Are you torn between using brushed bass taps and brushed nickel door handles in your home? Want to use both but not sure if you can mix metal finishes? We chatted to Belinda, Interior Designer from Morgan & Me Interiors for her guide to successfully mixing metal finishes in your home.
Guide to successfully mixing metal finishes in your home.
I’m a big fan of using different metal finishes in interiors schemes. Perhaps my love for mixed metallics started with the Russian wedding ring my mum gave me circa 1989? Either way, I have always done it with jewellery. And let’s face it, metal finishes are the bling of your interiors.
The simplest solution might be to keep everything in the same family, but if you’re more of the adventurous type, and you start twitching when everything is too matchy matchy, this is the guide for you!
I get it, your tapware, door handles and pendants are not cheap so, it’s important to get it right. Here’s a guide to successfully mix your metal finishes without the fear of making a huge mistake!
It's all in the planning
To achieve a beautiful and cohesive interior space, you need to ensure all of your colours will live harmoniously together.
Your colour scheme is the starting point when designing your interior and it holds true when selecting your metal finishes.
Always start with a materials board
This will allow you to see all of your fixture colours in one place.
Start with the colour of the flooring first. Then think about what else is in the space; benchtops, splashbacks, wall tiles, furniture frames and fabrics and finally wall colours (TIP: use paint cards from Bunnings).
Most suppliers will provide you with a sample of your proposed surface for free.
Match to neutrals or make it contrast
Once you have put this together, you can then decide whether you would like your metal finishes to match your neutral tones or contrast.
If you decide you want to match your neutrals, perhaps there is a neutral or wood colour in the scheme that would match perfectly with a metallic colour? It can form part of the neutral scheme without having to add a new colour. Your metal finish should be a shade darker than your neutral tone
When it comes to contrasting colours the easiest way to contrast is to stay with a cool or warm scheme. So if you have a grey scheme, white, black or gunmetal would work well. If your scheme is warmer and uses wood tones and orange to brown neutrals, you can cool your scheme down with a brushed gunmetal.
Finally, keep the finishes consistent so there is something that ties each of the metal finishes together.
Where to get the samples
The Laminex Accents range and Polytec have metal finish samples you can order on their websites. Alternatively ABI Interiors sell individual samples for $2.90 plus shipping or their complete set of metal finish samples for $29 plus shipping.
A HOT TIP
Keep the metal finishes as an accents only and always choose a more dominant colour.
Remember the magic rule of 3 or 5
And of course, the thing I always talk about, use the rule of 3 or 5. I LOVE this trick because it just finishes a room perfectly.
How this works:
- Repeat each of the colours in your scheme 3 or 5 times in the room. This will ensure the space feels balanced and harmonious.
- Place the colour at different heights around the room to draw the eye. This method absolutely works and will have you styling your home like a pro!!
So make sure when you’re thinking about fixtures and fittings in the space, you have a thought on how you might bring that metal finish through in the styling. Think about how you will place each of the items so it draws your eye around the room. When you’re styling, this is where it will all come together. If you have selected a gold tap, you might find an artwork with gold colour and an ornament that is gold.
Thank you Belinda for sharing these fab tips on how to successfully mix metal finishes in your home!
If you want chat with Belinda and learn more about how to bring your interior dreams to life with Morgan & Me Interiors you can view her listing here. Morgan & Me Interiors offers group workshops, 1 on 1 workshops or individual in-person consultations.
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