These gaudy gold mirrors popped up on my radar not long ago–I started spotting them first in posts on Apartment Therapy and Design Sponge, and then once I was clued in, it seemed like they were everywhere I looked!
There seem to be two major types of federal style mirrors–one in a circle, and one in a circle featuring an eagle. I prefer the eagle.
Click each image to be taken to its original source.
A Miles Redd interior shot for Elle Decor
In the home of Caitlin Moran of the Glitter Guide
Photographed by The Selby in the home of a creative couple
And a lovely one dressed up for the holidays… (Better Homes and Gardens, Dec 2008)
One thing I found out after doing a bit more research is that the mirror in these pieces is often convex! AND–many of the recreations are made of plastic! Also, when seen in context of a room, they are often fairly small. Oh well, I still like ’em :)
A couple bloggers I follow have them:
Caitlin of Desert Domicile– I love how it looks with that navy blue wall!
Emily of Go Haus Go– It’s the perfect size to fit in the narrow space between those windows.
Can’t get enough? Here is another awesome federal mirror roundup.
Want one of your own? Check out these etsy listings.
What do you think of trends like this? Clearly, trends come and go and I love the nod back to the time of the American Revolution, even while the most recent resurgence (before now) was in the plastic era and produced by a company called Syroco. It’s easy to think “bleh, so trendy,” and get turned off, but the truth of the matter is that I don’t expect to see this in every American home. You know what I mean? It’s easy to see a trend pop up in blog after blog, but I don’t think that really reflects the average american homeowner. You know what I mean? Bloggers are not an adequate sample, if you want to get into polling and statistics speak. I see commenters on pinterest, twitter, and (of course) Apartment Therapy deriding things as “too trendy!” Maybe in the blogging world, sure, but when I invite friends over who don’t follow design blogs or design magazines, they have no idea that the style I’m drawn to was inspired by something I saw online or in a magazine. Do you know what I mean? I’d love to get a conversation going in the comments.
Thanks for reading! Off to work I go.
My Friend Staci 