Except for the faucets and cabinet knobs, maybe antique them?

More importantly -- are you still into brass? If you still like or prefer it, there's no need to change. They do still sell the brass and who knows ... maybe they'll start feeding it back to us this next time around :)

I am sooo craving blue, and have never used it for a room.

IMO, there is brass and then there is brass. My house was built in the 80s and it was cheap, yellow, 80's brass. I have a hard time believing that it was nice looking back then. But I think some brass looks very nice.

If you like it, who cares. If you are planning on selling then you might want to get some feedback at that time.

Very true, Kelly :) Good point to think about!

If you're not selling the house and you like the brass, keep it, and who gives a fart in a high wind what anyone else thinks about it! Other people's "brassphobia" is not your problem, and if you go chasing what's "in style" and fretting about what's "out of style" you're just going to be freaking out in another ten years because the advertising people (whose entire job is to make you hate what you have and Buy! More! Stuff!) are telling you that what you have is horrible and must be replaced. If you are selling, go round to open houses and see what's common in your area and your price point - brass might still be the norm, it is in some areas.

Another consideration is whether the pieces are builder-basic in style. You know the ones -- that everyone was given. Those might feel good to update, style-wise.

we built the house so I picked out everything little thing (I only wish I knew about this forum 10 years ago). I'm in the midst of changing the kitchen out (hoping to get some help on that in the kitchen forum). and I can see how I could manage changing the mbr as well, but I have lots of expensive frames, lamps and a foyer chandelier that are definitely not builder grade. It's not that I don't like it so much (except for maybe the shiny brass kitchen faucet)as I guess I worry about it looking disjointed by doing the kitchen and bathroom in different finishes. I've decorated in my own eclectic style, which does have lots of blues and gold by the way squirrelhaven! With all my gold walls throughout the house does that dictate gold hardware?

My house is 6 yrs old, and I have brass hinges, brass and glass doorknobs, brass hardware on the Andersen french doors. It is staying, I like it. I have nickel in the kitchen, knobs, chandys, faucet.
Keep what you like, as Johnmari said. They change to make us buy. Classic is classic!
As for selling, the new owners can change what they want.

Our house which was built in the 80's had brass everywhere. I hate it now, but can't afford to replace it all at once, so I'm doing it a little at a time. We just redid our kid's bathroom and I replaced the knobs and hinges on the cabinet doors with satin nickel. The hinges and doorknob on the door that goes into the bathroom still has brass. One day I'll get around to replacing that. By the time I get everything replaced, satin nickel will probably be out of style :)

Laurie

Brass will come back... It was never really "out" in my opinion -- just overshadowed by other trendy options.

Just like jewelry... which wanes every few years or so between gold and silver (or some other white metal)... Like someone else here said, they create trends to keep us consuming. Otherwise, we'd all sit happily in our old rooms and drool. LOL!

I actually had someone ask me if gold jewelry was back in style. I never thought my wedding ring was out of style because it was gold. How could gold jewelry go out of style?

Ahem -- as a person with the bright-shiny builders brass all over my small 80s house -- and no money to change it -- well -- I guess that it will have to be my chosen style .....

Sigh ...... even if I had the money to change it all -- I don't know which metal finish I would pick ..... really!

I'm of the school of thought that quality brass is not ever out of style, and in the right home, looks fabulous! It is the cheezy builder's grade we are all talking about -- not brass, but brass plate stuff. I love the brass at RH. I just can't afford it, LOL

My home was built 5 yrs ago (I didn't build it) and it's a mixture of brass, chrome and brushed nickel/SS. All the knobs are a mix of dark bronzes so I think that's what makes a difference in everything not looking 'brassy'.
Fortunately, the builder used the good stuff and I'm not about to change anything!

