Style Spotlight: Mixed-Metal Design Style

Mixing finishes is a trend we love — and we’re not alone. Designers and collections are embracing the style in different forms more than ever before. We can’t wait to show you some new lighting that embraces this trend, along with the best ways to mix finishes in all areas of your home.

Whether your style edges toward contemporary, rustic, or traditional, there is a mixed-metal lighting fixture for every room in your home.

Lighting isn’t the only place for mixing metals. Although traditional design principles dictate that you choose one metal finish for a space and stick with it — a look that called for light fixtures, doorknobs, cabinet hardware, faucets, and even appliances to be in the same finish — today’s designers are breaking the rules by masterfully mixing finishes. Whether you choose to go old school — or new — we’ve got some tips to help you out.

Matching Metal Finishes

Cool Tones

Silvers, like brushed and satin nickel, as well as chrome and stainless steel, are often associated with contemporary design styles, but can be integrated well into many spaces.

Chrome works well with glass, and its mirror-like quality will brighten any space. It works particularly well with a modern design. Nickel’s gray color is neutral, works well with almost any color palette, and its smoky feel will complement traditional as well as vintage looks, such as French country design.

Warm Tones

Gold, bronze, brass, and copper are warm tones. Golds are often associated with traditional decor but as of late, these tones have been used in many styles.

Bronze coordinates well with earth tones, stone, and wood; like in the Tuscan style. Brass works quite well to give your space an edgy vibe, while retaining a vintage look. Gold, in its polished sheen, easily establishes a time-honored look, common in the classical style. A brushed gold can be understated but pull together rooms with a lot of color, such as in a mid-century modern design style.

Neutral Tones

Cast iron, pewter, and other black metals fall under the neutral category. These tones coordinate with just about every metal in many design styles. Cast Iron works well with a rustic look. Try pewter with French Country Design Style. Black, of course, goes with everything!

Mixing Metal Finishes

In some distant past, it was a fashion faux pas to mix metals like silver and gold — even in home decor. Luckily, we now know that mixing metals is a great way to add depth and complexity to a space. However, there is definitely a right way and a wrong way to go about mixing metal finishes...and we are here to help.

Although it can feel intimidating, mixing metals can be easy if you stick to a few simple rules.

Achieve balance

You’ll need to decide on one metal to serve as the dominant finish in your space. Then choose another one (or two) as the accent metal. If your dominant finish is cool, like in a kitchen where you have stainless steel appliances, add warm metal accents. The trick to achieving balance is to make one metal the dominant and use the other type as the accent. Keep in mind that some silvers work better than others for pairing. Nickel has warm undertones and complements brass and gold better than, say, chrome.

Choose metals that complement your color palette

This is not the time to disregard your color palette. Not every metal coordinates well with every color hue. Refer to the above paragraph regarding warm and cool tones, as well as this article on color matching. For spaces with a cool color palette, choose silvers. For a room with warm colors, consider warm metals in the gold family. If you have chosen a neutral color palette, you’ll have a little more freedom with how you choose your metals. After all, black and white go with everything.

Space out your metals

You don’t want to group your metals all in one place in your room. Spread them out vertically as well as horizontally. For example, if you’ve got stainless steel appliances, most of which are low to the ground, place lighting in your accent metal in the space as well.  Some designers suggest separating metals by height: all items at a similar height level are all the same hue. In this case, you would use one metal for lighting fixtures and another for cabinet hardware.  

Experiment with various finishes

As mentioned previously, success with mixing metals is about sticking to one dominant metal and adding one or two accent metals. But this doesn’t mean you can’t experiment with various finishes on those metals. A brushed gold or burnished silver can add diversity to the space, as can different textures like polished or pounded metal.

If you’re uncomfortable with mixing metals but are looking to add a touch of character, consider sticking with one metal finish, but choose a different sheen for another piece in the same space.  

To achieve high style, mixing and matching is a must

Give your home an interior-designer look by mixing metals in a way that shows polish and sophistication. Instead of throwing together a hodge-podge of metals, follow the simple rules above as your guide and you’ll love the finished product. Build Project Specialists are available to help you make the best selections for your space.