designNotes Feature: All About That Brass

Our Design Studio Coordinator, Sara is becoming a regular feature in Downhome's local Home & Cabin Magazine. Her sense of style is on display yet again in the magazine's Spring 2015 issue. Grab a copy and turn to page 24 to see some ideas for decorating with bold and glamorous brass. You decide if you want to splurge or save on this timeless metal:

High/Low: Because I'm All About That Brass
By Sara Kirby

Brass has been back on the design scene for some time now. It started creeping back on the radar as an alternative to stainless steel and chrome everything a few years ago, but it seems homeowners are reticent to drop their design dollars on the warm beauty of this timeless metal.

Fear now, fellow design junkies! The pieces making waves these days are not your Nan's brass fixtures. Today's brass is bold and glam and, at the same time, soft and warm. Polished, brushed, antiqued and burnished – there's a brass finish to suit every design style.

Don't feel obligated to commit to brass fixtures throughout your home because you want to use it in one space. Test out the trend with inexpensive décor items and see how they work with existing elements before you drop major dollars on more permanent items like lighting and plumbing faucets.

Mixing metals is OK, too! Silver and brass make a beautiful combination. I look to jewelry designers like Vita Fede and Eddie Borgo for mixed metal inspiration.

HIGH
JONATHAN ADLER BRASS ULU SIDE TABLE
$1,350

LOW
WEST ELM NOLAN SIDE TABLE
$142

This is an excerpt of an article. The full article appears in the Spring 2015 issue of Home & Cabin. Print copies are available at these fine retailers. Photos: Home & Cabin Magazine, respective retailers/designers