Bring Home the Gold, Silver or Bronze: Metallics at Home

Michael Phelp's is fast closing in on Mark Spitz's 36 year old record of seven Olympic gold medals and Nastia Liukin and Shawn John have won gold and silver medals in the individual all-around. But, if even if you're not an Olympic class swimmer or gymnast , you can bring home a little gold, silver or bronze to decorate your own home without ever lifting a muscle. Here's how to do it without "going Liberace"...

Bling it down: Like the precious metals they are, use metallics with a light hand and a sense of humour. They're best as accent pieces, whether in a lamp, a small table or a box.
Warm or cool?: Keep your metals within the same family. Gold and bronze, with their yellow, red and orange tones are warm; silver is usually cool and blue, as are pewter and platinum, stainless and chrome.
Hardware: Chances are, metallic accents have already found a place in your home. Curtain rods, door handles, recessed lighting and hinges are all items that are probably metal. If it's within your control, try to keep these within the same colour family, warm or cool.
Accents: with the prevalence of metallics on everything from chairs to pillows, it's a good time to experiment. Try a silver accent pillow on your all white bed, aluminum chairs around your wooden table or silver tiles behind your bathtub. One of our favorite looks, mixing a chrome and glass coffee table with an antique sofa, instantly brings both pieces into sharp focus.
On the walls: Even if you're unsure about painting an entire room bright gold or silver, muted metallics on an accent wall can create an instant focal point -- behind a bed, to set off a work space, to highlight a stunning view. Our favorite way to use metallics on the wall? Try paints with pearlescent or metallic effects. White with a silvery or gold sheen can literally make a room sparkle. Wallpaper with metallic effects can turn a drab room into a jewel box.

Related Metallic Posts

[image via whorange's Flickr]

Comments (18)

i love the bowl of cheese doodles on the table!

I'm confused about what is "bling bling" about that picture above? That paint is horrible....and what's with the cheetos, pretzels and the glass of tea? Don't even get me started on the tacky plant contraption hanging on the wall. Is this someone's version of the "good life" on a poor man's budget?

I think the staghorn fern is hilarious, and the perfect retort to the ubiquitous antlers-on-every-wall trend.

I have to agree with Little Rock that the paint is horrible. It reminds me of the walk-in freezer at a bakery I worked in during college.

That picture must be the example of "going Liberace" on a spray can budget.

Fix the typos all over this post! ; )

Pearlescent color? Judas....if those walls could talk they'd be screaming 4 letter curse words at whoever threw up that paint job on them. I still can't figure out how that picture equates into "bling."

Metallic paints and textured walls (as in the photo above) don't work together.

I always have to give points for effort, but I agree this is a little off the mark for my taste.

I think that the wall paint treatment could look rich if it were in a different setting. IE - maybe a small, single wall of a dining room, with a sleek sideboard on it, in a nice rich woodgrain, espresso or black lacquer, and a really large, gorgeous mirror, or dramatic piece of artwork hung overtop of the sideboard. This way the wall would "set off" the glamour of the other pieces of furniture, rather than left to speak for itself, which alone, seems a bit garish or cheap.

With the campy - and fun - 70s table and snack set up it just looks odd.

The plant is a great gesture, I agree, those antlers making a comeback offends me in every way, so I love the humour, but it doesn't lend itself to a good looking overall aesthetic, in my opinion.

What I do like are the bowls, where are they from??

I think even Liberace would cringe at those walls.

Isn't it Shawn Johnson?

I nominate this room for WORST ROOM EVER. make it go away

Jiminy Christmas, it's not THAT bad. Such delicate sensibilities!

Well, I guess on sunny days you could work on your tan in the kitchen, lol

Love the bowls, though.

Hate the walls, love the bowls...nuff said.

i think it's great. cute! ...and i didn't even grow up in a trailer. does everything have to look like HGTV to get good ratings?? c'mon!

I'm like way late on posting but, I really dig the walls I am not sure how I feel about it being on all the walls but I think this might look awesome on a ceiling for sure! I really like how the texture looks with the metallic to it... it's pretty =)