As an example of how seldom things are really noticed within a home, DS/DIL recently remodeled their home and are into the ORB bronze look for everything. They commented one day that it seems no one has brass anymore. They were a little shocked when I reminded them my home was nearly all brass! They really thought I had ORB or SS thruout! :)

Those of us who are old enough to experience the transition from the 70s to the 80s will remember that everything was black, wrought iron back then. Then the designers told us how brass would bring sparkle and a punch of warmth to our cabinets and doors, so everybody did it. The fact is, that brass IS warmer than the silver metals and DOES bring a punch of warmth. I used quality brass in my new house 8 years ago and never looked back. It's my little rebellion. But my house is traditional where brass fits so well; if I had today's more funky styles I would probably use silver tones. I do find it a little bemusing how there is such a mass conversion to hardware in the current styles, whatever the decade. Why is that? It seems like there is a greater emotional response to hardware color that just about anything.

And I love those French Gold bathroom fixtures -- like a light brass. Very pretty.

This sort of thing is such a matter of personal preference. If you like the original brass you picked out, then it would be silly to replace it all. If there are some brass items you no longer like, however, then maybe it would make sense to replace only those. I would think the specific context would be more important than what's generally 'in' or 'out'--perhaps since 1996 you've acquired other things in a given room that might call for refreshing the hardware or other metal objects. If so, and it no longer works, change those.

I'm of the opinion that you should do what you like, however, if you're going to sell your home and the original brass plated "shiny yellow" type fixtures are there, you might think about changing them. That being said, the house we just sold had Baldwin solid brass door knobs and hinges that we installed when we were updating the whole house. I had brushed chrome fixtures in the bathroom. Our realtor told us that many people recognize the quality in door knobs and other similar items and figure that if you use quality there, you don't skimp on other things, either. That holds true for us.

In building our new home, I used the same Baldwin fixtures with a backplate and lever handle in solid brass. The store where I bought them said they still outsell nickel fixtures almost 2 to 1. According to those statistics, I'd say decent brass fixtures will never be out of style.

You aren't obliged to have the same metal finishes all through your house unless that is what you want. Of course it is a good idea to avoid major clashes in finish and style, but if you are careful a room can have two or three different finishes in it and no-one will care. For instance, I've got a dull brass firescreen, a lamp with a darkly patinated copper pole and some galvanised steel canisters in my living room. It all looks OK together.

If you've got a problem with your brass appearing too brassy, then you aren't obliged to replace the whole lot. I've never seen anyone other than an idiot complain about brass hinges on a door that has an ORB knob... particularly if the lacquer finish is stripped from the brass to allow it to dull in the air. Likewise I've never seen anyone I'd pay attention to complain if all the knobs on the kitchen cupboards are stainless steel, but the doors to all the rooms in the house are brass.

I wasn't aware it had ever gone out of style. ;) To me, it will always be de riguer. It is, afterall, the accessory color for the marvelous pieces of antique furniture.

Oh, brass has always and will always be in. It's like mahogany tables, hardwood floors, cherry beds, diamond rings, gold wedding bands and marble dressertops. It's always been and always will be in style for the discerning.

Well all I know is all you see in fashion now is gold where as a few years ago it was sterling silver and white gold. Maybe this will follow suit in our homes?

I guess I worry about it looking disjointed by doing the kitchen and bathroom in different finishes

It is not at all unusual to have chrome/nickel in the kitchen and bath when the rest of the house has something else.

But of course, I would leave it all the way it was when the house was built. :)

I've just spent the last 2 years changing out ALL the ugly builder's brass light fixtures in our 10 year old house & couldn't be happier to be getting rid of them. Now, mind you...I agree that brass is classic & will always be around, but my fixtures are the "typical" builders fixtures, not expensive or particularly stylish. I'm updating to bronze & iron for the most part. I will not change out the brass doorknobs though. Those don't bother me at all. We also have chrome/brass faucet fixtures through the whole house & I doubt those will be changed out anytime soon (if ever). I did change out all the bath & kitchen knobs to black & bronze. So, I'm of the mindset that it's OK to mix it all up too. I love the new fixtures I've put up, they are so much more interesting than the old standard cheapie ones and add a lot to our home for not that much $$ either.

I also say go with what you love. I happen to love bronze & iron more and it mixes in with my style of decorating. I also use a lot of antique gold accessories, so it all works together.