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Mixing metals within interiors has become quite a debate recently. Many years ago homeowners kept to the same metal throughout their home to “play it safe” and achieve a cohesive look throughout. Now though with the help from the interior designers, homeowners are starting to challenge this and embrace mixing metals within spaces.

We often get asked by our clients whether they should mix metals and are shocked when we encourage them to do so! There seems to be some confusion over what metals work well together and how to mix them within interior spaces and create a balance between them.

This example shows one of the principles we like to follow when it comes to mixing metals. And that is to ensure that at least two elements are finished in the same metal. In this case, the appliances and cooker hood are finished in chrome throughout while the faucet, lights, and cabinet handles are finished in brass.

Today we’re going to take a closer look at kitchens and bathrooms in particular, in relation to mixing metals – how to do this and things to watch out for when making decisions. These are the most common rooms of the home where mixing metals occurs.

Let’s get started!

Which Metals

Metals are actually made to be mixed. This may seem a little ambiguous but it all comes down to the overall intent behind the design. The key to this is not to worry about whether the metals will “work well together” and focus on the intent behind using the different metals and where instead.

Many metal finishes come in either polished or brushed, which depending on the application will inform which variant ultimately works the best. In terms of mixing the finish of metals it can work really well. For example, selecting a polished stainless steel sink faucet and pairing that with brushed brass cabinet handles. This look helps to separate the metals more so they have their own place in the interior for the individual applications – the finish has been used intentionally.

There are lots of metal finishes available these days: black, bronze, brass, chrome, stainless steel – and more! Many of these finishes also have sub-finishes such as aged brass or bronze, smoked bronze, polished, brushed, and even matte. 

Kitchens 

The kitchen is the main room of the home that is likely to contain many different items that have a metal finish to them. Cabinet handles, drawer pulls, faucets, sinks, cooker hoods, feature lighting, and the main door handles themselves. So there are many opportunities to use metals.

The key to creating a cohesive design with multiple metals is to match at least two elements.

We always recommend to our clients that the faucet finish should match the sink and drain – which would be two elements as above. For example, if you’re selecting a stainless steel sink, choose the same finish for the faucet so the elements that make up the sink are the same and all match.

If you’re looking at kitchen island pendant lights that have bronze detailing to them, consider using bronze as the finish for the cabinet handles and drawer pulls. This helps to create a cohesive look while mixing metals.

This kitchen is the perfect example of how to mix metals within a space. You can see that the light fixtures are finished in a bronze that complements the brass cabinet handles. While the sink faucet and bar stools are finished in brushed stainless steel and chrome. A beautiful balance!

Bathrooms

Similarly to kitchens, there are many metal finishes that come into play for the overall design. The main sink faucets, cabinet hardware, bath faucets, and shower controls are all opportunities to introduce metal finishes into the space. The lighting fixtures you choose may also have metal elements that come into play as well.

As we have mentioned previously, matching the sink faucet with the drain creates a pleasing look to the eye. Keeping this sink specific area the same helps to look carefully considered. The metal finish to cabinet handles and drawer pulls can then be their own metal finish if you so wish.

If you have a shower in a separate room from the sinks, it’s perfectly fine if the sink faucets don’t match the shower fixtures. But we would recommend matching the shower fixtures with the sink faucets if they are within close proximity or the same room.

This bathroom is a good example of mixing metals because the sink faucets are polished brass but the cabinet handles are finished in either brushed brass or chrome. The center wall sconce could have been finished in chrome to pull out the cabinet handles if preferred. Again, another good balance of metals used.

Final Thoughts

The key takeaway from this blog post is that mixing metals within interior spaces can look beautiful and create a well-balanced look. Wherever you’re considering mixing metals, ensure to match at least two elements in the same metal so nothing feels out of place.

We hope you have found this blog post to be thought-provoking and provided some insight into how you can mix metal finishes within your interior spaces. What do you think about mixing metals? Have you mixed them in your interior? Would you consider mixing them? We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!