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Thoughts on mixing metal finishes

11 years ago

HI

I am in a dilemma regarding mixing different metal finishes in the kitchen. In process of remodeling kitchen. Let me describe the new look:
1) cabinets will be all a dark espresso color (Cherry Wood) in a shaker style
2) Counter is a cream colored Granite with specs of brown called Colonial Cream
3) getting a 2 and quarter mietered edge on the granite
4) Appliances are all stainless steel- Stainless steel apron sink, thermador gas range and the rest of appliances GE Profile
The dilemma I have is that while Brushed satin faucet and pot filler are the logical and obvious choices- I really like the look of the oil rubbed bronze and I think it will really pop against the list cream colored counters. And I am eager for a change and embrace OR Broze. So here are my questions:
1) Should I go for OR Bronze for kitchen faucet and pot filler?
2) what about cabinet hardware? I realize OR Bronze will blend with the dark cabinets. So would it be ok to do brushed nickle on cabinets?
3) I am having a hard time getting a good kitchen faucet in OR Bronze. Would it be ok to have pot filler which is OR Bronze and Faucet which is brushed nickle?

Thanks for any advise or pictures

Featured Answer

Holly- Kay

11 years ago

I think we all tend to over think our choices. As much as we may want everything to match, the reality is, chances are nil to none that hardware, lighting, faucets etc can possibly match. ORB from one manufacturer will be totally different from another. Some ORB looks chocolate brown, others look more black, and some are brown with bronzey highlights. Take my word for it, I have viewed hardware for weeks! One nickel finish can differ from another, and honestly your kitchen will have more character if you have a mix. With that being said I have agonized for weeks over not being able to find hardward in a finish that I like. Every time I find hardware that I like I don't like the available finishes and when there is a coppery bronze available I don't like the hardware.

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Comments (7)

meek95
11 years ago
I had always wanted ORB for bath fixtures until I stayed in a vacation home. It had a bathroom faucet in ORB which had awful white calcium deposits on it (the house isn't that old either).
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" I went with a warmer finish like antique brass, will I have to carry that over to my knobs & pulls? I really am not wanting to do that. It seems they'll be "off" next to the stainless appliances." See! You've put the time and thought into already. You already know what's going to work. I haven't seen your space or finishes, but I think, from the description, that you're absolutely right that you need something warm to go with the granite, and, you say, the adjacent areas. The pendants are their own space unless you have something pushing into it. Over an island, they're visually part of a wall that the island defines. If that were an actual wall, would you hesitate to use a warm color on it? In terms of not matching, I think we can ignore the chrome faucet. Chrome faucets are still standard, as in every builder and apartment, etc., so it's ignorable. To go with the all the stainless, brushed nickel cabinet hardware would be your ticket. What you don't want to do, with the antique brass pendants, is have a whole other vocabulary of metals. One shiny, ignorable faucet, to be the thing that doesn't match (without something that doesn't match, the space would be boring), and the rest fitting in with the sink and appliances. That will work fine. Picking up the shiny of the chrome isn't a great idea, though, unless the large amounts of stainless are going to be polished. If you're planning that, good luck to you, but I'm glad I won't be there to watch you trying to maintain it. :) That said, the brass will be dull, and the appliances and sink will be dull, so adding in dots of shiny all over, rather than the one shiny faucet which is an accent piece, would be too distracting. An alternative to the brass, if you really don't think the mixed metals will do it for you, is to go with color. I think the antique brass goes better with the picture in my head from your description, but a complex color, like burgundy, could be beautiful, either in enamel or glass.
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Suzi AKA DesertDance So CA Zone 9b
11 years ago
My choices are much like yours, only reversed. The counter is dark, floor and ceiling white, cabinets honey, appliances stainless, and I have chosen the oiled bronze for the door pulls and nobs. The faucet will be stainless for no reason other than I like it. I thought the oiled bronze will pick up the chocolate in the counters, and the stainless will pick up the decoration in the backsplash strip.

This post was edited by desertdance on Thu, Apr 25, 13 at 10:17
Debbi Branka
11 years ago
I don't like mixing metals. I don't really consider the appliance a metal, even though they're SS - but I don't have SS appliances. My BIL just built a new kitchen. Cream with espresso rub cabs, brown and cream granite, SS appliances and ORB faucets, hardware and lighting. It looks pretty and all goes together. BUT, their cabinets are light. I understand your dilemma with dark cabs. Can you hold ORB against the cabs and see how it looks? The brushed nickel IMHO seems more like it goes with the grays and blues and cooler colors. In any event, since you asked our opinion, I would never get a different color faucet and pot filler. I think those should definitely match.
julie94062
11 years ago
We have SS appliances, sink, faucet, dark cherry cabs, Typhoon Bordeaux granite, ORB pulls on the cabinets. I think the ORB works fine, because the pulls don't have the "coppery" first layer showing through.The pulls are RH and have more of a dark steel colored base (not the actual material, but the color).

But for the family room wet bar (5 ft from the kitchen), I went with ORB faucet and dark (brown) copper sink so that it wouldn't look so kitchen-y.
julie94062
11 years ago
Hi again, posted that without quite finishing. Sorry!

As far as the ORB faucet, my first reaction is that it should match the sink (stainless apron), but upon further reflection, I think it could work as long as the styles go together.

It might be interesting to start a new thread about just the stainless sink and ORB faucet to see if anyone has done it and has photos. I did a quick search but couldn't find any. Is your apron sink contemporary or farmhouse style?
Holly- Kay
11 years ago
My watersone faucet is in the American Bronze finish which has an antique copper type look to it. I really would like my knobs and pulls to be a bit on the coppper side. I am not sure that the copper knob would look good with the wheaten finish on the cabs. I so wish I could see all of them IRL so I can make a good decision. I really didn't like the thought of stainless appliances because I didn't want to use a cool finish knob on my cabs but decided stainless was a neutral.

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