Yes You Can Mix Metals in Home Decorating!

Gold, silver, bronze, iron, copper. Oh my! Metallics are gorgeous, eye-catching, and bring that sexyness of bling to your decor. Always popular in decorating because metals have the flexibility to suit any style from Hollywood to Industrial and everything in-between. The number one tip to embellishing with metals is: don’t overdo it. You want metals to work together. When mixing more than one color or style of metal, the secret is to mix warm and cool tones together. This keeps the overall look classy. By choosing one primary metal per room, it allows that color to dominate the others. Like everything in life, it’s about balance. Three different metals at most with one holding dominance. Stick to those guides and your home will be one stylish pad.

ALUMINUM

BRONZE

Using bronze metals in the home brings the instant feeling of old-world charm. Like several other metals, bronze looks gorgeous in various stages of shine or patina.

This toasty, golden colored metal, is welcoming and warm. Use it in accents to add a touch of elegance to your home.

COPPER

Unique, bright, cheery, almost loud. Copper is oh so pretty and begs for your attention. Therefore care is needed in how you place your copper elements. They will dominate a space. Rule of thumb when decorating with copper: a little goes a long way.

GOLD

Probably the most popular of the metallics, of any metal if we’re being honest right?! There is nothing like gold. It’s like bringing the sunshine indoors, but if possible even richer and warmer in feel. Like copper, gold is powerful and can overwhelm a space if too much is used. Sticking to gold accents is enough to make a statement. Gold is flexible too in that it can be used in various decor styles, from Art Decor, to African, and even rustic when paired with the right complements. Those can either be contrasting rough natural elements from nature or other organic accents to balance the opulence of gold.

SILVER

One of the cool metals, silver, brings sparkle and brightness to a room. If you are specifically looking for an industrial, zen, ultra modern look, an abundance of silver will offer that cool sophistication. If you’re just looking for a hit of brightness, go light with your silver accents. Silver also works well in two different states, highly polished or more roughly brushed.

NEUTRAL METAL

Dark oxidized metal, such as cast iron, oil-rubbed bronze or other flat-looking metals are part of the neutral metal family. These are wonderful compliments to the shiny metals like gold and silver. The neutral metals allow for more liberal usage.

Tips for Mixing Metals

TEXTURE

Hammered, pattern stamped, brushed, and antiqued metals. With this amount of visual character, textured metals work quite well with all the other metals. Additionally, there is no rule that says you must stick to one finish. Combining brushed, polished, or hammered finishes creates a dynamic atmosphere.

SPACING

Since metals are such strong statement pieces, it bodes well to space them out around the room. If clumped in one area, the effect is less attractive. Remember to start with a dominant metal color and then add one or two additional metals as accents.

MIXING

A balanced warm and cool palette of metal accents is most attractive. For example, picture stainless steel appliances in your kitchen with brass handles. The warm pop of color from the brass against the steel is a dynamic look. Another example is a warm colored room of orange, red, and yellow tones. Gold would be the obvious main metal to complement those tones. Then adding a pop of sparkly silver in a contrasting accent works beautifully. For spaces with a neutral colored palette of basic whites, greys, or earth tones, you can freely mix several metals more liberally.

ACCENTS 

Lockers

A popular metal accent for many types of decor styles are vintage metal lockers. Used as storage cabinets, in a washroom, or office space, these are perfect metal accent pieces.

Mirrors

The inventory of metal framed looking-glasses, mirrors, are so expansive that you can find a style for any room, in any size, and any shape with any number of different metal finishes. Some tips when looking for the perfect metal framed mirror for your home:

• Big mirrors reflect more light into a room, creating the illusion of a larger, brighter area.
• Hanging mirrors between windows helps to add depth to a room.
• Mirrors placed alongside each other create a lively effect as objects dance off the mirrors in engaging ways.
• Using a mirror to reflect a window brings the outdoors in.
• Arrange groups of smaller mirrors with differing shapes and frames for an artistic vignette.
• Lean an oversized mirror against a wall as a focal point and dramatic statement.

Tables

Outdoor, indoor, small, accent, dining, or side, metal tables are extremely stylish and an easy way to incorporate the color metal you’d like into the rooms’ decor. Conveniently, metal tables are also heat resistant, easy to clean, and if ever dented, simple to repair. Thus making them especially efficient for a dining room or a kitchen family eating implement.

Walls

A metal accent wall is absolutely a bold and stunning statement to make in a room’s decor. This may be a little harder for most people to commit to but if you choose the right metal and finish for your kitchen backsplash, shower, or home office wall, you will have quite a unique and stylish complement to your home’s design that can present feelings from rustic warmth to cool modernism.

SUMMARY

Metals and metallics are such wonderfully diverse decorating tools. The range they offer in look and feel affords you the flexibility to use them in any decor style. Warming, cooling, brightening, or bringing in a vintage vibe, mixing metals is a creative way to add depth and character to a room. Style guides from Modern to Shabby Chic will guide you in the decorating process and use of accents as well. TIP: Metallic fabric or artwork with metallic paint are alternative ways to bring in the sheen and shine of metal in a more subtle way.

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