What's Old Is New Again

Hello there, avid home decorator, designer, DIYer, contractor extraordinaire. Welcome to our first blog post of Inspired Home with Jason and Gretchen. A new blog series we are writing for WLKY. We are a husband and wife team who build and design locally in the Louisville area. Both Bellarmine grads, and parents to three terrific sons, we have literally built a life that we both enjoy and love. Jason is a local registered homebuilder and co-owns Artisan Signature Homes with his business partner Jimmy King. I'm a small business owner that runs a local boutique in Norton Commons, called Lulubelles, with my cousin Natalie Gerlack. I also work as a freelance interior stylist. Jason and I have worked together on many houses over the years, including building six of our own personal homes we've designed together. We also love to travel throughout the South together, searching for that southern inspiration to bring back to our clients. With that experience comes lots of access to the latest and greatest in home design and building. So with our new blog series The Inspired Home we will be sharing with you design and building tips to help inspire you with your latest projects. 

Today's post is about brass. Yes, brass is back in a big way in home design. The finishes of brass have changed dramatically over the last several decades. I am finding that it's not that 80's brass, that appeared really yellow and shiny. In contrast it's a beautiful brass that has a brushed finished, and a really beautiful gold tone. The good news is, oil rubbed bronze, brushed nickel, and chrome are all still very much in style, it's just that brass has got a new look and an update. So don't feel like you have to go out and change all your fixtures and door knobs immediately, but I am going to give you some ideas on how to incorporate this beautiful finish into your home. 

Let's start where it may be easiest to incorporate brass, home accessories.  Here are a few items that I think you could easily add without spending a lot of time or money.

Did you know that the pineapple symbolizes "welcome" in the south? So this pineapple tray serves as double duty, you can use it to introduce brass into your home, and also make your guest feel welcome. We actually have these available at our Lulubelles boutique located in Norton Commons.

Do you love to go antiquing like I do? Or maybe you inherited an old set of brass candlesticks like these...

These would be great in a dining room, or fireplace mantel.

I recently picked up these pineapple candlesticks at Anthropologie, and I have them sitting in our kitchen. Clearly I have a love for pineapples. :)

 And I collected both of these brass pineapples while out antiquing. They are currently gracing our fireplace mantel, stacked on some vintage books. 

So maybe you are looking to update the handles in your kitchen. You have two options, you can either replace them with new hardware, note to self, make sure you measure your current hardware to be sure you get new hardware that matches the drilled holes exactly. Or you can use spray paint to recoat your existing hardware. There are some really great finishes in brass tones at your local craft stores. 

Here is the brass hardware we have in our kitchen, and I love that it's a classic style and shape, with the timeless brass feel. 

I have seen very similar looks and finishes to these in the special order section at Lowes and Home Depot, so check with your local hardware store if you are up for the investment of switching out your cabinet hardware.  

Another great way to introduce brass into your home is by installing new light fixtures, or repainting existing ones. Many times over the years I have ordered a light fixture and not loved the finish. So I grab my sponge brush and change the finish with some craft paint in a color that I feel suits the space better. Don't be afraid to give it a try. When all else fails, and the budget allows, you can update with new light fixtures. We have a selection of pretty brass fixtures, like this one at Lulubelles.

Bathrooms are an elegant way to bring brass into your home. Maybe start with updating a powder room? You can find this pretty toilet paper holder at Anthropologie.

 There are lots of great options for brass fixtures. Places that we use locally for homes that Jason and I are building/designing together are Winnelson and Willis Klein. Both places have a lot of beautiful options.

photo from VanDykes

One of my favorite features from a recent project are these beautiful brass egg knobs. I feel like I'm stepping back in time, yet they have a modern feel to them. They are available locally at Willis Klein.

I hope that you feel inspired to bring a little brass into your home. It really is a beautiful finish, all the while being timeless and elegant. And if you would like to see projects that Jason and I are working on you can follow along with our Instagram feeds. We are both really active with our accounts, and love posting projects we are working on. :) You can follow me here, and Jason here