Grab the Brass Ring

I'm like a magpie. I really love gilt, but too much can look tacky. If you create layers of monochromatic tones, then gold or brass satisfies the thirst for contrast and color and sparkle. For so long, brass has been déclassé, but I love it. It's a way of introducing the effect of gold without going all the way. It's industrial and modern, and it's tarnished, so it looks antique.

Benjamin Dhong, House Beautiful

Brass, which was especially popular in home decor during the 1980s, acquired a tarnished image. It was considered too shiny, outdated, cheap in appearance. In recent years, designers have embraced brass - using its golden hue to warm interiors and serve as an alternative to the now-ubiquitous stainless steel. Designer Kelly Wearstler, whose rooms feature a great deal of metal, was a forerunner in the brass movement. The metal now feels right at home in the kitchen, the bathroom and the bedroom, and as you can see in the photos below, it can coexist with copper and stainless steel. I think black and brass are especially stunning. Take a look . . .  

"In a guest room, a Ceylon et Cie chinoiserie daybed - inspired by Thomas Chippendale's designs - and de Gournay's Early Views of India wallpaper are a 'theatrical nod to the Raj.' Josephine chair, Restoration Hardware. Hans Barbell brass table by Jonathan Adler."

Interior design by Benjamin Dhong.

Photography by Lisa Romerein.

"A San Francisco Row House with its Own Personality" by David A. Keeps.

House Beautiful (September 2012).

"The glass ceiling crowns the working area of the kitchen, which is anchored on one wall by a black, brass-trimmed La Cornuerange. The architects fashioned a canopy-style hood that echoes the shape of the ceiling and repeats the range's details."

Westport, Connecticut, home of Joan and Bruce Nemirow.

Interior design by homeowner Joan Nemirow, Joan Nemirow Designs LLC.

Architecture by McKee Patterson and Kathleen Poirie.

Photography by John Bessler.

Text by Amy Elbert.

"Fab Kitchen With Soaring Ceiling" produced by Stacy Kunstel.

Traditional Home.

"Archive beveled tile by Waterworks provides a clean backdrop for the La Cornue Chateau range, made to order in burnished stainless steel and brass. The floor surrounding the range is covered with hexagon tiles from Waterworks."

Design by Susan Dossetter and Andrew Skurman.

Photography by James Carriere.

"A San Francisco Turn-of-the-Century Kitchen" by Christine Pittel.

House Beautiful (April 2008).

"The kitchen's backsplash, counters, and sink fittings are unlacquered brass, the brass-trimmed cabinetry is lacquered in a custom color, and the range is by Viking; the wood floors were treated with an ebony stain and then cerused."

Interior design by Kelly Wearstler.

Photography by William Abranowicz.

Text by Kathleen Hackett.

"Creating a Scene: Cameron Diaz's Manhattan Apartment" produced by Anita Sarsidi. 

Elle Decor.

"The island in the kitchen is brass, the cabinetry is cerused oak, and the countertops are marble; the light fixtures are custom made."

Lara and Jeff Sanderson's home on Mercer Island, Washington.

Interior design by Kelly Wearstler.

Photography by Mikkel Vang.

Text by Celia Barbour.

"Shadow Play" produced by Anita Sarsidi.

Elle Decor.

"Lanterns by Blend Interiors hang in the kitchen, which features alder-wood cabinetry and a stainless-steel–clad island with brass trim. The bespoke brass-and-cracked-glass table is by Wearstler, the range is by Wolf, and the island sink fittings are by Kallista. Near the window is a custom-made sofa in a Lee Jofa velvet."

Interior design by Kelly Wearstler.

Photography by Roger Davies.

Text by Peter Haldeman.

"Kelly Wearstler Designs a Bold Bel Air Home" produced by Robert Rufino.

Architectural Digest (January 2013).

 "A nautical theme drove the kitchen design. Brass pendants from Circa Lighting hang above a beaded board island with a waxed teak top."
Interior design by Bill Brockschmidt and Courtney Coleman.
Photography by Simon Upton.
"An Easy, Breezy Florida Home" by Lisa Cregan.
House Beautiful (August 2008).

"A dedicated cook and La Cornue enthusiast from way back, Nicole Hough finally got her dream range when she renovated her kitchen. She chose a CornuFé Albertine and paired it with a Contemporary Round Duct hood from Vent-A-Hood. The backsplash tiles are from Subway Ceramics.

New Jersey kitchen of designer Nicole Hough.
Photography by Laura Moss.
"An Organized Family Kitchen" by Frances Schultz.
House Beautiful (April 2012).

 "The island is topped with Calacatta Gold marble and trimmed with brass corner guards for steamer trunks, from Brettuns Village Trunk Shop. Its metal tubular legs are fitted with parts from Brass Finders. Footed cabinets by Wood-Mode reflect the period of the 1905 house. The black countertops are made of two slabs of soapstone equaling two inches and forming a double ogee edge. Hough designed the herringbone pattern of the floor, which is quartersawn oak."
New Jersey kitchen of designer Nicole Hough.
Photography by Laura Moss.
"An Organized Family Kitchen" by Frances Schultz.
House Beautiful (April 2012).

"The kitchen is sheathed in subway tile from Urban Archaeology; the pendant lamps over the sink are by Rejuvenation, the range is by La Cornue with a hood by Broan, and the sinks from Rohl have fittings by Newport Brass."
Kentucky home of Mark Badgley and James Mischka.
Photography by Roger Davies.
"At Home With Badgley Mischka" by Julia Reed.
Elle Decor (September 2009).

"A mantel-style range hood with a backsplash of Calcutta marble tiles from AKDO sets off the stainless steel GE Monogram range. Other GE appliances, including dishwashers, large refrigerator and freezer, and refrigerator drawers are fit with cabinet-style panel fronts to integrate them into the kitchen cabinetry. Pendant lights over island: 'Country Industrial Pendant'/Brass #CHC5136AB-AB from Circa Lighting."

