what finish for hardware throughout house w/ stainless appliances

16 years ago

We're building a cheap "retirement" home on a small but hugely expensive lakefront lot. We tend to prefer golden tones to silver (sorry, I know that's so OUT!) & are accustomed to antiqued brass door hardware & lighting fixtures. Our new kitchen will be open to the living room (where some cherished furnishings have a brass trim) & dining room (where we'd like to rehang our current antiqued brass chandelier.) Wouldn't antiqued brass clash with our planned stainless steel appliances? (We do draw the line at goldtone faucets - always had chrome sink hardware previously, but were less concerned with design flow then!)We hate the idea of changing all hardware to nickel or other silver finish, but want it to look as nice as possible!

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Comments (6)

amyks
16 years ago
My honest opinion is to get what you really love, and don't worry about matching everything. I think there is something particularly charming about a home that is a bit eclectic. I know in the home we are building, there will be black iron, brown iron, brushed nickel, and oil rubbed bronze. I love all of those finishes and wanted to incorporate them in my home. If you love gold toned finishes and antiqued brass, use it. The fact that you love it is so much more important than what "they" say is "in". And who are "they", anyway? Just wait until gold toned finishes regain their popularity, which they eventually will. Then think of how forward thinking you will appear:-) Good luck!

Amy
amyks
16 years ago
So, I responded without putting the most important part in, which directly answers your question. We too are using stainless appliances. That sentence should have appeared right before the list of what other metal finishes I was using. Sorry!!
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Thank you all for taking time to post and for your reassurance that the metal finishes can be successfully mixed. Although in those beautiful kitchens, I really think anything would look good! Mine is definitely more 'humble'.... (Shanghaimom - your kitchen is my dream.... I had seen it on another thread and bookmarked it. I just didn't focus on the fact that the pulls were burnished brass - on my monitor, they looked like brushed nickel.) So - let's assume that I do use antique gold-toned hardware in the kitchen. Since we will be painting woodwork and replacing cabinet hardware throughout the house (both bathrooms, hall linen closets, laundry cupboards) does it all need to match the finish of the kitchen hardware? Or could I use a different finish in the bathrooms ie satin nickel or oil-rubbed bronze? We were not planning to replace all of the interior doorknobs (50+ year old brass) when the woodwork is painted - in case that impacts your answers. Thanks again for walking me through this....
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For me it depends if I'm going for a solid/monomaterialist look, or if I want the interest (or chaos depending on your preference) of varied different materials. My last kitchen was black appliances with deep ORB (looked black) hardware. My sink and faucet were SS. Lights were a patina brown with parchment glass. I don't know if I consciously tried to match these elements to the other items they were nearest, or if it was coincidence, but now that I think about it - ORB/blackened hardware was probably inspired by the appliances. Ee originally had the house built with cream porcelain, thinking we'd have almond appliances, but chose black at the last minute and forgot to change the hardware... it looked horrible until we changed to the blackened ones. The brown/parchment lights were over 1) the island (Earthen Terra Formica) and 2) the table & windows (table is a deep coffee color, windows were dressed with parchment voile sheers and loden panels, tied back with help straps I made). The faucet was selected because I wanted it the same as the sink. I am building a new house now, and will have ORB or patina(ed) iron hardware. So far my lighting choices (struggling to pick) all have metal that's in the brown family. Sink will either be SS or Silgranit in Biscuit (learning toward this). Appliances will be SS. I will probably do the faucet in brushed SS, but I'm not sure on this one. Haven't thought much about it yet. To me, SS appliances read like a neutral. I just don't see them for very long when I go into a kitchen, unlike white, almond, black or even the metal-finish ones like the Jenn-Air ORB or whoever's blackened steel. So for rules, I'm not sure there are any. Pay attention to these elements in photos, friends' kitchens, etc. and the only rule seems to be "don't do everything the exact same". Must people have a hodge podge of metal & appliance finishes.
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You asked: "I am wondering if I should stick with the brushed nickel cup pulls and knobs? " Who do you have to please? Just yourself? Then don't think about "should". Think about what you love. Do you love the look of your ORB? Then do that. Are you concerned about resale? Are you concerned about a "unified look"? Then you need to take a bit more time to think about it. I had brass knobs in my kitchen, and then we installed SS appliances. I always liked the look of the brass knobs, but my 14-year-old son, who doesn't usually express any decorating opinions, said, "Mom, you really HAVE to get stainless knobs now." Oh. I do? So we bought a couple, just to see how it looked. It looked pretty good. So we switched. Moral of the story... if you can't decide, look at both.
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kelntx
16 years ago
I totally agree with Amy. I say go with what you love. It all comes down to who will be living in the home and that is you! We are using pewter, brushed nickel and oil rubbed bronze on one light fixture just because I loved the light! Everyone keeps telling me not to go with any kind of silver fixtures because of our appliances and that is to much silver but, I like it so I am using it!

I also agree with the whole "in" thing! Go with what you love and it will always be "in" to you!

Good luck on your home!

Kelly
bebetokids
16 years ago
I have totally mixed everything in my new house! It drove my matchy-matchy DH crazy but now that we are in he doesn't even notice and admits that things look nice. It is more important IMO to have things that make you feel than to have a complete set of something. I have all the same finishes as Amy and wouldn't change any.
insanity
16 years ago
Different is good. Whether it is hardware finishes, picture frames, utensils, or living room furniture, there is something slightly creepy about everything perfectly matching.
kateskouros
16 years ago
why do you think you couldn't go with another finish ...such as your antique brass? to me, the stainless of the appliances kind of "goes away" toward the background. look at all the people using ORB. they don't have appliances to match. i'm probably going with polished nickel hardware. i agree choosing finishes is tricky but i think you're probably making it more difficult than it has to be. mix your finishes and enjoy your home!

what finish for hardware throughout house w/ stainless appliances

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amyks

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