You might be renovating your kitchen and asking yourself if you should match all of your fixtures and hardware or if you can mix different metal finishes. The idea of mixing different metals might be too adventurous for some, however, when done correctly different toned metals can elevate the design of any room.
At Ironmongery Experts, we supply a large selection of different toned metal ironmongery, hardware and fixtures, including door handles, cabinet knobs and lighting fixtures which you can mix and match. These come in a wide range of finishes, such as chrome, nickel, brass, copper, beeswax and pewter.
If you’ve ever been told that you can’t mix gold and silver together, maybe it’s time to re-think and to create new design rules. Mixing metals is a great way to show off your style and personality when designing a room, so why not give a go? If you are not sure how to start, we’ve put together a few tips on how to mix hardware finishes.
- Dominant metal.
It’s important to choose a dominant metal tone and then add one of two other metal tones as accent pieces to give the whole room a more balanced look. Also, we would advise not to choose more than three metal tones to start with as too many metals can create visual clutter.
- Balance undertones.
Different types of metals will have different undertones, which can either be warm, cool or neutral. For instance, brass, rose gold and copper are warm metals, whilst aluminium, pewter and stainless steel are cool metals. Neutral metals are ideal to combine with either warm or cool metals and these include iron and black metals.
- Warm tones
- Cool tones
- Neutral tones
Two similar tones, such as bronze and copper, can be mixed together perfectly, giving a room a subtle yet noticeable contrast. However, two identical metals (e.g. polished chrome and satin chrome) shouldn’t be mixed together as it might seem that you didn’t notice the difference between them.
- Texture and sheen.
Adding different textures and finishes in a room will make it more interesting. Combine matte metals, hammered metals, brushed metals and more. Just remember not to combine metals within the same colour family.
- Separate by height.
If this is your first-time mixing metals, it’s easier to do so by separating them by height. For example, choose the same metals for your cabinet furniture, other metals for your faucets and different metals for your lighting fixtures. Chrome cupboard handles with pewter faucets and iron lighting fixtures will create a perfectly balanced design.
- Colour palette.
It will be easier to choose metals which will work with the rest of the room décor. Metals should co-exist with your already own items. For instance, copper and iron and a great combination for a farmhouse while rose gold and silver will probably fit a more modern home.
Additionally, if your room already has some warm colours, such as yellows and reds stick to warm-toned metals and the same applies to cool coloured rooms.
Of course, mixing hardware finishes will come down to personal preference and you can choose to try something new and different. Nevertheless, we hope that these tips have been helpful in combining different toned metals. If you have any questions regarding our ironmongery products, feel free to contact our team at info@ironmongeryexperts.co.uk or on 01376 557 561.
