The Latest Kitchen Trend: Mixing Metals

Gone are the days of matchy-matchy kitchen metals. Yes, it’s ok to mix metals in the kitchen—especially with hardware, lighting, fixtures, and appliances. Rules? There aren’t any hard and fast rules, but a few design suggestions will ensure you achieve balance and keep it from looking unintentional. Before you grab those brass candlesticks and that copper bowl, review our design tips to make your kitchen shine with your own personal style.

The Temperature of Your Palette

Are the base colors of your room warm, cool, or neutral? The metals you introduce into your kitchen can have a dramatic effect depending on the overall tone of your room. Think about the color temperature of your current kitchen space and what you may want to add to spice it up.

If you have a cool gray or blue kitchen with stainless appliances, a few gold or copper accents around the room can add needed warmth. Try adding brass light fixtures or change out your cabinet and appliance hardware with copper knobs. You’ll gain visual interest and balance out an otherwise seemingly cold room.

For a warm room with buttery yellows, adding brushed stainless appliance hardware and aluminum bar stools can cool it down and balance the kitchen space. A white neutral kitchen might need a mix of metals sprinkled across the room to create drama and visual appeal.

Add Texture with Metal Accents

Metals can also bring in interesting depth and texture. Pewter and gunmetal drawer pulls and handles are understated, yet bring an aged feel to cabinetry. Pewter faucets are more matte, but have a more satin appearance. Bring in gunmetal light fixtures or other accents for a warmer, worn feel. These cooler, gray tones provide balance to warm kitchen colors. They also ground and lend visual substance to a lighter feeling, minimalist kitchen.

Choose a Dominant Metal

To keep your kitchen from looking overdone, choose a base or dominant metal first. Most likely, your cabinet and appliance hardware are in one set color. Add one or two other accent metals all around your kitchen. For example, if your room is filled with brass, adding one copper pitcher won’t cut it. Add several touches of copper in various places around the room so it looks intentional and well planned.

If your kitchen faucet is shiny stainless steel, you can even add some brushed metal pieces around. Play with metallic elements like picture frames, vases, spoon rests, and pendant lights in a variety of metals and with different textures. Just be sure to stick with one or two metals in addition to your dominant tone.

Bring in a Pop of Color with Metal

If your kitchen needs a punch of color, try adding a few bright, shiny metal accents around. Brass, copper, and shiny silver tone pieces can draw your eye to an area or just bring in a new color to a neutral room. Aged brass or copper with a patina can really bring in new colors, too. Mix shiny copper with some aged copper accents to keep the warmth but bring in interest.

Don’t be afraid of mixing it up. You don’t have to just consider your cabinet hardware when you want to try out a new metal accent in your kitchen. The Café Customizable Professional Collection allows you to customize your kitchen appliances with a choice of additional hardware colors. Choose from Brushed Bronze, Brushed Copper, Brushed Stainless, and Brushed Black handles and knobs to create your own personal kitchen style.