Every hardware decision in this kitchen came down to one question: will this look right in forty years? Polished chrome won't. Brushed nickel probably won't. Unlacquered brass will.
Unlacquered brass patinas over time. The finish changes — it darkens in the places you touch most, develops small variations in color, takes on a depth that no coated hardware can replicate. It looks like something that has been used in a home, by people, for a long time.
The counterargument is that it requires maintenance. You can polish it back to bright if you want, or let it go entirely. We're letting it go. Three months in and the pulls already look like they've been in the kitchen for decades.
We sourced ours from an importer who works with a foundry in Portugal. Not cheap. But the weight of them — the way they feel when you open a cabinet door — is completely different from the stamped hardware at a big box store.
The second-best decision we made was keeping all the hardware consistent. Same family, same finish, throughout. Mixing metals reads as indecision. Committing reads as taste.
If you're going brass hardware, go brass lighting too. Unlacquered brass kitchen pendant lights above the island made the whole kitchen more coherent.
Karen at The Holloway Home tackled the same brass-versus-black decision in her brass vs. black lighting post — her take on unlacquered brass aging is worth reading before you commit.
Choosing a Finish That Ages
We chose unlacquered brass precisely because it doesn't stay artificially shiny — it develops a living patina with use, darkening where hands touch it. In a historic kitchen that authenticity is the appeal; coated and plated finishes look frozen by comparison.
Living With the Patina
Maintenance is really just a preference: use it and let it age, or polish it back to bright now and then. We've embraced the patina, and it pairs beautifully with warm wood tones and the kitchen's warm lighting. A year in, it looks like it's always belonged.
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