Bronze is not a typical interior design element. You don’t see a lot of it in both residential and commercial buildings. That’s most likely because there are only a few furnishing styles where bronze furniture or fixtures could fit well, and they are not everyone’s cup of tea. It’s quite hard to find colors that go well with bronze, too.
History tells us a different story, though. Many of our ancestors didn’t incorporate bronze in their home’s interior design because they think it radiates a fancy and antique feel. After all, there was a period when bronze items signified grandeur and sophistication, which only suits a certain class of people. They still do today, but innovation has clearly caught up.
How to Use Bronze in Your Interior Design
While you may not see a lot of bronze in the typical middle class and modern homes, it’s making an unprecedented comeback in luxury homes. Then again, you can design any building with bronze. All you need is a little creativity to make it work. Here are some ideas you might find interesting.
Chandelier
– Bronze makes a fantastic material for your chandelier’s arms, stems, and bowls. Its color is not too bright and shiny—just enough to maintain the contrast that defines the beads. You don’t want your chandelier to be too glaring. Bronze can give it a tantalizing bedazzlement you won’t get in a brass-stemmed chandelier.
Bathroom Faucet and Sink
– If you want to give your bathroom a rustic appeal, consider combining wood and stucco, complemented by a bronze lavatory and dimmable lighting. Your antique-looking faucet and sink channel a classic Mediterranean bathroom style your guests will love.
Bathtub
– Indulge yourself in a relaxing hot bath with salts and bubbles in a luxury bronze tub. Unlike a stone or marble tub, a bronze tub retains heat longer. If you’re worried that it might rust, don’t be. Bronze is a non-ferrous metal. It won’t rust like steel or iron. Instead, you’ll notice its color transform into an elegant green that elevates its appeal.
Stairs
– A bronze spiral staircase can add a twist to your home’s multi-story interior. With its natural reddish-brown hue, it doesn’t need further coating. Don’t worry if it seems incompatible with your furnishings. The fact that it’s bronze gives it a license to be a focal point. After all, who wouldn’t want such a bizarre structural element to be easily recognizable?
Chairs
– Modern home interiors typically come with metallic features. Chairs and tables with bronze frames suit well with a minimalistic design. Because bronze is naturally tough, you can make small and thin frames that offer more visual space. The color also matches a variety of themes.
Colors That Go with Bronze
Bronze’s color is naturally eye-catching. It’s hard to integrate it into the whole interior design. But you can do something to prevent it from looking awkwardly out of place. Large items from a bathtub or big vase can quickly become an eyesore if you fail to put the right backdrop. Here are some of the colors that go well with bronze.
Cool and Calm Tones
– Bronze has a rich and earthy hue that is tiresome to the eyes. When you stare at it for too long, you might feel your senses a little revved up. Therefore, the best colors to pair it with are the cool and calm ones like the hazy-day or stormy sky tones. You can also choose a bright-colored backdrop but see to it that you will accentuate the surroundings with elements that have mid-tone hues.
Warm but Subtle
– Earthy colors are warm to the eyes. While the general rule is to pick a cool color that can balance out the warmth, you can still go for other warm colors but make sure they are faint compared to bronze. As much as possible, use the same pallet. The colors that belong to the bronze family include caramel, coral, peach, and iced frappe.
Neutral
– When in doubt, choose a neutral color. That will pretty much do the trick. But don’t just settle for white or black. There’s an entire spectrum of white shades that you can choose from, and many of them could make a much better backdrop for your bronze items than pure white.
How to Make Bronze Items Fit Existing Interior Designs
Some homeowners don’t find bronze’s original shade appealing. They think it ruins their home’s overall aesthetics. They don’t want to change their interior’s color theme to make the bronze item fit either. If you are in the same situation and need something dark to complement your furnishings, you can still opt for bronze but you should force its patina to form.
It takes many years for the patina to form, but you can force the beautiful dark tone to come out within minutes with the right treatment. Many bronze sculptors use ferric nitrate to alter the shade and tinge of their work. If you don’t like to use this substance and prefer products you are familiar with, you can use lemon extract, vinegar, or cold brew black coffee. They have an almost similar effect.
Are you thinking of making bronze furniture or fixtures? Then get your raw materials from a reputable supplier like Rotax Metals. Only buy bronze bars and sheets from a supplier that specializes in copper alloys. Using high-quality materials allows you to produce high-quality output.
