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Can’t decide all polished nickel or mix unlacquered brass in too?

bridget helm
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago

wrapping up a master bath renovation and the shower hinges and pull and components are polished nickel and the wallmount faucets are polished nickel and walk mount tub filler is polished nickel. They haven’t arrived yet so aren’t installed so It’s hard for me to decide whether i should use unlacquered brass door hinges, doorknobs, cabinet knobs and unlacquered brass sconces and glass cloche light fixture over tub. Should these ALL be in unlacquered brass or just the door hardware and cabinet knobs and do the light fixtures in polished nickel. My head is spinning. Or should i do everything polished nickel?

these are the polished nickel wall mount faucets





had a hard time finding unlacquered brass sconces but i have unlacquered brass things in the kitchen that are over 40 years old and this sconce is the exact Color so i would have 4 of these if i dont do the sconces In polished nickel.



That’s the wall mount tub filler. a glass cloche light fixture will hang over the tub. Something like this (still haven’t found one in unlacquered brass so i will probably get an antique brass finish like the sconces if I do decide to mix in unlacquered brass hardware.)



Here’s the bathroom currently



Notice there will be 4 sconces on mirrors (i wish i would have just done 2) ang they will be right over the wall mount faucets



you can see where cloche fixture will go (tub will be beneath)



Nothing in the bathroom really has any gold in it so i feel like i SHOULD use all polished nickel but unlacquered Brass is oh so pretty after oxidation.



Tub will be here. the window is salvaged and I’ll be removing the Stanley security sticker and putting white linen Roman shades

will an antique brass fixture look weird hanging over a polished nickel tub filler?

and Since the shower door has polished Nickel hinges and handle will it be weird for all the bathroom doors to have unlacqueted brass hinges and knobs?


heres the shower. Picture with all polished nickel and the sconces being across in unlacquered (eventually oxidized brass)




Here’s the shower rainhead next to one of the sconces (the sconces if get I’d i don’t do all polished nickel)





head.

Is.

Spinning


im sure if you actually read all this that Yours is now spinning too 🙃

thx for your help!

Comments (12)

  • Stefanie Bogles - Springfield PS (1379)
    3 years ago

    beautiful....wow!! I think you could mix it up! I personally would do all the same but that is because I tend to play it safe:( I did mix things up in my little powder room (brass and blacK ) and I really love it.

    bridget helm thanked Stefanie Bogles - Springfield PS (1379)
  • bridget helm
    Original Author
    3 years ago

    I mixed black and brass in my powder room too and i love it but there’s gold veining in the stone in there and it’s sort of a more rustic and vintage looking room

  • houssaon
    3 years ago

    I hate the way un-lacquered bass tarnishes.

  • PRO
    Design Interior South
    3 years ago

    I love a touch of gold. That said your counter just looks so cool to me in the photo that I am inclined to say stick with the polished nickel.

    bridget helm thanked Design Interior South
  • Kristin
    3 years ago

    Such a beautiful remodel! I would definitely mix. I’m in the process of a renovation and plan to mix. look up “mixed metals in the bathroom.” I have read that you should stick to using 2 metals. Although, I am not an interior designer by any means.


  • bridget helm
    Original Author
    3 years ago

    thanks everyone. i feel like i SHOULD do all polished nickel, but I love the warmth of unlacquered brass. there is some lavender in the counter that is warm-ISH, so I think I'm going to use that as an excuse to use mix in some unlacquered brass. ;)

  • bridget helm
    Original Author
    3 years ago

    moen's is plumbing, right? i got polished nickel for all the faucets and shower components. i didn't want to deal with the green stuff that appears when brass gets wet. but i love the patina of it on hardware - knobs and hinges mainly. it's so expensive and hard to find in the US though. An unlacquered brass knob in the US is over 100 dollars. (Except for some I found by charleston hardware for 80) In the UK you can get them for 40 bucks. same thing with cabinet knobs- well over 10 dollars a knob for unlacquered brass in the US. In the UK less than 4 dollars.

  • PRO
    Design Interior South
    3 years ago

    Moens does plumbing but also has items like towel bars/rings , robe hooks and smaller things like that. Are you from the UK?

  • bridget helm
    Original Author
    3 years ago

    no. not from the UK but clicked on an unlacquered brass door knob on pinterest and it took me to a UK website. so i was all excited because many of the online UK hardware retailers ship to the US. the problem though is our doors all being prebored. the UK has smaller rosettes than the US. I could kick myself for telling the contractor to get the doors prebored. all the lessons i've learned during this reno! this is the last room in the house to be renovated over the last 6 years, though. i learned more doing the bathroom than the kitchen. too bad we saved it for last.

  • Kayla
    3 years ago

    I just had this same dilemma last week for my build — the majority of my master bath is using unlacquered brass fixtures from Rohl. However, I was hesitant to use ULB in the shower as I just didn't think I would like the potential verdigris in a space that is meant to feel clean. Because of this, I opted for a polished nickel shower tower from Rohl. I know that mixing metals in rooms is widely accepted, but I wasn't sure if mixing metals for fixtures would be. Based on the floor plan of the master bath, I felt it would be totally fine and look appropriate.


    Right now I have a floor mount tub filler & wall mount sink faucets in ULB, shower trim in polished nickel. I will probably incorporate polished nickel into some light fixtures as well.

  • claugh7
    11 days ago

    I now want to see the fin product! i am debating the same ! :)