It’s week 6 of the one room challenge and most of the design decisions have been made. From here on out, it’s all about execution. Most of the major things are done, but we still have some tile work, painting, and carpenter work left to do.
If you missed the beginning of this One Room Challenge, you can catch up on all my posts here:
- Hall Bath Inspiration and Befores: Week 1
- Demo + Prep: Week 2
- Hall Bath Tile Picks: Week 3
- Tile Installation: Week 4
- How to Take the Red Out of Red Oak: Week 5
Today I want to share how I mix metals for a timeless and elegant look. I personally think that mixing metals adds interest to a room and can make things look more layered. There’s no rule book to designing a space but I have a few rules-of-thumb I use when designing a room to achieve that instagram-worthy look.
1. Pick Two Main Metals
Pick two main metals for the room. I prefer the metals to be from different color families – think black and brass, chrome and bronze, nickel and gold, etc. I’m not really in favor of mixing two finished from the same hue, like chrome and brushed nickel, or brass and gold. These tend to be too close together to gain the desired aesthetic effect.
Studio McGee always does a great job of mixing metals effortlessly, as shown above. I started my bathroom design with this mirrored medicine cabinet. Probably an unconventional place to start, but we were gifted this mirror and I really wanted to incorporate it into our new house. I love the functionality of a medicine cabinet and it made the most sense to use the West Elm Seamless Medicine Cabinet in the hall bath. West Elm lists the mirror’s finish as antique brass but I would consider it more gold. Either way, this led me to my first metal choice.
Next, I explored my options for plumbing fixtures. After looking at many different finishes, I decided I liked the traditional look of chrome the best. I’m afraid I would tire of black or brass/gold if I chose one of those for the faucets. We had chrome bathroom plumbing fixtures in our last house and I still loved them 10 years after we installed them, when we sold that house. This decision led me to my second metal choice.
So, for the hall bath, my two main metals are chrome and gold/brass. To me, gold and brass are interchangeable since they can vary so much by manufacturer. So for the purpose of this post, anything in the gold or brass family will be referred to as gold.
Julia, from Chris Loves Julia, is also a master at mixing metals as shown here. Black and gold can look very classic and timeless too.
2. Repeat Each Metal 3 Times (Or More)
Once you choose your metals, repeat each metal choice at least 3 times. A one-off risks looking unintentional and an after-thought. One way to divide them up is to use one metal for all the plumbing fixtures and another metal for the accents (hardware, lighting, etc). But you really can’t go wrong here as long as each one shows up multiple times.
I’m taking inspiration from Young House Love and how they mixed chrome plumbing fixtures with brass accents in their previous primary bathroom. I chose this Delta Trinsic Faucet for the sink and this Delta Trinsic Shower head and Tub spout. The shower curtain rod I ordered is also chrome.
For the gold accents, I’ve already mentioned the medicine cabinet mirror, and the vanity hardware will also be gold. We are installing this recessed toilet paper holder on the side of the vanity, and the light above the vanity will incorporate gold too. And don’t forget, you can always change out your toilet tank lever to match your aesthetic too!
I will warn you that while most chrome is universal and similar, gold and brass are not – they vary widely. So, if you aren’t up for ordering multiple options online and returning the ones that aren’t quite right, picking them out in-store might be the best bet.
You can even see from the image above that the website photos of the gold accents I chose look to be slightly different in gold-ness (is that a word?), but they are more similar in real life than they look in the photos. You always need to see them with your own eyes to make a final decision!
3. Add an Accent Metal
Once you’ve followed the two rules-of-thumb above, you can add in an accent metal if you chose. We chose black windows for our house, so to tie into that, I’m using black hardware (hinges and handles) for the doors in our house. Since the hall bathroom door is within 3 feet of two bedroom doors, it will be no different. I’m planning to add a few black decorative items to the bath just so the handles don’t look out of place. Plus I think every room needs a little black.
I’m still making a few finial decisions on hardware, towel bars, and lighting, but I will link those in a future post when they are installed. Remember, you can follow along in real time on instagram @elleandjaydesign. And you can always check on the progress of other DIYers that are participating in the Spring 2022 One Room Challenge here!
See ya next week!
