You can absolutely mix your metals, and in our opinion, you should! However, there are some things you should keep in mind when picking out your metal fixtures and accessories so they aren’t competing for attention in your home. Your metals should accent the design and feel of your home, not act against it and distract from the overall design of your home.

Start with picking an overall metal tone for your home. We love a polished nickel around here. It’s classic, traditional, and a great medium between gold and silver. Let’s say you start with polished nickel and let that be your guide. When looking for a secondary metal choice, keep with that polished look. Polished nickel can go with a polished brass or a chrome. Mixing a polished with a brushed might look like you tried to match but missed the mark. If your primary metal is a brushed metal, stick with that brushed look when choosing another metal tone.

Another good rule of thumb is to keep your plumbing fixtures one tone and your accessories another tone. Plumbing fixtures include things like faucets, shower heads and controls, and tub fillers. Accessories are things like lights, mirrors, toilet paper holders, towel rings, etc. This will make your choices look purposeful.

Brass tones are popular right now, and for good reason. They are warm, bright, and can make the colors around them pop. However, this is a good example of why it can be a good idea to mix metals. Unless you are doing the same brand of everything, your brass tones likely won’t be an exact match. Mixing your brass plumbing fixtures with chrome accents will add interest and depth to your space.

Mixing metals isn’t your thing? We get it. If you want to stick with the same metal tone throughout your home, stick with something like a matte black, chrome, or polished nickel as those tend to be more consistent across brands. When following these guidelines, you will be mixing metals like a professional in no time! Looking for a little more guidance in updating the metals in your home? Let’s chat!