How to Hang a Round Mirror: Make a Template and Transfer the Fixing Points

To hang a round mirror, trace it onto paper, fold the paper circle in half twice to find the centre, then measure two things on the back of the mirror: the distance between the hangers and how far the hangers sit below the top of the mirror. Draw those onto the template, tape it to the wall with a level on the hook line, and drill through your marks. The template does the job the straight top edge does on a rectangular mirror. A circle has no edge to measure from or level against, and on most round mirrors the hooks sit a long way below the top, so a tape measure and a guess usually put the holes in the wrong place.

This guide covers getting one round mirror onto a wall in the right place. For choosing the size and the spot, see our round mirror sizing and styling guide. For choosing a plasterboard fixing by weight, see the plasterboard hanging guide, and for masonry, the concrete and brick guide. If you are putting up a group of small mirrors, our small wall mirror guide uses templates to plan the whole arrangement.

Why a round mirror is harder to hang than a rectangle

With a rectangular mirror you set the height from the top edge, hold a level on it and you are done. A round mirror takes all three of those shortcuts away.

There is no top edge to measure from. The top of a circle is a single point, and you can't see it once the mirror is in your hands. Height has to be set from the centre instead.

The hangers are nowhere near the top. Round mirrors usually carry their hangers out towards the sides, where the frame is strongest and the two points are far apart. On the Aure they sit near the rim, a little above halfway down. That leaves a big gap between the top of the mirror and the hook line, and it's the number most people never measure.

The hangers are far apart. A wide pair of hangers stops the mirror swinging, which is good. But the wider they are, the less likely both fixings are to land where you want them, especially on a stud wall.

What's on the back of a C&F round mirror

Our round wall mirror is the Aure: 100cm across, a 22mm frame, 4mm double silver glass and 12kg. It hangs from two triangular D-rings, each on a metal strap held by three screws, fixed close to the rim on opposite sides.

We measured the D-ring positions off our own photo of the back, which is shot close to square on. They sit roughly 18 to 20cm above the centre of the mirror and about 92cm apart, 3 to 5cm in from the rim. That is close enough to plan the wall with, and not close enough to drill from. Our mirrors are handmade, and the hardware can sit a centimetre or two differently from one mirror to the next. The two rings in our own photo differ by nearly 2cm in height. Always measure the mirror you are hanging.

Make the template and find the centre

You need a sheet of paper a little bigger than the mirror. For a 100cm mirror, tape two lengths of builder's paper, wrapping paper or brown paper together. Newspaper works if you tape it well.

1. Trace it. Lay the paper on a clean floor, put a folded blanket around it, and place the mirror face down on the paper. Run a pencil around the outside of the frame. Trace the frame, not the glass, because the frame is what takes up the wall.
2. Cut it out. Cut on the line. A few millimetres out won't matter.
3. Fold it in half, then in half again. Fold the paper circle in half, crease it, open it, and fold it in half the other way so the second crease crosses the first. Where the creases cross is the centre. This works on any circle, and it's more accurate than measuring for the widest point with a tape.
4. Pick one crease as the hook line guide. Draw over one crease in pencil and write "level" on it. The other crease is your vertical centre line.

Measure the hangers: spacing and drop

Turn the mirror face down on the blanket again and flip each D-ring up so it points towards the rim, the way it will sit on the hook. You are measuring to the inside top of each ring, because that is where the hook will actually carry the weight.

1. Spacing. Measure straight across from the inside top of one ring to the inside top of the other. On the Aure this is roughly 92cm. Write your figure on the template.
2. Drop. Lay a straight piece of timber or a long level across the back so it touches the inside top of both rings. At the middle of that straight edge, measure up at right angles to the rim of the frame. That is the drop: the distance from the top of the mirror down to the hook line. On the Aure it comes out at roughly 30cm. Write it down.
3. Check the rings match. Measure from the straight edge to each ring. If one is more than about 5mm higher than the other, use the average. On a plain round mirror this hardly matters, as the next section shows.

Now put the numbers on the template. From the top of the circle, measure down the vertical crease by the drop and draw the hook line across, parallel to the crease you marked "level". Mark a cross on the hook line either side of the centre line at half the spacing. For a 92cm spacing, that is 46cm each side.

Why you don't need to fuss over level

This is the good news about round mirrors. If your two fixings end up at slightly different heights, a rectangle shows it straight away along its top edge. A plain circle just turns a fraction, and a circle that has turned looks exactly the same.

We worked out what a height difference between the two fixings does, using the Aure's hanger spacing of about 92cm and the rings sitting about 19cm above the centre. For comparison, the last column shows the slope you would see along the top of a 100cm wide rectangular mirror.

One fixing lower by	Round mirror turns by	Centre moves sideways	Slope along a 100cm rectangle's top
3mm	0.2 degrees	under 1mm	3mm
5mm	0.3 degrees	about 1mm	6mm
10mm	0.6 degrees	about 2mm	11mm
20mm	1.3 degrees	about 4mm	22mm

Our calculation: rotation = the height difference divided by the hanger spacing. The centre also drops by half the height difference, so 10mm out on one side lowers the mirror by 5mm.

