Mixing Metal Finishes In The Kitchen & Bathroom

Designers seem to be pretty divided on the subject of mixing and matching hardware and appliance finishes in the kitchen and bath. However in recent years I've definitely noticed a trend towards the former, as style preferences in general have tended to favor a more relaxed and eclectic aesthetic and "matchy matchy" has become synonymous with bad taste. What's your take?

• Brooke Giannetti's (of the inspiring Velvet & Linen blog) lovely bathroom makeover. Brooke did a great post on mixing metals with regards to her bathroom. She says that she used to be in the matching camp, but was inspired to change her tune as she studied a beautiful bathroom of John Saladino's. Check out more of her gorgeous bath redo here.
• Anne Turner Carroll's fabulous kitchen redo. Anne Turner pulled off a major mix: stainless appliances, brass cabinet pulls, and cooper accents. Oh yeah, and oil-rubbed bronze faucets and light fixtures!
• My modest kitchen makeover. I took the in between route, choosing to incorporate two finishes: nickel and oil rubbed bronze, both of which coordinated with our major and mini appliances, some of which are black and some of which are stainless steel.

So are you convinced? Or do you think we should stick to the safe route our matching finishes?

(Images: 1: Brooke Giannetti of Velvet & Linen, 2: Cottage Living, 3: Leah Moss)

Comments (8)

I thought the first photo was of an entranceway and the faucet confused me. I had to read the text to realize it was a bathroom.

posted by mei-ling on March 13th 2010 at 2:01pm
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Hah I reconise Brooke's bathroom here.... !

posted by vosgesparis on March 13th 2010 at 2:13pm
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I love what Brooke did with her bathroom, such a beautiful space. And mixing metals is perfectly okay, glad it's catching on...matchy matchy is OUT!

posted by douglascdavis on March 13th 2010 at 3:30pm
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It's important to keep scale and ultimate usage in mind when designing functional spaces---the gilt mirror would look, feel, and work so much better if it were larger. I think that is why @mei-ling was confused by the space. A too small mirror that cuts off your head can cause feng shui problems, too.That being said, I love mixing it up and eclecticism vs. matchiness. :)

posted by FengShuiByFishgirl on March 13th 2010 at 10:29pm
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The mix of metals in the first picture works because they all have a patina of age. But the stainless steel and copper mix in the second picture is not working at all.

posted by paintitbright on March 13th 2010 at 11:51pm
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Mix up the metals! The same goes for woods.

posted by ldcinlb on March 14th 2010 at 2:37pm
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Backsplashes should never be plain sheetrock. It will rot. It needs to be tiled.

posted by medusa12120 on March 14th 2010 at 5:34pm
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Mixing metals has definitely been on the rise, great post and observations. Speaking of the kitchen, it needs to be done with care and attention to the style of each piece, especially if the theme is eclectic; then, it really gets tricky. Also, the size/proportion of the metals play a part...stainless appliances vs cabinet hardware vs lighting vs faucets/sinks. Looking at the role each metal element plays in terms of scale/frequency in the space, needs to be understood within the big picture.

posted by SusanSerraCKD on March 15th 2010 at 4:41am
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