apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I have an art deco, mid century, traditional mix. I mix chrome and brass, gold leaf and silver leaf etc. My basic colors are black and white/cream so it depends on what other colors are in the scheme. I really love those chairs!!!!

Mix it up - Your woods don't need to match, so why should your metals?

Not a fan of crazy metal mixing, but that's a personal choice. If it feels good to you, do it.

I think it would really tie them together if you used a pillow or something on the Platner that had a metallic motif in the same color as the brass lamp, or picked up on the stone you plan on using. But really, I think they're bitchin' and bold and only people who shop at Pottery Barn or buy their bedrooms in "sets" will point it out as "clashing."

I don't think "tying it in" is a good idea. It will look matchy matchy, like you are trying too hard. I don't mind mixed metals or mixed woods.Then again, I prefer the acquired look rather than the uber tailored look.

Thanks for all the advice, its very thought-provoking. I do think it comes down to one's personal style, and mine is the opposite of matchy-matchy. I hate those living rooms that start with a green, pink, yellow and white print and then everything else in the room has to be some combo of those colors or "from" those colors. I have a wall covered in orange satin, a chipped red bookcase found under the Williamsburg bridge 10 years ago, a Heywood-Wakefield dining set upholstered in dark turquoise linen. . .and somehow it all works together even though it sounds like a mess. So I'll probably mix the two and hope for the best! One of these days it might actually be ready to submit to AT for a House Tour!

Thanks again for the input!! Now I just need the money to make it all happen. . .

First off, I love all things Platner, so congrats.

And I LOVE that C&B lamp, so congrats times two.

I say mix away, especially with the mineral addition (no doubt a white/ivory/warm white mix) that will make sense of your mixed metals.

The other thing that makes it work is that Nicekl is a fairly "warm" silver, and the brass on the lamp is a fairly "cool" gold (as silvers and golds go) so I think the marriage of the two is already well into the courtship phase!

I do disagree with whitespike, though... I think you should at least make a nod to the warm/cool metal menage somewhere else in the room, but it need not even be with other metals... could be a dove gray pillow on a warm ivory sofa... or silver drapery rings atop mustard wool flannel drapes.

I think that when you have the items in the room, you will know if this idea will help or not. If the colors of metal seem out of whack with each other, add a couple of additional accessories in each metal -- maybe drawer hardware or a small knick-knack or something. If there are three instances of a color in the room, it usually looks deliberate and coordinated.

(I have brushed nickel hardware throughout my house, and brass hardware on my bedroom furniture. So now I have a gold leafed mirror frame and some brass and nickel picture frames in the room, and the two metals work out fine.)