first so you know it will go.
Which size fits up a narrow staircase with a landing?
On a 75 cm flight with an 85 cm landing and a 2.2 m ceiling, the 180 x 80 goes and the 200 x 100 does not. The 180 x 80 carton is 186 x 86 x 6 cm and needs about 73 cm at a square turn, or 208 cm of height to stand on end. Our Titan and Zenith X come in that carton at 23 kg packed.
Measured the landing?
Browse our full length mirrors, with the carton size and packed weight on every product page. Delivered NZ wide by Mainfreight at the live rate shown before you pay, or collect from our Albany showroom at Unit B, 19 Arrenway Drive, Rosedale. Afterpay and Zip available. NZ designed, NZ owned.
Written by the C&F Creation Team. Figures: the packaging dimensions and packed weights on each of our mirror product pages, read on 30 October 2026, and the Magna X dimension diagram; turn, pivot and pitch figures worked from those carton sizes; delivery wording from our delivery page, read the same day.
