Spotlight On: Mixing Metal Finishes in Home Decorating
Picture it: silver and gold(s) . . . intermingling in one room? If you’re asking “can I mix metals in my home?”, the answer is yes! In fact, mixing metals in decor is currently more on-trend than matchy-matchy one-noted metals throughout a room.
When metals look exactly the same in a space, it can at times appear outdated and too serious. Mixing metals in home decorating is not only visually eclectic and modern, but also adds depth and dimension to a room.
So if you’re thinking of mixing metal finishes in home decorating (as you should), do not fear—you’ll be golden after our 4 how-to tips and tricks. We’ll begin first with a metal finish crash course on warm vs. cool tones.
Why Knowing What’s Warm, Cool, and Neutral is Key to Mixing Metal Finishes in Home Decorating
Think of mixing metal finishes in home decorating like a thermostat. Metal finish tones can either visually warm up or cool down a space. Warm colors in a room are like an inviting fire—stimulating an energizing feel ideal for social gatherings in a bustling kitchen or living room. On the opposite end, cool-tone colors add a serene, floating-on-clouds feeling that is perfect for spaces like a bedroom or bathroom. You can dial the temperature up or down in a space with your own desired ratio of warm- and cool-colored paint or pops of decor—which can include mesmerizing metal accents.
When deciding on a dominant metal, take a look around the room at your existing color scheme, textures, and what metal finishes/accents are already there. If your room is more prominent in greens, blues, purples, and grays/silvers, adding a warm-tone metal will add a cozy-luxe touch. If your room features more toasty tones and metals in the gold family, consider adding a cool-tone metal to take the warmth down a notch with a crisp and contemporary finish.
Warm metal finishes include those with gold, brass, bronze, or copper tones. Within the Reggio Registers collection, warm finishes for both aluminum or steel registers include Oil-Rubbed Bronze, Sun Gold, and Champagne Bronze.
Cool metal finishes, on the contrary, are those that feature gray undertones like silver, stainless steel, nickel, or chrome. In the Reggio Registers collection, cool finish registers include Gray, Silver, and Satin Nickel.
Neutral finishes in the Reggio Registers collection include Black and White—both classic hues that make a world of difference when mixed with other pops of color on the spectrum, providing either depth or light.
Metal Mashup Tip #1: Warm + Cool
Yes, silver and gold can coexist in a magnetic fashion, without clashing. To achieve this, pick a dominant metal star (either a warm or cool finish) as the focal point, a shining star of a room. Then, pick an accent metal in the opposite tone that you can sprinkle throughout. The blend of a warm metal with a cool metal will balance both finishes, and give a contemporary two-tone spin on an antique material.
In the image above, dazzling gold and brass metals are frontrunners, while dashes of silver metal accents in the picture frame—and decor pieces like pillows, a throw, and a marble-effect feature wall—add an urban-cool air to the space. Anything but your great-grandmother’s antiques, mixing metals in home decorating lends an eye to the future, with a nod to the past.
Metal Mashup #2: Warm Up
While mixing a silver-inspired metal with a gold one is a show-stopping duo, homeowners can also choose to mix metals that are different yet share a warm undertone. If your kitchen has a warm-toned color scheme (i.e. oak cabinetry and beiges/taupes/browns throughout), you can choose to embrace the cozy feel—and up the couture factor—with flashes of gold, bronze, or brass metal decor.
The key to mixing warm-toned metals: be sure to have a dominant warm-tone metal be the “star” of the show (room), then choose one secondary warm accent metal to spice up the notes throughout.
A shining example of this would be letting existing dark oil-brushed bronze cabinet handles and oven hood in the kitchen reign as the #1 metal, and then adding an eye-catching brass chandelier light on the ceiling, or a Sun Gold metal register on the floor. The blend together feels vintage-luxe, with a flash of mid-century modern flair!
Metal Mashup #3: Keep Cool
While some homeowners gravitate towards the all-warm approach to mixing metal finishes in home decorating, some may find cool-tone metal finishes more refreshing.
A blend of two different cool metal tones provides a visual effect that is sleek and modern . . . with an edge. However, make sure the two silver finishes are different enough to look intentionally different (and not like a mistake).
Picture a cool-toned bathroom with sage green painted walls and fluffy pampas grass accents in silver vases. The space exudes zen sophistication with a high-shine reflective chrome wall-mounted sink, mixed with a brushed nickel 3-light bell pendant fixture above, and a Satin Nickel register on an adjacent wall. Both featured metals in this bathroom would be in the cool-tone family, yet the juxtaposition between the mirror-like chrome and almost buttery-yellow warm tones in the nickel create a contemporary-meets-retro glamor no matchy-fixture bathroom can emulate.
Metal Mashup #4: Mixed Metal Trio
Saving the best for last, mixing warm, cool and neutral metals lends one-of-a-kind shine and personality to a room. Think of a trio of metal finishes as a harmonious concert stage, each piece a vital part of a performance that adds depth, range, and pizazz to the look and energetic feeling of a space in its entirety.
One way to approach a medley of three metal finishes is to view the primary metal like a main star singer, the main eye-catching pieces in a room. In the image example above, this would include the key silver metal fixtures like the faucets on sink and tub, the framed picture as a main decor piece, and the striking Reggio Registers Imperial vent cover above that.
The secondary metal in the mix is like a band member that is not the superstar singer, but is still front and center to the scene. In this bathroom example, this would include the warm-toned antique brass on the drawer pulls and Edison lamp fixture above.
Last but not least, the tertiary metal finish would be neither warm nor cool, but a neutral . . . in this case, black. Like vital but behind-the-action backup singers, these black metal finish touches—seen in the round mirror frame, shower door handle, and hinge hardware—anchor the range of the main warm and cool metal shades, as well as create an illusion that the bathroom is vaster than meets the eye.
Another great example of mixing three metal finishes in home decorating? This industrial-mod lounge above. Aside from the perfectly-executed mix of temperatures in the exposed brick wall, wood floor and pewter couch, look carefully at all the metal finishes at play—from the high notes of the warm-toned Oil-Rubbed Bronze wall register and cool-toned silver pendant lighting fixture down to the low notes of a silver coffee table frame with a gold-framed terrarium glass house and champagne bronze vase on top.
All together, mixing metal finishes in home decorating is like tweaking all all the different notes and key players in the spotlight to create the perfect harmony—each piece is different yet equally as important to the show’s success.
Mixing metal finishes is equal parts fun and refined. No matter your style, if you’re asking “can I mix metals in my home?”, you know you can be confident mixing metals by adjusting the frequency and finish tune of each. And don’t forget how impactful an attractive metal register cover can be to a space, too–try one in a contrasting mixed metal that is different from your appliances, fixtures, or metal decor pieces.
Yes, mixing metal finishes in home decorating is a brilliant work (and play) of art. What metal mashups—and metal registers—will you fuse together in your next design?
