I used to think hardware finishes were just about matching metals—brass with brass, chrome with chrome, done.
Turns out, choosing cabinet pulls and faucet finishes is way more complicated than that, or maybe it’s simpler than we’ve been told, depending on who you ask. I’ve spent the last few months talking to interior designers, architects, and honestly, a surprising number of people who’ve just renovated their kitchens and have opinions. What I learned is that the rules everyone thinks exist—like “never mix metals” or “matte black is too trendy”—are kind of made up, or at least they’re more flexible than the internet would have you believe. The thing is, hardware finishes can totally transform a space, but they can also make everything feel disjointed if you don’t understand the underlying logic of how finishes relate to light, texture, and the existing materials in your room. It’s not rocket science, but it’s definately not as intuitive as paint color either.
Here’s the thing: most people start backwards. They pick a finish they like—say, brushed nickel—and then try to force it into their space. But the designers I talked to all said the same thing, more or less: start with what you already have.
Understanding the Undertones Already Living in Your Space
Every material in your home has an undertone, even if you don’t notice it. Your countertops might be cool gray with blue undertones, or warm gray with beige ones—wait, maybe that sounds too obvious, but I genuinely didn’t realize this until someone pointed it out to me. Your flooring, your wall color, even the light fixtures you installed three years ago—they’re all either leaning warm (yellow, gold, red undertones) or cool (blue, gray, silver undertones). Hardware finishes have undertones too, and when they clash with what’s already there, everything feels slightly off in a way that’s hard to pinpoint. Brass and gold finishes read warm; chrome, nickel, and stainless lean cool; oil-rubbed bronze sits somewhere in between, which is why it’s so weirdly versatile. I guess the trick is to walk into your room, look at the biggest surfaces—counters, floors, cabinets—and ask yourself if they feel warm or cool. Then choose hardware that either matches that temperature or intentionally contrasts it, but only if you’re doing it on purpose, not by accident.
Why Mixing Metals Actually Works (When It Does)
The “never mix metals” rule is dead, according to basically every designer under 50.
But—and this is important—mixing metals successfully isn’t about randomly throwing different finishes into a room. It’s about creating a pattern or hierarchy that makes sense to your eye, even if you can’t articulate why. One designer told me she always picks a “dominant” finish (maybe 60-70% of the hardware and fixtures), a “secondary” finish (20-30%), and sometimes a tiny “accent” finish (10% or less). So you might have brushed brass on most of your cabinet hardware, matte black on your faucet and light fixtures, and maybe a single polished nickel towel bar. The key is repetition—if you use matte black in one spot, use it in at least two or three other places so it feels intentional, not like you ran out of brass knobs halfway through the project. I’ve seen kitchens where every single pull is a different finish, and honestly, it just looks like mistakes, not eclecticism. Anyway, the other thing that helps mixed metals work is keeping the style consistent even when the finish changes—modern pulls in both brass and black will look more cohesive than a modern brass pull next to a vintage-style black one.
The Finish Durability Question Nobody Wants to Recieve Honest Answers About
Matte black looks incredible in photos. In real life, it shows every fingerprint, water spot, and smudge within approximately 12 seconds of installation.
I’m not saying don’t use it—I’m saying know what you’re signing up for. Polished finishes (chrome, polished nickel, polished brass) are easier to clean but show water spots more dramatically. Brushed finishes (brushed nickel, brushed gold) hide minor wear better but can look dated faster because they were so popular in the 2000s and our brains associate them with that era. Oil-rubbed bronze develops a patina over time, which some people love and some people find deeply annoying when it happens to a $47 drawer pull. One architect told me she only specifies matte black in low-touch areas now—cabinet pulls are fine, but faucets and door handles are a daily cleaning commitment. There’s no perfect finish; there are only tradeoffs you’re willing to make, and honestly, I think that’s the part of the process that exhausts people most, because we want someone to just tell us the right answer, but the right answer depends on whether you’re the kind of person who wipes down their faucet after every use or the kind who doesn’t notice smudges until someone’s coming over.
Matching Your Hardware to the Emotional Tone You’re Actually Going For
This sounds vague, I know, but bear with me.
Finishes carry emotional weight, or maybe it’s more accurate to say they carry associations that trigger emotional responses. Warm brass and gold finishes tend to feel traditional, luxurious, slightly formal—even when they’re on modern hardware, there’s a richness to them that reads as intentional and considered. Cool chrome and stainless finishes feel clean, crisp, maybe a little clinical depending on the context, but in a good way if you’re going for modern or minimalist. Matte black feels dramatic and contemporary, almost too self-aware sometimes, like it’s trying a little hard, but when it works it really works. The mistake I see people make—myself included, to be honest—is choosing a finish because it’s trendy or because they saw it in a magazine, without asking whether it actually matches the vibe they want their space to have. If your style is cozy, layered, full of texture and warmth, chrome hardware might technically “work” but it’ll always feel a little wrong, a little too sharp. If your style is sleek and uncluttered, ornate brass might feel like it’s from someone else’s house. I guess what I’m saying is that hardware finishes are one of those small details that communicate a lot about how a space is supposed to feel, and if the finish doesn’t match that feeling, everything else you do will have to work harder to compensate.
