How we used mirrored furniture to test how vain our office is

We'd noticed a number of our staff regularly checking themselves out around the office in the reflections of pretty much anything that was relatively shiny - the microwave door, windows, phone screens - you name it, they were lingering for a suspiciously long time in front of it.

So we got to thinking: just how vain was our office and how could we test this?

Step 1 - Add mirrors

The obvious first step would be to put up a lot of mirrors in the office, however being obvious was out of the question. If we were really going to capture genuine live vanity in action, then we required unsuspecting victims highly valued staff. Being a furniture company, that just happens to boast an extensive range of mirrored furniture, provided a perfect opportunity to do this. No one would suspect the office being redecorated with our own furniture... so that's what we did.

Step 2 - Strategic placement

To keep up the natural appearance, the redecorating took place on an evening when the office was empty and we used a mixture of pieces that were different sizes and heights, including our Mirrored Drawer Tallboy,Two-door sideboard, and Two-Drawer Angled Mirrored Chest. The pieces had to be put in the right places around the office, with an emphasis on maximum footfall and peak loitering potential. There were some no-brainer locations, such as:

1) The front door - to capture people as they swiped their key-cards

2) The kitchen - lots of loitering potential while waiting for your tea to brew

3) Meeting rooms - would people get distracted from the business at hand by their own reflection?

In addition to these, we also placed some other pieces next to some likely suspects.

Step 3 - Hidden cameras

Now that the office was full of mirrored furniture we had to make sure we captured any time a hairstyle was checked or a reflection admired. To do this we used a lot of GoPro cameras that were concealed around each piece of furniture. We placed two around each piece – one to capture the perspective from the mirror itself and a second above the furniture to film a wider shot of the vanity in action. We used a variety of methods to keep the cameras hidden including black tape to block out the recording red-light, books, boxes and clever positioning. As with the furniture, the cameras were put into position on an evening, away from prying eyes and persistent questions.

Step 4 - The next day

The scene was set but we weren't ready to roll just yet, with the cameras needing to be turned on before everyone arrived.

Step 5 - Vanity!

All that was left to do was sit back and watch the vanity in action!

How we used mirrored furniture to test how vain our office is - The Furniture Market