Bronze remains a popular accent around the home

Bronze. It has been used throughout the ages for everything from tools to jewelry and sculptures. As a decorative accent, this metal has become wildly popular in recent years, used in the home for virtually anything metal based, from lamps and wall sconces to drawer pulls, door and cabinet handles, switch plates, address plaques and mailboxes.

“There are two reasons why bronze has become so popular,” said Adele Lampert, owners of Page One Interiors in Barrington. “One, brass is highly polished and formal and the finish just doesn't last. Two, our society has become much more casual and bronze fits that casualness.”

Depending on whom one asks, the surge in bronze popularity began anywhere from about three to six years ago. While bronze hardware and accents started out with rural, rugged finishes, even that has changed in such a short time.

“No longer is bronze only for rustic décor,” said Lynette Welker, co-owner of The Knobbery in Arlington Heights. “It used to have that ‘house in Colorado' sensibility, but now the looks that manufacturers have brought in are a lot more refined.

Possibly the biggest advantage for this metal when used in decorative hardware and accents is the inherent warmth in its color spectrum — golds and browns which can take on a variety of accents and hues depending on the patina process used.

“You can achieve some unique color ranges with bronze,” Welker said. “There are so many different ways that it can look — natural, satin, matte, distressed, and natural bronze with coppery or golden undertones.”

Because it's essentially a neutral color, bronze can go with almost any color scheme.

“Manufacturers keep trying to come out with other finishes to replace bronze, but nothing works because people want it,” said Benson Littman, co-owner of Littman Brothers Lighting Co. “It's such an earthy color that it pretty much goes with everything and any color scheme except gray. It even works with black.

“Bronze works with furniture and leather, which has earth tones, as well as cabinets, which people are trying to make look more like furniture.”

Even kitchen appliances are getting into the act. Welker noted that manufacturers are making door pulls for refrigerators, ovens, etc., to match cabinet door handles, all in an effort to give cabinets and the entire kitchen area the look of quality furniture.

Yet, from a design standpoint, bronze accents are an ideal way to create visual interest in a room.

“It gives you the punch you need when you're redoing your house,” Lampert said.

In a recent installation, Lampert used a bronze strip out of necessity to cover a seam in the surface of a large island kitchen. The strip not only covered the seam but added interest without adding formality.

Another way that Lampert likes to add pop into a room is through a bronze accent table, table or floor lamp, or a sculpture. Sculptures don't have to be large or expensive to do the trick. The Knobbery carries Linda Winkelman's Copia Bronze line that includes not only handles and pulls, but also wall plaques and small sculptures.

Another unique line of decorative hardware is by artist Gayle Bright. Among the unique pieces one can order in a variety of finishes are handles in the shape of a mermaid, a giraffe, a tiger or plumeria flowers.

“She has her signature on each one so they're like artwork,” Welker said.

Bronze doesn't have to be expensive to make a statement. Welker indicated that a wide range of choices is available in the $7 to $15 per piece price range, but items are available below and above those price points.

Among Lampert's favorite decorative hardware manufacturers are Rocky Mountain Hardware and Ashley Norton, both producing higher-end products. The difference is in the metal itself. Bronze hardware comes in two types — cast bronze, where the color goes all the way through the metal; and oil-rubbed bronze. The latter, in most cases, is brass with an oil-finished process applied over it to achieve the rich bronze color. This is the less expensive version, but let the buyer beware. Because of this process, the patina can eventually rub off.

Bronze is also timeless, often evoking a sense of French Nouveau sculpture or Ormolu, also known as bronze doré or gilded bronze. Ormolu was originally an 18th century process whereby a solution of nitrate of mercury was applied to bronze followed by an amalgam of gold and mercury to produce gilded highlights. No true Ormolu was produced after 1830 because of the toxicity of the process, but today's similar methods continue to mimic the patina, resulting in an ornate look for items such as chandeliers.

Lighting is an area where bronze continues to burn brightly.

“It's in everything — floor lamps, table lamps, wall sconces, everything from head to toe,” Littman said.

Lampert noted that changing light fixtures is a quick and easy way to update a home's look, particularly with bronze.

“Change your light fixtures because they totally date the look of your house,” she said.

Bronze lighting even appears outside the house in fixtures for entryways and garages. You'll also find its warmth in address plaques and mailboxes.

“People are paying attention to little things,” Welker said. “When they bring a color into a space, they really want to follow through.”

Welker noted that bronze colors appear in many contemporary stone countertops and that people are simply picking up the color and following through on it with decorative hardware and accents.