Copper makes itself at home inside

It all started about three years ago with a small sink.

Kimberly Holland and her husband, David, of Fresno, Calif., were renovating their kitchen, and she had searched and searched for a sink for her kitchen island.

"I didn't like the porcelain sinks available at the time," says Holland, a stay-at-home mother.

Not finding what she wanted at local stores, she went online and found a handmade copper sink from Mexico at a low price. About seven months later, she went back to the same Web site and ordered a custom, farmhouse-style kitchen sink. That order was followed by another for two copper panels for the cabinets above the bar area.

Then, copper products -- many of which were gifts from friends -- started appearing in and around her home. Copper teakettles. Copper hanging pots. A copper window box. She also has faux-copper items, too.

"As (real copper) gets more popular and expensive, I've seen it in all kinds of different things," she says.

While copper has been used for gutters and pipes, the material also can be used in interesting ways inside and outside of the house, as Holland, 36, has discovered. At least two local metalworkers also are helping shine the light on copper.

"The first thing people are attracted to is the appearance" of copper, says Eric Montgomery, who started The Metal Shoppe in Clovis, Calif., with his wife, Debra, about three and a half years ago. "It's kind of timeless. It reflects old-time craftsmanship."

If left to the elements outdoors, copper's brownish-gold glow will weather. In some areas, the material will acquire a patina, but not necessarily in dry climates. In areas without salt or humidity in the air, he says, "It'll turn brown, like an old penny."

When customers do want the patina color, the Montgomerys will force it by applying chemicals or vinegar and salt.

The patina "protects it from fingerprints, but it can still age," Debra Montgomery says.

Copper can be heated with a torch, cooled in water and then worked on while still soft and hot. There are several ways coppersmiths can create designs on copper, such as chasing, where depressed patterns are formed from the front.

Another is repoussé, where a raised pattern is made by hammering, punching or chiseling the metal from the back. Additional details can be made on the front with chasing.

"We can do this on (any) metal, but it anneals, or softens, really well with copper," Debra Montgomery says.

While copper can be used indoors or out, it doesn't work well with some other metals. "Aluminum or galvanized steel will corrode the copper in a short period of time," Eric Montgomery says.

Holland discovered this when she put an aluminum pan from a rice cooker in the larger kitchen sink overnight and the pot left a black ring where it reacted with the copper. "You scrub at it and it comes off."

But copper, real copper, doesn't come cheap. "It's four times the price of steel," Eric Montgomery says. "It's not something everybody can pay for, but if a person wants it, it's here."

For example, one item the Montgomerys often get requests for is a custom kitchen hood. Don't be surprised if it costs $3,000 to $10,000.

For her small sink, Holland paid less than $300 and about $700 for the larger kitchen sink. The cabinet panels were about $400 total.

With raw copper in demand, Holland has noticed the material also has caught the eyes of thieves. Already, a copper watering can she had in her front yard has gone missing. Since then, "I've been focusing on copper (items) that are a little more heavy," she says.

Besides sinks and kitchen hoods, copper has found its way into homes as backsplashes, fireplace surrounds and countertops. Copper can be used outside the house for roofs, weather vanes, chimney tops and finials.

Kara Smith of Fresno decided to go with a copper roof for her gazebo about a year ago. The stay-at-home mother hired a local woodworker to build the 14-foot- diameter shelter, but when it came to the roof, she wanted something that would stand out.

"All of my windows in the back of my house open to the backyard," says Smith, 36. "We needed something for shade by our pool and we wanted it to be beautiful to look at."

She considered wood and other metals but settled on copper. "We wanted something that was one of a kind," she says.

She looked in the phone book and found The Metal Shoppe. Besides the copper roof, she also wanted "something whimsical" for the rooftop.

"I didn't want just a weather vane," she says. "She (Debra Montgomery) made steel flowers, wrapped them around the top and painted them blue."

The copper roof and top cost about $6,000. "For me, because it's something I look at every day and is really beautiful, I love it."