Specialty hardware is an awesome way to elevate your design – after all, luxury really is in the details. It’s not as simple as just choosing the right faucets and fixtures, you have to pair the finish to your overall design. With any kind of specialty finish it needs to be carried through the space consistently. You also need to pay attention to specific tones, colors, and finishes. Sometimes the best way to do that is to buy all your hardware from a single manufacturer. When that’s not an option, you’ll have to do a little extra design work to make sure everything matches well.

• Gold Standard Is Not Standard

Gold finishes look very chic. They look great with dark tones like navy or black, but also capture the coquette couture aesthetic when paired with a ballet pink or peach. Choosing the right gold can be tricky and the spectrum is broad. Gold finishes vary from warm, burnished tones to cool, brushed ones. As a rule, warm gold tones look great with opulent and traditional styles while cool gold lends itself more to minimalist and contemporary designs. 

• Shiny, Sleek Chrome

We tend to think of all chrome as being the same shiny silver finish. There are actually some distinctions that separate chrome finishes from each other. Polished chrome, for instance, is the high shine, mirror-like finish that comes to mind first. Satin chrome is still shiny, but more subdued and less likely to collect fingerprints and more likely to look contemporary. Both options look good in just about any space as long as all the metal finishes are the same.

• Brushed, Matte, or Antiqued

All three of these finishes come in a variety of colors as well. Brushed brass has a warm, vintage look while brushed stainless steel compliments an industrial aesthetic. Some matte finishes actually have a soft sheen, so you’ll have to look closely to make sure your hardware all matches. Matte black has a very sleek and modern look, but keep in mind that it will show mineral deposits well. Antiqued finishes are also called patina. They have intentional imperfections and are designed to continue to tarnish and wear with use. It’s a unique look and there will be some variation in appearance over time as touch is what alters it.

The finishes and other finishing touches are what pulls a design together. Creating a theme that runs throughout your home is a subtle, nuanced way to take a great design and elevate it to a signature statement. At Debowsky Design Group we’re here to help you do just that. Our goal is to make your house into a home you love to live in. Let’s talk about getting your renovation started.