Design Trend: Mercury Glass

What’s old is new again in home decor.  Mercury glass, first produced in the mid-19th century, is all the rage in trendy homes.  Read on to learn more about mercury glass and to find some great sources for new mercury glass….

Mercury glass was originally made by hand-blowing a double-walled object.  A silvering solution (not mercury) was injected between the walls of the piece, creating a mirrored effect on the item.  Mercury glass usually has a time-worn, aged appearance.  It was used as an alternative to silver-plated objects in table service and home decor.  The photo below, found on the One of a Kind Antiques website, depicts vintage mercury glass, with its double-wall construction:

While today’s versions of mercury glass are often not double-walled, their look is no less beautiful.  With their aged patina, mercury glass embodies the “rough luxe” trend we’ve been enjoying for the past couple of years – a blend of the shiny and glittery with the rough and rustic (think mirrored table in front of brick wall).  Mercury glass is both shiny and rustic all at once.

If you would like to bring mercury glass into your home, you won’t have to go far to find pieces to your liking.  Take a peek at some of the mercury glass decor I found:

These pieces combine the faux bois trend with the mercury glass trend; they are available at West Elm:

Restoration Hardware offers several lamps made from vintage bottles and finished in a mercury glass look:

Bellacor offers many mercury glass home decor options, including these decorative votives:

From ornaments to candlesticks, Pottery Barn has dozens of mercury glass options available, including these decorative glass globes.  They would look fantastic on a shelf or piled into a bowl or basket:

And, for those DIYers in the house, you can create your own mercury glass finish on nearly any glass object!  Check out Martha Stewart’s tutorial to learn how to do it; I intend to try this someday myself…

Mercury glass is another one of those design trends that is at home in both contemporary and traditional settings.  Bring a little glitz and glamour into your home with mercury glass!