By Juliette Guilbert

With the end of the Revolution and the birth of the new republic,
Americans looked to ancient Rome for cultural as well as political
inspiration.  At the same time, newly professionalized American
architects sought to express the power and influence of their patrons
by creating dignified yet democratic homes.  The result of this
political and aesthetic cross-pollination was the Federal style, which
soon became identified with the hopes, ideals, and character of the
young nation.

Ironically, the guiding light of ancient Rome shone on the new republic
by way of Old England.  Federal period architects like Charles Bulfinch
enlivened a somewhat poker-faced Georgian colonial template with
classical detail straight out of stylebooks of the Adam brothers, the
most renowned architects of the British eighteenth century.  A typical
Federal home had pragmatic Georgian bones (symmetrical brick facade,
balanced rows of windows around a central door) adorned with graceful
Adamesque flourishes.  A semicircular fanlight over the front door,
arched three-part Palladian windows, dentil moldings or a balustrade
around the roof all served to soften square Georgian lines. The
centrally placed front entryway was the focal point, with the door
flanked by sidelights, pilasters, or slender columns and possibly
topped by a small portico.

But it is interiors that truly distinguish the Federal-style house from
its colonial predecessors.  Unlike the exterior, interiors could be
asymmetrical and curvilinear, a major departure from the early American
layout of a central hall opening onto four square rooms.  Circular or
oval spaces were common (the most famous Federal style oval room is the Oval Office).  Decorative ceilings and mantels, adorned with elegant
garlands and swags, rose above simple curved plaster walls.

To create a convincing Federal setting, use a judicious mix of homespun
American colonial furniture and more refined Adam-style pieces
(Chippendale, Hepplewhite, Sheraton).  Pewter and silver, luxurious but
understated textures -- cream-colored damask, polished wood floors --
suggest the optimism and increasing prosperity of the new nation. 
Colors should be light and delicate: powder blue, cream, yellow, soft
pink and muted rose.  Of course, the quintessential Federal detail is
the American eagle, soaring above the mantelpiece.  And while some
might consider a plaster bust of George Washington to be a bit over the
top, for the true neo-Federalist it will add just the right patriotic
touch.