Hi there (again)!
We are PorchLight Home Staging popping on to welcome you back to our blog. The way this blog thing works is that on the first Friday of every month, we will celebrate the much needed weekend by releasing our monthly blog. In these short but sweet articles, we will mesh the world of home staging (our forte) with current events and fashion trends. This month’s blog topic is all about breaking boundaries and challenging your style by mixing metals. Mixing metals has been stamped as negative stylistic choice in the past, but we are here to show you just how fabulous the combination of gold with silver or matte black with nickel can be!
Image courtesy of Goop
“Mixing metals is a design catastrophe”
For years, mixing metals has been perceived as a very unfashionable thing to do, however I am here to tell you that times are changing, and metals are mixing! We are at a time in our society where different and unique styles are celebrated. Adding more colors and versatility to your home and style is advantageous. As you read, I hope you can drop your past biases, forget what magazine said this or that, and lean in to the fact that theories are meant to be debunked (especially in the fashion/design industry, where let’s face it, everything is fair game).
What’s Cooking Good Lookin?
As we’ve discussed in previous blog posts, the kitchen is a focal point in any home, as most of the foot traffic and special moments take place here! Designing your kitchen may seem like a daunting task because of all the small details that go into it, but hopefully this post can add some clarity on how to make those little aspects pop. the first step when choosing how to implement mixed metals is choosing your dominant finish. For example, polished brassy accents work well as your dominant metal when working with darker black or blue cabinets (contrast = key). From there, you will choose accent metals to build off of your dominant one (we’ll continue with the brass example). Because mixing tones is encouraged, silver or chrome would be a great addition to your fabulous kitchen. Below are some photos showing just what I’m talking about.
Pictures courtesy of signature hardware and Washington Post
Scrub-a-Dub-Dub
Next to the kitchen, your bathroom is another room where showcasing various metals is super easy! Too often, we see a bathroom’s potential go to waste. No más! When designing your bathroom, it’s important to note that metals have families. You don’t want to mix more than 2 families together, otherwise your space can look too busy or worst of all… the “t” word: tacky. Below is a chart of the different finishes. Pick two and stick to them. Another trick you want to keep in mind is pay attention to the levels of your metals. Make sure that whatever metal you’re using is consistent height. Place similar finishes on the same visual plane in order to help guide the eye through your space. Pictured below are some examples!
Pictures courtesy of Emily Kennedy and Carlton Cooke
At the End of the Day: It’s All Fashionable
Something I have learned from my fashion classes in school is that everything is a trend: Everything will be seen by one person as strange and seen by the next as stylish. That is the infuriating and beautiful thing about the industry. This goes for choosing to mix metals in your style or not. Like everything in life, mixing metals in jewelry has rules. Rule #1. Find a “base” metal that compliments your skin tone. For example, gold jewelry looks the best on us in the summer, when our skin is a bit tanner and sunkissed because of it’s warm undertones (vice versa for silver). Now, this is not to say never wear silver in the summer and gold in the winter… do what you feel most confident in! Rule #2. Balance how much of one metal you wear. Don’t favor either color drastically. Bracelets are a very easy way to promote balance, as you can stack different metals on top of one another to provide a smooth, cohesive look. Rule #3. Purchase a mixed metal piece. This piece will single-handedly open the door for mixing metals that look unified. If you’re looking to splurge, David Yurman, a designer jewelry band specializes in the iconic silver and gold twined ring (Pictured below). As I have researched, I have found a huge growth in products on the market that implement gold and silver in them (which is exciting!!). Just remember, keep it simple. Mixing metals is a big statement in itself, but it’s nothing you can’t handle!
Images: David Yurman, Lulus, and Artizan Joyeria