So spend your care where it shows: the height of the centre, and how well the mirror lines up with whatever is below it. Keep using a level on the hook line, because it costs nothing. But if your holes come out a few millimetres apart in height, don't drill new ones. It's also why a 2cm difference between the rings on your mirror isn't worth chasing: fix both hooks level and the mirror will turn by about a degree, which nobody will see.

The one exception is a round mirror with something that shows which way is up, like a decorative feature or a join in the frame. Our Aure has a plain, even frame, so it doesn't apply.

Work out the hook height

Decide where you want the centre of the mirror, then work up to the hooks:

Hook height = height of the mirror's centre + radius − drop
or, if you think in terms of the top: hook height = height of the top − drop

Two worked examples for the Aure, using a 50cm radius and our rough 30cm drop:

Where it's going	Mirror sits	Hooks at
On a clear wall, centre at 150cm	bottom 100cm, centre 150cm, top 200cm	about 170cm from the floor
Above a 76cm high sideboard, with a 20cm gap	bottom 96cm, centre 146cm, top 196cm	about 166cm from the floor

Replace our 30cm with the drop you measured. A 2cm error in the drop moves the whole mirror 2cm.

If you put the hooks at the height you wanted the top of the mirror, the Aure would end up 30cm lower than planned. That is the most common way round mirrors go wrong.

Check where the studs are

Most New Zealand timber-framed walls have studs at 400mm or 600mm centres, and older houses can differ. A stud finder will show yours. Wide hangers and regular studs don't line up often. This table shows whether both fixings can land on a stud for a given hanger spacing, allowing about 20mm either way for the width of the stud and the play in a D-ring.

Hanger spacing	Studs at 600mm centres	Studs at 400mm centres
40cm	No, second fixing 200mm from a stud	Yes
60cm	Yes	No, 200mm off
80cm	No, 200mm off	Yes
about 92cm (Aure)	No, about 280mm off	No, about 120mm off
100cm	No, 200mm off	No, 200mm off

Our calculation: both fixings can sit on studs only when the hanger spacing is within about 20mm of a whole number of stud spacings.

That leaves three sound options for a 12kg round mirror on plasterboard:

• One stud screw and one plasterboard fixing. Put one D-ring's fixing into the stud and use a rated hollow-wall fixing for the other.
• Two plasterboard fixings. Fine for this weight if they are properly rated. Our rule of thumb: the fixings together should be rated for at least twice the mirror's weight, so at least 24kg combined for the Aure. Our plasterboard guide goes through the types.
• A timber batten across two studs. Screw a length of timber to two studs, then put both fixings into the batten exactly where the template says. It adds a strip behind the mirror but puts both hooks in solid timber. The Aure's 22mm frame depth means you should check the batten won't be seen from the side.

Don't slide the mirror sideways just to catch a second stud. It will usually then sit off-centre from the furniture below, and on a round mirror that shows far more than any level error.

Transfer the marks and hang it

1. Tape the template up. Use painter's tape. Hold a level on the hook line and adjust until it reads level. Step back to the far side of the room and look. This is the moment to move it, while it's paper.
2. Line it up with the furniture. Measure from the vertical crease to each end of the sideboard or console below. The two figures should match.
3. Check the height. Measure from the floor to the centre, where the folds cross, and compare it with your plan.
4. Check behind the crosses. Run a stud finder over both marks and note which, if any, is on a stud. Also check for pipes and cables before you drill. A detector that picks up live wires is worth having.
5. Mark through the paper. Push a sharp pencil or a small nail through the centre of each cross into the wall. Take the template down, keeping it for later.
6. Put the fixings in. Drill and fit each fixing to its maker's instructions. Leave a screw head or hook standing out far enough for the D-ring to sit on it without pulling the frame off the wall.
7. Hang it with two people. Lift the mirror by the frame, one person each side, and lower it until both rings sit on their hooks. Let go slowly, one side at a time, and check both rings are fully seated.
8. Stop the bottom rubbing. Two small felt or rubber bumpers on the back, at the bottom, keep the frame off the paint and stop it shifting when someone brushes past.

Two shortcuts to avoid

Don't hang it from one hook in the middle. The Aure has no central hanger. Hanging one ring leaves the mirror swinging on a single point, and it will not sit where you put it.

Don't string a wire between the two rings. It's tempting: one hook, no fiddly measuring. But a tight wire across wide rings pulls on each ring far harder than the mirror weighs. We worked out the pull on each ring for a 12kg mirror with the rings 90cm apart, hung by a wire from one hook in the middle:

How far the wire rises to the hook	Pull on each ring	Compared with the mirror's weight
5cm	about 54kg	about 4.5 times
10cm	about 28kg	about 2.3 times
20cm	about 15kg	about 1.2 times

Our calculation: pull on each ring = the mirror's weight ÷ (2 × the sine of the wire's angle). The flatter the wire, the harder it pulls sideways on the rings and their screws.

A slack wire brings the pull down, but it also lets the mirror swing and drops it lower on the wall. Two fixings, one under each ring, keep the load straight down and the mirror where you put it.

The round mirror in this guide

You can see every round and oval shape we stock in our round mirror collection.

Frequently asked questions