Conventional wisdom says your home should be a reflection of yourself. Janet Andrews, 82, took that saying literally when decorating her six-bedroom, $3.5 million home in Reno, NV.
Want your space to reflect your lifestyle in more ways than one? Begin by adding mirrors. A lot of mirrors. While the 5,656-square-foot home offers its fair share of nearly traditional living spaces, at least six rooms feature a mirrored wall, mirrored ceiling, mirrored fireplace -- or all of the above.
"I just like mirrors," Andrews says.
Despite the reflection obsession, Andrews' style is far from garish. Her carefully curated dcor combines bold colors, vintage details, and classic accents to create a quirky and unique abode.
And Andrews is as unique as they come. "When I was a little girl, I decided to have an adventuresome life," she says.
Her life story reads like a modern movie about an intrepid woman. Andrews served as a missionary in Panama, spent three months reporting on the Vietnam War, and took a yacht from San Francisco to Central America.
Wanderlust satisfied, Andrews began pursuing another interest: interior design.
"I feel that a home should express the person who lives there, not the person who did the decoration," she says. As a result, Andrews dedicated 40 years of hard work to turning her castlelike Reno abode into a true home, adding a fair bit of quirk and creativity along the way.
All of her guest rooms are named -- some, quite literally. In La Salle des Amis (the room of friends), names of her closest confidants are stenciled along the ceiling in gold, bronze, and black. In Chez Boo-Boo, named for a former dog, tilted mirrors reflect chintz-covered armchairs atop mountain lion and zebra pelts. A custom-made tented ceiling in a soft lavender gray tops another guest room.
And if you're seeking a jaw-dropping, no-holds-barred showstopper, step into Andrews' supersize master bedroom. Beveled mirrors hang on every surface (including the fireplace, headboard, ceiling, and walls) and make the space feel like a fancy fun house, and the blue bed screams luxury.
If Andrews' glamorous space reflects your own interior design desires, potential buyers are in luck: Everything comes with the sale. Especially the mirrors.
"If anyone didn't like it, they could tear it down," Andrews says. But we're not sure why anyone would even consider such an atrocious change to this unique, personality-filled space.