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Instead, keep the appearance of each metallic finish simple and subtle. Sarah Lyon is a freelance writer and home decor enthusiast, who enjoys sharing good finds on home items. Since 2018, she has contributed to a variety of lifestyle publications, including Apartment Therapy and Architectural Digest.
Using the same metal finish throughout a room can lack depth. Adding another metal provides interest, the same way mixing fabrics and colors does. For example, an antique brass light fixture adds an unexpected surprise to a stainless steel kitchen. A black mirror flanked by aged brass lighting is the focal point in a bathroom with chrome fixtures. Think of mixing metals as an opportunity to showcase an interesting piece that you love. Aim to have your dominant metal make up approximately 60 to 75 percent of the finishes in the room, McLeod suggests.
Choose a color scheme that matches with the mixed metals you want to use
Most of the time homeowners aren’t exactly sure how to do this in a way that makes sense and that will look cohesive in the end. As designers noted above, one must be thoughtful when selecting metals for a given space, and this includes considering the room’s use and overall feel. “In dressier spaces like the primary bathroom or powder bath, I prefer to do brass regardless of what is used for the rest of the house,” designer Mary Patton noted. And on that note, designer Brittany Farinas offered a tip when working with this finish. “When utilizing brass in a space, try to incorporate another element that has the same warm undertone to achieve harmony in the space,” she commented. The idea behind mixing metals is that it creates a more interesting and eclectic look.
Warm metal finishes include those with gold, brass, bronze, or copper tones. Within the Reggio Registers collection, warm finishes for both aluminum or steel registers include Oil-Rubbed Bronze, Sun Gold, and Champagne Bronze. When mixing metal finishes in home decorating, one prominent piece of metallic finish and a few smaller complimentary ones is the easiest way to create a stunning room that looks good for years.
Kitchen Lighting Ideas
This designer did a wonderful job mixing metals in this kitchen. I have a brushed nickel faucet in my bathroom, and chrome in the shower. I would LOVE to change that out, but I'm trying to wait until I rip out the entire bathroom. I hope that day is sooner than later, because I am really not feeling cracked tile. My kitchen is now a brushed nickel faucet with stainless steel appliances and ORB knobs on the cabinets.
When it comes to mixing metals in individual rooms, we also play by this rule. In the master bathroom of our recent Pine Brook Home project, we used Nickel on most of the finishes, the cabinet hardware, the sink, the mirror, and even the towel holder. Then, we accented it with two brushed-gold scones to balance out the look. It can be hard to know where to start when selecting metals for your home, and if you're starting a new project or remodel, you might be wondering how many metals you should mix. We suggest curating 2-3 metals that work well together by identifying their undertones.
Create a strong base.
What you do need to be aware of, though, is that the metals you pick need to co-exist with the items you already own—so, say, brass and crafted woods for farmhouse, or silver and white for a modern vibe. Saving the best for last, mixing warm, cool and neutral metals lends one-of-a-kind shine and personality to a room. Think of a trio of metal finishes as a harmonious concert stage, each piece a vital part of a performance that adds depth, range, and pizazz to the look and energetic feeling of a space in its entirety. Cool metal finishes, on the contrary, are those that feature gray undertones like silver, stainless steel, nickel, or chrome. In the Reggio Registers collection, cool finish registers include Gray, Silver, and Satin Nickel.
Black is considered either a cool-toned metal or a neutral and makes a great third metal to balance out your mix. The metal finishes will stand out more this way and create the welcoming feel that you want for a space, whether you’re decorating a Scandinavian living room or a bedroom with a Moroccan feel. To avoid going overboard with metal mixing, limit the metals used on each item.
Some in the decorating “biz” say you should stick with one and only finish only for everything. So if your knobs in the kitchen are brushed nickel, the faucet, light fixtures, everything should be the same. When mixing metals in home decorating, it is important to consider the different shades and finishes of each metal. For example, mixing a bright silver with an aged copper will create a contrast that can be both visually appealing and quite striking.
And cool-toned silver pendant lighting fixture down to the low notes of a silver coffee table frame with a gold-framed terrarium glass house and champagne bronze vase on top. If overdone or done inconsistently, mixed metals can look accidental and tacky, rather than balanced and alluring. If you’re looking at metallic finishes then you need to consider the textures as well. The most common metal textures are polished and matte, but you can also find hammered and decorative metal finishes. You don’t necessarily need to choose one or the other; mixing a warm and a cold metal tone helps to accentuate both finishes and can make your room look fantastic. "Don't be afraid of your own taste and style," McLeod says.
I’ve also been working on replacing our interior brass door knobs with beautiful, dark oil rubbed bronze knobs for the past six months or so. I stopped by to inspect a primary bathroom remodel in progress and came to find a Kallista vibrant gold rain dome in the shower. Every other fixture in the bathroom is Kallista brushed nickel, including the 12″ ceiling mount shower arm. My designer says that the gold is intended to “pickup the warm tones” in the gray/beige porcelain on the walls. This can be any metal you like, but it will be the main one that you’ll add to the space.
I also have a wood peg rack with a shelf to hand our bath towels. Two things to note though – subtle variations of metal tone within the same color family are totally fine. For example, the mirror and vanity lights in our bathroom are both gold/brass but they’re definitely not identical in appearance – luckily the variation is subtle so it works. Different brands sometimes call almost identical looking metals completely different names so don’t go by the names, go by what the metals look like.
There's no rule that says every finish in your home has to match. Mixing metals has become a favorite way to create a collected-over-time look in kitchens, bathrooms, living areas, and more. Varying metal finishes across hardware, furniture, lighting, and other fixtures, adds depth and character that a matching look would lack. I hope it’s clear by now that mixing metals in the kitchen makes for a stylish, timeless space. But investing in a kitchen faucet, lighting, and cabinet pulls, regardless of the style and finish, doesn’t have to break the bank.
Chrome is also one of the most popular kitchen finishes in 2022, as it coordinates well with both light and dark color schemes. Brass works well in both warm and white spaces as well as kitchens with darker tones. I recommend using brass when you want your eye to be drawn to the fixture or metal finish. However, if one of your metal finishes is brushed nickel, it could be considered the same as brushed stainless steel, since the two finishes are so similar. F you have an abundance of stainless steel appliances in your kitchen, as most people do, it’s a good idea to consider stainless steel as one of your metal finishes. Ool metals include chrome, polished nickel, and brushed nickel.
Inside the overhead lights have a white rim on them (cheapest thing at Lowes I'm guessing) and will be replaced eventually. Mixing metal finish can be an exciting way to incorporate the elements you love in your home design. Metal provides a sense of richness and glamour that is hard to come by with other materials, but it also has its drawbacks as the well-the cost being one major factor among many others! Whether incorporating just something simple like handles or hinges into furniture pieces over time will create interest.
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