Mixing metallic finishes is growing trend
The holiday season is the perfect time of year to be singing the praises of mixing metallic finishes in your home’s decor. In fact, mixing metals is actually a growing trend in design from warm gold, brass and copper accents to cool chrome, nickel and the ever-popular stainless steel. From wallpaper to furniture and ornamental cabinetry pulls, the combination of gold and brass is this year’s hot look and likely to remain so.
It wasn’t always like this. There was a time when mixing finishes like gold and silver was totally misunderstood and frowned upon. It was as if there was an unwritten rule that mixing metals in interior design was just not done.
For the most part, designers would use the same finish in a space and never think of mixing metals for any reason. The general consensus was that matching finishes was the best way to coordinate a home. But, in reality, it’s exactly the opposite as it only creates a monochromatic and less interesting look.
It was probably stodgy rules like this that inspired renowned interior designer Billy Baldwin to declare, “The first rule of decoration is that you can break all the rules.” So, yes, we’ve taken Mr. Baldwin’s advice to a great extent in design. Times certainly have changed, and the no-mix rule has now been nixed.
Metals are here to stay, and mixing finishes is an exciting design choice. Metallic finishes certainly are trending now in every part of the home, and that’s a great advantage because mixing metal finishes can go far in adding character, visual interest and depth to a home’s decor.
If you like both gold and silver, you don’t have to choose one or the other because, reiterating, gone is yesterday’s belief that gold and silver don’t belong together. In fact, I’ve always observed that silver appears to have the innate ability to pick up and easily blend with the metal with which it is paired. To wit, it’s safe to say that silver, gold, brass and copper can all safely and easily coexist throughout your home’s decor.
In fact, mixing metal finishes is now actually encouraged, but there is a methodology when doing so that needs to be kept in mind to help ensure a successful outcome:
n First, choose the metal that most appeals to you and showcase it as the dominant finish. Then add one or two other finishes as accents to give a feeling of unity. Or, choose a base color as your guide, taking your cue from the dominant paint or furniture color you’ve chosen and then decide if you need to add the warmth of brass or gold or the coolness of silver or even black iron.
n Once you’ve chosen a dominant metal tone, use an accent. When you use a contrasting tone you’ll see that you can mix metal tones to great success. Gold and brass are considered warm tones, while silver and chrome are thought to be cool ones. So, if your space seems to be too cold in feeling, then you can add brass, antique brass, iron or some gold tones.
n And when you consider your color palette, you’ll come to see that warm metals such as gold tend to pair well with warm hues like reds, browns and yellows. Cool metals such as chrome and silver will pair well with blues, greens and violets. By the way, warm metals such as gold and brass can come off as a rich pop of color and texture when placed with cool metals like silver and chrome.
n It’s always best to vary the metal textures in your space by possibly combining matte, polished and hammered finishes. This is especially true if you decide on only one metal tone. That’s when it’s important to focus on textures and finishes.
For example, if you decide to use only gold in your design, try to vary the look by mixing shiny or matte gold finishes. It should be noted that it’s never a good idea to mix a gold tone with vintage gold as the results will probably be on the dull and lifeless side.
n It’s also best to keep it subtle and not clutter your decor with too many metals that could make your space appear too over the top. Three finishes are more than enough I can assure you, and just two is probably even better — a dominant tone and an accent tone should do the job nicely. Of course, there’s always the possibility of mixing in a neutralizer such as iron, wood or even a nonmetallic finish; just don’t go overboard.
Wood and natural-finished furniture are always great choices for your decor. When you add elements like gold-painted furniture with metal lighting fixtures , you’ve gone a long way in adding a dramatic flair to your design. On the other hand, designs that adhere to the old-fashioned strict rule of never mixing metals often will feel uninspired and rather dull.
It all comes down to the fact that metals, by nature, are dynamic in themselves, and the blend of silver and gold, in particular, creates not only an intriguing and exciting contrast but also a sense of visual dimension and texture to a space. If you follow the key points of the methodology outlined above, creating the right balance can be assured, and your home will take on an elegance and air of excitement you never thought possible. Mixing and matching metals is the surefire way to bring a layered richness to any decor.
The holiday/winter season is the ideal time for bringing out metallic inspiration in your home. The trend now is metallic everything, not only with hardware and finishes, but with metallic textiles, artwork, picture frames and wallpaper. All are options now.
Add gold and/or silver to your decor and the glamor of the holidays can be yours all year long because metals are here to stay.
Stephen Leon is a licensed interior designer and president of Soleil Design (www.soleildezine.com); he has been designing and manufacturing custom furniture and cabinetry for more than 25 years. He is past president of the Central California/Nevada Chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers and is a certified professional in green residential design. Questions can be sent to soleildesign@cox.net.
