Mixed-Metal Fixture Design Throughout Your Home
Mixed-Metal Fixture Design Throughout Your Home
Just a decade ago, matching home hardware was a must for any stylishly designed home. Matching the same finish from the plumbing fixtures was a sign that you knew the basic principles of classy interior design. When installing a new light fixture, you might have to make the choice between the fixture-finish of the house (or at least the downstairs) or updating all the fixtures to match your new light. Fortunately, times have significantly changed our aesthetic view. Mixed metals are now seen a luxurious new metallic palette to decorate with.
If you have a new light fixture to install, you can build an all-new metal fixture palette or choose an aesthetic new way to match the current plumbing and light fixtures in the home.
The Rise of Mixed Metals in Interior Design
Over time, the methods used to make all fixtures the same finish began to wear away. Thin coatings and metallic paints chipped and over time, the people of today's market saw those shiny matching fixtures become shabby. At the same time, several styles like bohemian, contemporary, and even industrial rose to popularity, all featuring stylishly mixed metals in raw pipes and upcycled, found-art furniture.
The love of artistically mixed metals also rose with an appreciation for mixed wood tones and natural stone in home design. Mixed metals align perfectly with the trends for creative green, renewable, upcycled, repurposed, and artistically refinished that came to a spotlight in the 2010s. Decorating with mixed metals embraces using what you find artistically and efficiently, and lends a more naturalistic atmosphere for social gatherings.
The Top Light Fixture Finish Colors and Mixed-Metal Palettes of 2021
This year, fixture trends have favored matte and other textured metal finishes. Instead of the typical mirror shine, an antiqued or timeless look is preferred. Gold, bronze, and copper finishes are more likely to be buffed and reflect a diffuse light instead of polished to a gleam. Silver fixtures range from the usual chrome-shine, often in white or black kitchens, to antiqued and faux-tarnished silver fixture designs.
Dark bronze and black are the leading colors for fixtures today, but these form only one bold element of your mixed metals palette. Right now, the popular palettes include the warm gold to copper range, the black to silver range, a regal-and-retro trend, or a boho-industrial twist on bold contrasting finishes.
Designing a Palette of Mixed Metals for Home Fixtures
The key to mixing your metals in a stylish way is to build an intentional palette. Decide on your dominant fixture color. This will be the finish you default to and match the others to. Pick one or two accent finishes and consider up to four minor accents that might look good as decorations in the room.
Build a palette the same way you would build a paint palette for painting each wall and room in the home. The finishes should compliment each other. Keep the palette elements in mind even if you change decoration styles from room to room.
Matte Black Palettes
Matte black is a great metal finish to use as your palette base because it looks good in several hue ranges. Warm red to gold finishes ranging to blue-silver and charcoal finishes from room to room. Right now, black matte finish is very popular for fixtures and is considered elegantly neutral for selling or renting a home to new residents.
The Warm Copper Range
One of the biggest changes is a re-embrace of the warm copper to bronze range of finishes. Textured, these finishes appear to glow. Bronze looks beautiful from glowing caramel to almost-black while copper takes the range into glowing reds and oranges. Gold from wheat yellow to soft white-gold may be mixed into this range to add a bright modern or futuristic feel to the slightly rustic bronzed design.
Industrial Gray
Industrial design appreciates a wide range of gray-palette appreciating the utilitarian iron and steel age of construction. This range starts with a matte gray finish that looks excellent with stone tile and brickwork in a more raw-feeling design. The palette tends to range more heavily toward mixed-hue grays and cast-iron black with light accents of polished chrome.
Bohemian High-Contrast
The contrast is the style born in the high-rise young artists of historic cities. Bohemian mixed metals also favor exposed brick and pipes, but celebrate the aesthetic contrast between mixed metals. Having copper next to rust-red next to industrial gray metals look great next to furniture and artwork build from found materials of all finishes as well. Build your palette based on finishes that look good in contrast but celebrate the natural colors or urban metalworking.
Regal and Retro Gold to Silver
At the same time, there is a strong retro trend selecting both cute pastel bubble-appliances and matching polished, even regal, metal finishes. Polished and burnished bright finishes mainly in the gold and silver ranges adorn both pastel or dramatically dark-painted retro stoves and fridges and their matching retro cabinetry.
How to Choose Light Fixtures as Part of a Mixed-Metal Design
Installing a new light fixture is the perfect opportunity to update your home's overall fixture plan with a few minor updates. What finish would look best with your current light fixture? What about the fixtures in other nearby rooms and nearby hardware? Let this inspire your idea of a stylishly updated mixed-metal design for your home. Try out darker finishes for light fixtures for elegance and contrast or lighter finishes to focus on illumination.
From there, inventory all the nearby hardware including wall plates, drawer and cabinet pulls, door handles and hinges, and plumbing faucets and taps. These are your canvas and many are easy to replace to quickly recreate your home with a beautiful new mixed metal fixture palette. This is also a great time to repaint your walls to better reflect your chosen color scheme. Warmer hues and slightly dustier neutrals are coming into fashion and can build a symbiotic accent with your fixture palette.
Are you planning to update your home's light fixtures and metal finish design? Contact us today to explore a wide range of modern fixture designs or consult with a lighting specialist on your fixture plans.
