The Starburst Mirror

The Starburst Mirror

My latest obsession is Starburst mirrors. I have this blank wall in my sitting room that needs a little energy. It leads right into the kitchen and is the perfect transition to that bright new space!

I love this one!

If you are the HGTV addict I’ve become now I am home with the kids, you’ll probably notice these mirrors are the trend of the moment. They are used as wall art in highly stylized rooms in magazines like House Beautiful and Better Homes and Gardens, and in rooms on endless design blogs displaying rooms in these very magazines.

There’s something about the starburst design that emits a kinetic energy you’d want in your home—it makes a space radiate, like the spark of a summer sun in an endless blue sky. It simply exudes “happy.” And who wouldn’t want to feel that in their home—or when you enter someone else’s?

The other day I was discussing the idea of purchasing one with my college roommate. Years ago she gave me this beautiful concrete fiery sunflower wall art from Lillian August. It is very reminiscent of Spanish tile and a reminder of the four years we spent studying the language in college. We had each traveled independently to various Spanish-speaking countries, but had always talked about experiencing it together. I can’t even imagine the imprint we’d leave! Then time crept in and there were husbands, kids, mortgages, and instead, we got a bunch of girls together and did ridiculously fun weekends to Newport and Block Island. (Good times, great stories!) But, I will forever cherish this gift as hope for a future trip together where we traipse across the Spanish countryside exercising whatever is left of a language we learned (or in my case, tried to learn) in college.

For now, I’ll settle for a mirror.

As we got talking about the mirror design, I became curious about the origin. I love putting things in my home that have some kind of meaning—her wall art, a tufted chair I got on consignment, pencil drawings of the kids, and my grandmother’s beautifully crocheted doilies (don’t ever knock the fine craftsmanship that goes into a doily).

Growing up, my aunt had a similar design in a clock
positioned over her sideboard in the dining room.

As I researched, I found some interesting facts about this mirror design. It dated back to the 1400s, evolved in 17^th Century France, carried through the French Revolution, went mainstream on the Parisian café circuit in the 1940s, and is now widely reproduced for people like us—the modern-day consumer. During the Revolution, these designs displayed a circular center of saints and holy figures haloed by celestial rays. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, “…it didn’t take long for antiques dealers and collectors to buy those vacant sunbursts for a song, slip mirrors into the cavities (the center) and launch what would become a vogue in the 20th century."

And voilà… now they are vintage chic and one will soon be in my sitting room.

Here’s the WSJ link if you want to read more.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703727804576017343008209326.html?mod=WSJ_LifeStyle_Lifestyle_5