Big Comeback: Brass Kitchen Hardware

By Kate Riley April 29, 2015

Cabinet hardware is the jewelry of the kitchen and looks wonderful in silver and gold tones, also glass and bronze. The use of brass hardware in kitchens is on the rise and to be expected since we’ve all been giddy for gold in the past few years.

For the kitchen remodel I’m featuring next week I chose polished chrome hardware (these gorgeous knobs and these beautiful pulls) and they are so yummy. However, I’m just as crazy about the brass hardware that’s popping up in many a magazine and blogger kitchen remodel, the golden tones of brass against cooler hues in painted gray, green, or blue cabinets is a beautiful medley and of course white and gold is a timeless combination.

gray cabinets brass hardware

martha stewart

blue cabinets brass hardware

k marshall design

brass kitchen pulls

sophie burke design

gold hardware white kitchen

owens + davis

emily henderson brass hardware in kitchen

emily henderson

Brass hardware is especially striking with deep blue cabinets.

navy cabinets brass hardware

via domaine home

blue cabinets brass hardware sarah richardson

sarah richardson design, hgtv

How lovely to see kitchens that aren’t matchy matchy, the cabinet colors are different and the mix of brass and stainless steel appliances totally works. Yes, you can mix your metals!

kitchen makeover smittenstudio

smitten studio

brass hardware charcoal cabinets brittanymakes

brittany makes

white cabinets brass pulls stainless appliances

love joy designs

Like anything that comes full circle in design, the look of brass hardware again has modern appeal. The house I grew up in in the 80s had all lacquered brass faucets, fixtures and hardware and as a result gold hardware was a turn off to me for years. Yet the newer looks in brass kitchen hardware feel very fresh with their clean lines and matte satin finish. Are you a fan?  

23 comments

  1. i’m way into this. just got a brass based mcm lamp from a thrift store that has instantly hip’ti’fied my family room. force me to pick two favorite kitchen pics here? okay: k. marshall, emily henderson.
    thanks for sharing! what beauty!

  2. I agree with you about the 80’s brass making you feel very anti-brass for a long time. I couldn’t wear any yellow metal jewelry until a few years ago–everything had to be silver. While I like seeing brass now and I like seeing it mixed into kitchens, I still can’t see it being on everything in a kitchen. Brass pulls/knobs are beautiful, but I think I draw my line at the brass faucet. Maybe if it were an aged brass? Maybe? Favorite two: Emily Henderson and Sarah Richardson.

  3. I’m sure it’s my age I grew up in the late 70’s and I always thought of brass as being so old lady. When I think of all the solid brass things I have given away. I still prefer brushed nickel but this is a beautiful kitchen…who knows maybe you can teach this old dog some new tricks!

  4. i still haven’t recovered from the previous brass. It can work, but I’m kind of over the idea of being on trend with my metals.

  5. Have to say—No thank you to the brass hardware. Kitchens are gorgeous but I prefer brushed nickel or polished chrome or even oil rubbed bronze. I’m just not a fan of the brass/gold hardware.

  6. While the kitchens are beautiful, I’m not a fan of the brass! To me, it makes the kitchens look “dated.”

  7. I love the antiqued brass hardware, but am hesitant to go “all in” in the fixtures too – I guess that bad 80’s brass is hard to shake off! The kitchens you featured are gorgeous though – I especially love the brass against the rich blue cabinets!

  8. I’m redoing our kitchen with super dark blue base cabinets (which, by the way, is not a colour it’s possible to get with any sheen, I’m having to paint and then varnish them).

    I love certain gold/brass hardware and tried to buy some, but there are two problems when it comes down to brass tacks (see what I did there?). The actual finish varies so so much that you can’t mix and match, and they are outrageously expensive compared to other finishes. There’s also a correlation between the prettiness of the finish and the price. I liked one cup pull that was $30 each, and of course nothing else in their range (and specfic finish) was right for the upper cabinets.

    I ended up going with polished nickel and matched a Home Depot special order cup pull with an off the shelf knob.

  9. I have always loved brass but not the yellowish lacquered stuff from the 80s. When we built our retirement home I struggled to find authentic brass hardware and fixtures, resorting to eBay and websites. My builder tried to talk me out of brass, insisting it was too dated for an upscale project. Thank goodness for Baldwin Brass! I did have to use mixed metals in the kitchen and baths. Moen made chrome and brass faucets and towel bars, now discontinued, but beautiful in our home. So glad you can find brass easier now.

  10. Not a fan of the brass. While the kitchens above are lovely, the brass looks either dated or trendy. I was thinking seriously about oil-rubbed bronze fixtures when I got my kitchen and bathroom cabinets painted white as the 1980s-built homes in my HOA all have those great dark-framed windows with sliders or mullions which I love and which (with an arch and a vaulted ceiling in the LR) help give my little place a slightly Spanish bungalow feel. In the end, however, it might be too much and I’ll probably stick with chrome or nickel.

  11. I’ve always loved brass and never understood why everyone was painting it a few years ago. I think the problem with much of the brass from the 80s was that it is cheaply made. We have high quality brass door handles and hinges on our french doors that were expensive and beautifully made and they are classic. Cheap anything is just that and no matter what the material it will never stand the test of time.

  12. Love It. Love it. Love it. All the gray & brushed nickel can be a little cold.

  13. The only times I’ve used brass was in my century homes. In modern homes I’m not a fan of brass.

  14. Love the brass/gold in these kitchens, but it’s just a trend. If you don’t mind switching out your handles, faucet and lighting in a few years then go for it. I’m sticking to polished nickel myself for resale.

  15. Kate would love to see a roundup of affordable options of brass hardware and faucets from you .

  16. I like the brass hardware on the navy blue and black cabinets in your photos, but the light-colored cabinets–especially the gray ones–not so much! But like you I remember the brass hardware from the 80s and it feels old to me.

  17. My brass knobs never went away. Always preferred the timeless richness of brass!

  18. Really amazing how the brass adds such a wow factor but subtle at the same time. Also surprising how neutral the brass looks it pretty much goes with most color combinations. The brass adds a really nice finish.

  19. LOVE the lighter cabinets with brass hardware (martha stewart; sophie burke design, owen & davis; love joy designs) but NOT the faucets. Makes me appreciate the antique brass hardware I still left have in my home!

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