QUESTION: I've become bored with stainless steel. I'd like to use gold finishes in my kitchen -- a faucet, lights and hardware. The plan is to stay in our home for at least five more years. I just don't want to invest in fixtures that will bring down the value of our home. Wondering if you think gold is too high-design and trendy or will it become classic? Should I just stick with stainless?
ANSWER: Life is too short to be boring, and five years is a long time. When I flip through every home magazine on the newsstands, gold is everywhere. Although it's a designer favourite -- two of my favourite kitchens with gold cabinets are by design greats Kelly Wearstler and Jean-Louis Denoit -- gold is hard to find.
You'll find a couple of different styles of gold drawer pulls and faucets in big box stores, but there are larger selections only in luxury stores. (Anyone considering gold cabinets will have to go the custom route.)
I asked my friend Margot Austin, senior design editor of House & Home magazine and the savviest design trend expert I know, for her take on gold. She suggests "warm metals are definitely happening, but have been slow to catch on because so many of us want to get away from what we grew up with -- too many bad memories of shiny brass in the over-the-top '80s." Think ºber-shiny door knobs and bathroom faucets.
But she went on to say "things come back, just like in fashion, but in a different and updated way."
"The mix (of polished chrome and stainless steel and brass and gold) is always interesting," she says. "It shows an artful approach to decorating. A gold faucet won't change the value of your home."
I still love Kelly Deck's custom range hood from her jaw-dropping 2012 IDS West kitchen. If I were in the market for a home, I would pay extra for this gilded range hood because I love the glam and a home that makes a statement.
I understand that you want your home to appeal to many buyers. However, a well-designed home will always sell well. I've seen two bold homes sell in a day at well over their asking price. The first house was covered in boldly patterned wallpaper (a highly personal design choice); the second was furnished in mid-century-modern wood with grey cabinetry and eggplant walls.
Buyers can see past easy switches. In fact, you will likely attract a design-conscious purchaser who doesn't want to switch a thing and is willing to pay more for your home's added gold style.
Happy gold decorating!
-- Postmedia Network Inc. 2014
