It's time we all just accept it. GOLD is making a HUGE comeback. I know,
I know.....RIGHT after we all changed out our brass doorknobs and hinges,
right? But don't fret, it's not the gold in our old shiny brass doorknobs from
the 90's that we keep seeing in market. It's RUBBED brass accents (think
brushed nickel, just in gold) that are key.
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| This is one of my chandeliers from the Thomas O-Brien collection at Visual Comfort. I recently convinced my clients to purchase the rubbed brass version of it shown here for their dining room and they LOVE it! |
With this SLOW transition into gold, we have been working with our
clients to bring in some gold accents mixed with their existing silver and
bronze to ease them into this up and coming trend. In order to do this, we have
had to break the rules of decorating and in some cases mix not two, but
(GASP!) three metal colors in one room.
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| Can you spot the antique silver, oil rubbed bronze, and antique gold in this dining room? Room Design by New South Design |
How do we do it so that it's not a complete disaster? We've got a few
simple rules for you to follow that will get you mixing metals like the
pros.....and telling all of your friends that you're ahead of the trend and
embracing the NEW gold!
1. Stick with metals that are similar in style and finish. For example, oil
rubbed bronze pairs nicely with antique rubbed brass because they are both a
rubbed and non-shiny finish. It's the finish that keeps a cohesive look
and feel about the space, even with the different metal colors prevalent. In
the dining room featured above, we have an antique silver chandelier,
oil rubbed bronze buffet lamps, and antique gold trimmed picture
frames and mirror. The style of the room is a traditional "Restoration
Hardware" look, and these antique metal finishes not only match the style
of the room, but coordinate with each other, as well.
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| Room Design by New South Design |
2. Coordinate your metal choices with the other COLORS prevalent in
the room. Don't think of the metal color as a definitive metal, think of it
as another COLOR within the room. Once you start thinking that way,
it gives you more freedom to mix and match based on other colors that are in
the room. For instance, the popular yellow and gray color story just
screams out "silver and gold" to me and both of those metal finishes
would look fabulous in a room decorated in that color story.
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| Room Design by New South Design |
In our dining room example, the oil rubbed bronze buffet lamps match
the dark wood tone on the dining table, chairs,
and the contrast trim on the buffet. The gold trim in
the frames and mirror coordinate with the medium warm wood
tone of the buffet. And the antique silver chandelier matches
back to the dark warm gray wall color.
The master bedroom below incorporates both bronze and gold
that were pulled from on the colors in the prints above the bed.
The bed and credenza shown below are opposite each other in the room
and have both gold and bronze elements in each scene to create a cohesive
statement throughout the room.
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| Room Design by New South Design |
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| Room Design by New South Design |
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| Room Design by New South Design |
3. Soften your metals by layering in fabrics. Adding
flowing fabrics or other soft home goods can do wonders to softening the mood
of a room by creating a more romantic and cozy feel and also absorbs excess
sound. Adding long drapery panels, throw pillows, or nicely upholstered
furnishings and a rug are great examples of items that would fit the bill.
Last year we created
a comfortable "Mommy" retreat for a client who wanted a space to
relax in at the end of the day. She loved the rustic metal base coffee tables,
but wanted a cozy room to curl up in to read a book. To soften the hard lines
of the coffee table, we added white drapery panels, a slipcovered sofa, jute
rug, throw pillows and a throw blanket as shown in the pictures below.
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| Room Design by New South Design |
4. Add natural elements to counteract the "manmade"-ness of
metal. Natural elements such as greenery, woven rugs, wood furnishings
and wood accents help soften the harness that metal finishes can
sometimes bring to a room. Preserved boxwood and moss balls create a pop of color and a classic natural element in our dining room below.
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| Room Design by New South Design |
The tall tree and long drapery panels in the loft space below
incorporate rules 3 and 4 by adding in fabric and natural elements
to soften the industrial look and feel of the space and metal furnishings.
-Melissa
