Decorating
5 Shimmering Materials to Add Tasteful Bling to Your Abode
The refined and controlled use of these materials will keep your home shiny, not showy
Brass, copper, gold, stainless steel and pearl may not seem like your typical architectural materials, but used in measured doses they can add depth and dimension to a space. As they reflect light, they emit a warm glow, and as they age, they accrue the marks of everyday use. Here’s how these five glistening materials have been used to glimmering effect in modern and contemporary homes (with no Versailles or Trump Tower in sight).
Custom-made brass sheeting covers an interior wall of Sawmill House, seen here, and recalls the brass used in sawmills for shimming and machine elements. The joinery was made on site and is designed to be touched and used. “The brass patinates, showing its use and age as well as reflecting the northern light,” architect Chris Gilbert explains.
Brass cladding on the exterior of this London home has been used to frame and highlight the rear volume that accommodates the kitchen, dining and living space. The yellow pendant, dining chairs and uplighting above the kitchen cupboards form a consistent colour palette.
Cladding types for a flash facade
Cladding types for a flash facade
2. Copper
Copper is a ductile, durable and malleable metal that’s easily identifiable because of its iridescent, golden red colour, which can take on a green-hued patina when exposed to corrosive environments such as air, over time.
A custom copper-clad sliding door marks the side entry to this house. Its rich colour is in harmony with the timber bench and stairs, and hand marks on the door give the copper character as it ages.
Copper is a ductile, durable and malleable metal that’s easily identifiable because of its iridescent, golden red colour, which can take on a green-hued patina when exposed to corrosive environments such as air, over time.
A custom copper-clad sliding door marks the side entry to this house. Its rich colour is in harmony with the timber bench and stairs, and hand marks on the door give the copper character as it ages.
Interlocking copper wall panels are watertight in this bathroom. The copper has also been left raw to naturally darken over time, while maintaining its antimicrobial properties.
3. Gold
From the Temple of Solomon to the Dome of the Rock, the use of gold in architecture has taken on biblical proportions. Today it is used in architecture to add a glistening golden hue to a space.
Here, a purpose-built bedhead panel is covered with a handmade German wallpaper made of gold-leaf squares. The panel reflects light and emits a warm glow, and serves as a backdrop to Moooi’s Light Shade Ø70, which adds even more glamour. Turn on the light and a chandelier is revealed inside the shade.
From the Temple of Solomon to the Dome of the Rock, the use of gold in architecture has taken on biblical proportions. Today it is used in architecture to add a glistening golden hue to a space.
Here, a purpose-built bedhead panel is covered with a handmade German wallpaper made of gold-leaf squares. The panel reflects light and emits a warm glow, and serves as a backdrop to Moooi’s Light Shade Ø70, which adds even more glamour. Turn on the light and a chandelier is revealed inside the shade.
4. Stainless steel
Stainless steel has the effect of adding a silvery sheen to a space. Used in architecture and construction since the 1920s, stainless steel is synonymous with modern and contemporary architecture, providing aesthetic and functional value.
This award-winning home has a stainless-steel kitchen island with a faceted front that adds depth and dimension to the space.
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Stainless steel has the effect of adding a silvery sheen to a space. Used in architecture and construction since the 1920s, stainless steel is synonymous with modern and contemporary architecture, providing aesthetic and functional value.
This award-winning home has a stainless-steel kitchen island with a faceted front that adds depth and dimension to the space.
Browse more kitchen photos
Here, an intricately tiled splashback, composed of Karim Rashid for Alloy Ubiquity tile in Brushed Stainless Steel, is sleek and decorative.
5. Pearl
Pearl is a hard and lustrous spherical mass formed within the shell of a pearl oyster or other bivalve mollusc. Pearl has an appealing and seductive translucence and its irregularities offer a sense of tactility.
While pearls sourced from the sea are highly prized gems, man-made imitation and simulated pearls are a more affordable option, and the pearl effect can be created with other materials. This splashback is made from hand-cut Karma glass and composed of different-sized tiles of the same or contrasting shades or tones.
Pearl is a hard and lustrous spherical mass formed within the shell of a pearl oyster or other bivalve mollusc. Pearl has an appealing and seductive translucence and its irregularities offer a sense of tactility.
While pearls sourced from the sea are highly prized gems, man-made imitation and simulated pearls are a more affordable option, and the pearl effect can be created with other materials. This splashback is made from hand-cut Karma glass and composed of different-sized tiles of the same or contrasting shades or tones.
A mother-of-pearl tile has an almost metallic effect on this bathroom wall and is a cool, shiny contrast to the warm, rich timber.
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Have you intruced metallics into your home? Tell us how in the Comments below.
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TELL US
Have you intruced metallics into your home? Tell us how in the Comments below.
MORE
Browse more bathroom photos
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc valued for its malleability, durability and corrosive resistance, as well being produced in a range of colours that vary from deep red to golden yellow. It’s a metal that can be cast and formed into desired shapes and forms while retaining its strength.
This brass-clad kitchen island glimmers against a backdrop of dark timber joinery. It has been left unsealed to patina, age and wear, as everyday use gives texture to its surface.
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