Photography by Dominique Vorillon.

Written by Amy Elbert.

"Santa Barbara Design House and Gardens Showhouse" produced by JoAnn McVicker and Amy Elbert.

Traditional Home.

 "Oversized white-lacquered conical light fixtures with brass interiors from Circa add a modern touch. Easy-care all-weather Perennials fabric was used to slipcover the chairs."
Georgian Colonial in Marin County, California.
Architectural/interior design by Wendy Posard, Wendy Posard and Associates.
Photography by John Granen.
Text by Amy Elbert.
"Handsome Hillside Home in California" produced by Eleanor Roper.

Traditional Home.

 "The bunk room bath is fitted with lockers for guests and family members. Dempster had the faucets on Kohler's Brockway sinks stripped down to the brass. The wall paneling is painted in alternating bands of flat and semigloss paint, echoing the stripe on the Pottery Barn towels."

Weekend house in Marin County, California belonging to Kim and Mark Dempster.

Interior design by Kim Dempster and Erin Martin.

Photography by Alec Hemer.

"A Chic Little Beach House" interview by Christine Pittel.

House Beautiful (July - August 2012).

"[Jenna] Lyons obsessively sprayed the fixtures with ocean water, so the brass would appear as seasoned as the herringbone floor."
Tub (similar to shown): cast-iron claw foot at Vintage Tub and Bath.
Faucet: "Regent" exposed thermostatic tub/shower from Barber Wilsons and Co.
Chrome-plated brass towel rack from Myson.
Niche Modern solitaire pendant from YLighting.
Former Park Slope, New York, home of J. Crew's Jenna Lyons.
Photography by Melanie Acevedo.
Text by Lauren Sandler.
"Totally Modern Timelessness" produced by Kim Ficaro.
Domino (November 2008).

"In the guest bath, the walls and vanity top are pink onyx, the sink, by Bates and Bates, and fittings, by Waterworks, are brass, the vintage sconces are French, and the shower stall is custom made."

Interior design by Kelly Wearstler.

Photography by William Abranowicz.

Text by Kathleen Hackett.

"Creating a Scene: Cameron Diaz's Manhattan Apartment" produced by Anita Sarsidi. 

Elle Decor.

"Creamy white is the dominant color in this 19th-century Boston townhouse’s bedroom. It creates serenity and sets the room apart from the darker paneling and earth tones featured elsewhere in the home. The simple white bed curtains drape from brass, accentuating the bed’s golden glow to give the room polish. Gold is repeated on the picture frames to unify the design, but with great subtlety. The only pattern is the floral silk taffeta on the bench and the chair’s throw pillow."

Interior design: Chris Drake and Lee Bierly.

"Beauty in the Bedroom" written and produced by Candace Ord Manroe.

Traditional Home. 

"A Pierre Jacques Volaire painting of a volcano is beside a polished-steel-and-brass canopy bed."

New York City pied-a-terre at The Carlyle.

Interior design by Michael S. Smith.

Photography by Scott Frances.

"Without Reservation" text by Patricia Leigh Brown.

Architectural Digest (April 2002).

"The guest room features a custom-made brass four-poster and parchment-covered nightstands, a 1960 Austrian ceiling fixture, and a vintage marble garden stool; the painting is by Riccardo Prosperi, and the silk rug is by the Rug Company."

Interior design by Kelly Wearstler.

Photography by William Abranowicz.

Text by Kathleen Hackett.

"Creating a Scene: Cameron Diaz's Manhattan Apartment" produced by Anita Sarsidi. 

Elle Decor.

 "Lining the wife’s dressing room is gold-leafed wood paneling inset with antiqued mirrors and trimmed with antiqued brass; the throw is by Adrienne Landau, the small sculpture is by Wearstler, the carpeting is by Patterson, Flynn and Martin, and the chair in the adjacent bath is by Pedro Friedeberg."

Interior design by Kelly Wearstler.

Photography by Roger Davies.

Text by Peter Haldeman.

"Kelly Wearstler Designs a Bold Bel Air Home" produced by Robert Rufino.

Architectural Digest (January 2013).

"A floor of brass-trimmed leather distinguishes the library rotunda, where a 19th-century English marble-top table is centered beneath a skylight."

Beverly Hills estate formerly owned by Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi.

Designed by architects Buff and Hensman.

Expanded by decorator Melinda Ritz.

Photography by Roger Davies.

Text by Peter Haldeman.

"Labor of Love" produced by Carlos Mota.

Architectural Digest (November 2011).

 

"In the middle of the long, narrow living room, which designer Jonathan Berger broke down into three seating areas, an Italian gilt-brass game table is surrounded by chairs covered in pink leather from Global Leathers. The family dines, plays board games, and does homework here."

Late-19th-century house in Brooklyn.

Interior design by Jonathan Berger.

Photography by Francesco Lagnese.

"A Small and Flirty Townhouse" by Mimi Read.

House Beautiful.

"Wearstler designed the staircase in the library."

Lara and Jeff Sanderson's home on Mercer Island, Washington.

Interior design by Kelly Wearstler.

Photography by Mikkel Vang.

Text by Celia Barbour.

"Shadow Play" produced by Anita Sarsidi.

Elle Decor.

"The staircase off the salon has a brass railing designed by Wearstler, and the wallpaper is by Porter Teleo."

Lara and Jeff Sanderson's home on Mercer Island, Washington.

Interior design by Kelly Wearstler.

Photography by Mikkel Vang.

Text by Celia Barbour.

"Shadow Play" produced by Anita Sarsidi.

Elle Decor.