AFTER YEARS OF TAKING A BACK SEAT to other metals, brass is enjoying a newfound popularity. Why? “It’s beautiful, tactile and earthy,” said Anna Karlin, a British-born designer based in New York. “It’s blingy without being tacky.”
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In other words, she said, it makes a nice change from understated metals like chrome and nickel, which have become ubiquitous in recent years, and it is more utilitarian than precious metals like gold.
Ms. Karlin, 28, made liberal use of the material in her first furniture and accessories collection, which included brass-plated stools (in the form of supersize modernist chess pieces) and an ash wood dining table with brass edges and inlaid brass numbers. And she has noticed that she isn’t the only designer enamored with it.
“It’s definitely in fashion now,” she said. “Suddenly, there’s brass stuff everywhere.”
Wearing a necklace strung with a vintage brass train whistle, she began her search for a few examples at Michele Varian in SoHo, where she admired a Japanese trivet formed by two intersecting diamonds. “It’s like a piece of tabletop jewelry,” she said, for aesthetes who enjoy entertaining.
“When I cook,” she added, “it’s all about how good it looks.”
A few blocks away, at DwellStudio, she praised an L-shaped pencil holder for its unexpected form and sculptural appeal. Although it came with a set of 25 colored pencils, Ms. Karlin immediately thought of other uses: “You could put makeup brushes or paintbrushes inside,” she said.
Studying a set of decorative brass bowls with intentionally imperfect rims, she marveled at “the perfection of the finish contrasted with the wibbly-wobbly shape,” and contemplated how she might use them at home. “They’d look nice holding ostrich eggs.”
Online, she was impressed with the Equilateral Nails from Winsome Brave, a stylish twist on a standard hardware-store item. “It’s awesome attention to detail,” she said of the triangular profile and head. “If you’re going to use a nail” — to hang a picture, or for any other reason — “use those nails.”
Even a pair of steel scissors from Spartan seemed special with the addition of handles made of brass. “They’re so utilitarian,” she said, “but also so beautiful.”
And that is what she admires most about this metal: “Brass can be industrial, but it can also be glam.”
im totally into brass objects - trays, bowls, tchotchkes, etc. - but i think i will always hate brass fixtures. doorknobs, light fixtures, draw and cab pulls... too yellow, clashes with everything including pretty patina-ed brass, just plain ugly.
we had some awesome old brass serving pieces at work this week so i did a little tablescape and put that thing on facebook. all the cool kids that follow my facebook page stormed in and bought it up. i particularly love when this happens after my boss tells me something in ugly :-)
Post by chittybangbang on Apr 13, 2013 11:49:11 GMT -5
I really love how Emily Henderson uses brass as an accent. It totally suits her funky eclectic vibe. That being said, I think it would look ridiculous in most non interior decorated houses.
I like brass a lot if its done right. we have some antique dressers that have the old burnished brass pulls and nightstands that I redid and put brass pulls on. and I love brass in a kitchen, whether it be pendants or cabinet hardware. I think brass and grey look awesome together.
I don't mind real brass in moderation. However, it seems like a lot of the houses in our area have crummy brass hardware that wears off over time and then just looks dated. Brass accents? Now those can be done well. However, I'm not a fan of brass hardware at all.
Below shows H's brass andirons he would never get rid of. So now they're at the new house. Regardless if they look fine or not with the new house/fireplace, I know I will never be able to convince him to remove them so I never even bothered to look at them closer or critic.
Brass for kitchen hardware is coming back. I wish I had saved the old originals that I removed - (real brass.) I could now sell them for a good price (donated it all to Habitat)