The Mirror that Got Away

Posted on September 4, 2014 by Simply Styled

Regret. Major regret my friends!!

I’m going to call it “un-buyers remorse”. Ugh!! If only I could turn back time and buy that mirror a month ago at the Alameda County Flea Market, all would be well in the world!!

Here’s the short version of this story… a few weeks ago, one of my best friends and I went to the Alameda County Flea Market. “Flea Market” doesn’t sound like the kind of place I’d want to be, but I swear to you, this one is amazing. Some real gems my friends… Also, a lot of weird old (but not that old) nightgowns, Hawaiian shirts, and used shoes, but for the most part cool, unique furniture, accessories, and antiques.

Last month was our second trip to the flea market, and having already used our first trip to scout things out, we came prepared with a rough wishlist of what we wanted to find, plenty of cash, and comfortable walking shoes. We both came away from our little flea market trip with some absolute gems… but there is one mirror that I passed on, and it keeps coming back to haunt me.

It’s literally haunting me you guys… now that it’s long gone, and I can’t possibly have it, I keep seeing it pop up in pictures of beautifully styled rooms – on my favorite blogs… on Pinterest! I can’t escape it!!

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I realize that at some point I’m going to have to get over it, but it’s just so pretty, and it would look so amazing over our chest of drawers in the bedroom! As if to add insult to injury, the mirror we have hanging there right now is a boring, black, rectangular frame from Ikea. Oh, and I accidentally drilled two holes straight through the wood, so that it looks extra “special”. Dah!

People talk about buyers remorse, but I swear no one ever talks about un-buyers remorse. If only I’d pulled the trigger!!

Has this ever happened to you?

Federal Style and a History Lesson

Posted on June 13, 2013 by Simply Styled

It started with this picture from Blue Label Bungalow…

This room is a bit more traditional and masculine then I would choose for my own home, but there is one piece in particular that caught my eye in this space… can you guess what it is?? (No not the lamps, although I DO love those too…)

Maybe these other pictures will give you a hint…

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Still don’t know?? Here’s a few more hints…

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Yeah, I know it’s totally obvious… I was just totally indulging my obsession with the ornate, old time-y Federal Mirrors that I seem to keep noticing EVERYWHERE. In college I double majored in Sociology and History… BUT… I am a complete novice when it comes to spotting and identifying period pieces. All I know is that these mirrors are cool, and I want to know more about them…

I dug up a little info on their origin – The Dumbarton House talks about where these mirrors originated:

Our nation’s early years, when the Federalist Party led the American government between 1790 and 1828, generally defines the Federal period. During this time, a strong sense of nationalism was born and many government leaders, like Thomas Jefferson, looked to the classical past of Greece and Italy for inspiration in forging the identity of the new American democratic Republic.

Thanks Thomas Jefferson… and I guess Greece… because these mirrors are FAB!! What makes these mirrors “Federal” style are the concave mirror (which is cool on it’s own), the eagle embellishment (so “Americana”) and a brass frame (with an awesome antique patina).

What I do NOT love about these mirrors are the price tag on them… for a legitimate Federal mirror, you’ll be paying in the thousands… easily. Dang it!

However Google saves the day again, and after a few random searches, I learned that these were all the rage in the 1950’s, and a company called Syroco became famous for their molding technique where they were able to churn out exact replicas of these “eagle mirrors”. I’ve also learned that they can be called “Bullseye Mirrors” as well… which helps when searching eBay and Etsy for replicas.

Seems like all the mirrors in the larger size I want will run between $60 and $150 which compared with thousands, is a steal!

I’m imagining this over our bed (like the first photo here) or even in an entry way – although a convex mirror is not ideal for the last minute hair fixing before running out the door…

What do you think about these beauties?? Are you as into them as I am?

Mirror Mirror on the Wall

Posted on March 21, 2013 by Simply Styled

I’ve mentioned wanting to get rid of quite a bit of the black furniture in our living room, and painting the wine hutch a few weeks ago was the first step in that direction. While I love the look of the hutch, the black framed mirror above it has been looking very “heavy” to me lately.

Here’s an incredibly blurry picture I found on my phone so you could see how dark everything was on that wall… what I’d really like to do is get rid of that TV stand, but that’s another story for another day…

While the TV stand stays (for now), I think changing up the mirror will greatly improve things… also, looking at this photo makes me really aware of how linear everything on this wall is. There is not a single curved line going on, which has to change immediately!

I think a circular mirror could look pretty cool here…