Mirrored display cubes

Mirrored cubes do three things a painted plinth can't. They bounce light onto the product, they show it from more than one side, and they reflect the room around them, so the plinth almost disappears and the product seems to float. Grouped at different heights, they turn a simple display into an installation.

NOVU makes mirrored cubes to measure for showrooms and trade fair stands. The four set-ups below show what the cubes do, how to arrange them and how to style them.

NOVU designs showrooms and trade fair stands for fashion brands in New York, Paris and Copenhagen, from fully bespoke builds to furniture rental.

How do mirrored cubes improve the light on a display?

Mirrored cubes work like small reflectors. Every side catches the light in the room and sends it back out, so the display looks brighter than the space around it.

In this set-up, the cubes throw bright patches of light across the concrete floor and fill the gaps between them. That matters at trade fairs, where hall lighting is often flat and overhead. The reflected light lifts products out of shadow without adding a single fixture.

How do mirrored cubes help buyers see the product?

A mirrored cube reflects whatever is around it, so it reads as light and space rather than a solid block. The product becomes the only solid object in view, and it seems to float.

In this fragrance display, each bottle sits alone on its own top, and the mirrored sides pick up the bottles around them. The same works for the back of a bag, the heel of a shoe or the clasp of a necklace. The mirrors show sides a buyer would otherwise have to pick the product up to see.

How do you turn mirrored cubes into an installation?

Group them at different heights. One mirrored cube is a plinth, but a group of them becomes a piece in its own right that draws people in from across the room.

Here, mirrored cubes stand in a tight cluster with white plinths of different sizes, in a room with raw plaster walls and a concrete floor. The white plinths give the eye somewhere to rest, and the mirrors break up their solid shapes with reflections of the walls and the red sofa in front.

Each product sits at its own height, with the bag on the highest point. The eye moves up through the group the way it would through a sculpture.

Why do mirrored cubes work in any space?

Mirrors have no colour of their own. They take on the colours and materials of the room, so the same cubes look completely different from one set-up to the next.

Surrounded by blush curtains and pale carpet, the cubes turn soft and warm. In a white room with a concrete floor they look cool and graphic, and against steel walls they become part of the architecture.

That makes them useful for brands that show in several spaces a year. One set of cubes can follow the brand from a showroom to a fair stand and still look like it belongs.

How to style mirrored cubes

Mirrors multiply whatever is around them, good or bad, so a few simple rules make the difference.

• One product per top. A crowded top looks twice as busy once it is reflected. Give each piece its own surface.
• Vary the height. Put small pieces such as jewellery, eyewear and fragrance near eye level, and bags and shoes lower down.
• Mix in matte surfaces. A few white or painted plinths among the mirrors give the eye somewhere to rest.
• Check what they reflect. Mirrors show the aisle, the back of the stand and anything left lying around. Angle them towards walls, curtains or other product.
• Light the product, not the mirror. A spotlight aimed straight at a mirrored side can bounce into buyers' eyes, so aim light at the tops from above.
• Clean them every day. Fingerprints and dust show on mirror. Wipe the cubes with glass cleaner and a microfibre cloth before doors open.

NOVU makes mirrored cubes to measure, so the number, heights and footprint follow your products and your space. They can be part of a fully bespoke build or sit alongside our rental furniture. If you are planning a showroom or a trade fair stand, get in touch.