M O D E R N TAKE ON BRASS
You may wonder if Polished Brass will ever make its way back to the cabinet hardware world. The polished look is often associated with a 1970/80’s household image and tends to make people cringe at the thought. Here, at The Knobbery, we come across many home owners looking to replace their Polished Brass door and cabinet hardware as well as other accents, simply because it is “out-dated.” But brass IS back.
Manufacturers today are now creating new ways to incorporate the brass look without the polished feel. They are creating finishes such as “Satin Brass,” “Champagne Bronze,” “Brushed Bronze,” which have a decidedly more modern approach.
As you can see in the photos these finishes have the subtle softness of satin nickel combined with the color tones of brass. These new finishes are very soft, non-abrasive versions of brass that tend to give a hint of color to a rather monotone room. They work well on dark espresso, white, cream, and various shades of grey cabinets. However the interest does not stop with hardware alone. We find that our clients are using these revamped finishes on everything from faucets to lighting to bath accessories. These finishes add a feeling of warmth and richness that can not be easily achieved with other materials or finish tones.
The designs that are offered in this category of finishes are not your "old fashioned" brass designs. The industry is offering these up on more clean lined shapes, which is a great juxtaposition to what we all think of when we think about brass.
This shift in thinking has breathed new life into a truly luxe part of the design community and it has taken hold throughout all aspects of interior design.
“Leading designers from Jonathan Adler to Michael S. Smith, Kelly Wearstler to Celerie Kemble, all offer products in brass: burnished chairs, glowing desks, honeyed chandeliers, lamps, barware, desk accessories and more.”
We do find many home owners also interested in un-lacquered versions of Polished Brass – they are looking for that natural, raw and oxidized appearance that occurs over time due to exposure to environmental elements such as air, sunlight, and touch. Water marks, discoloration and natural darkening are common effects over the years. There are ways you can play the finish out correctly, such as in the image below where the un-lacquered brass serves as a soft pop of color on the rather dark cabinet and monotone counter top color scheme.
