From soft brass to champagne gold and polished nickel or chrome you can find anything you need. However, Lighting Design doesn't recommend getting hung up on matching your light fixture finishes with your hardware finishes. You don't even have to match your light finishes to each other.
We often get asked if all of the finishes in a room need to match perfectly. To that, we answer: absolutely not. Don't be afraid to pair natural brass cabinet hardware with black pendants, surface mounts, or wall sconces. When it comes to home styling, mixing tones and eras can make a compelling interior statement.
Matching your light fixtures and hardware in finish, material, or style creates a sense of unity within a space. This approach is especially popular in kitchens, bathrooms, and entryways where consistency ties together various design elements, like cabinet doors, plumbing fixtures, pendant lights, and entry sets.
Should your kitchen faucet match your cabinet hardware? Having a cohesive metal finish look doesn't mean matchy matchy. Your kitchen faucet should match either your cabinet hardware or a metal element that is a foundation in the room such as the appliances or pendant lamps.
The general rule of thumb is to not mix more than 2-3 metals. To help you mix metals in an open floor plan, keep the height of the fixture in mind. For example, it could be visually appealing to use aged brass pendants and matte black floor lamps. Remember to balance these mixed metals by maintaining symmetry.
Mix no fewer than two metals and no more than four different ones for the best results. Try picking a dominant metal and then contrasting it. For example, if most of the items in one room are finished in chrome, add in a brass light fixture.
The simple answer is that there's really no need for your light fixtures to match throughout your home. It's entirely possible that you may choose to have identical light fixtures in several rooms, but even this isn't at all necessary to have a beautiful and well-designed interior.
While not required, matching fixtures can help a bathroom look more polished. Most bathrooms have a uniform style and use the same color palette throughout. The sink, faucet, towel bar, cabinet hardware, and lighting all fall within this category.
It's important to coordinate the finish of your door handles with other hardware in your home, such as light fixtures, cabinet handles, and switch plates. Doing so will create a cohesive look throughout your home.
The cabinet hardware finish should coordinate with the cabinet color. White cabinets look great with just about any hardware finish, but light- and dark-colored cabinets should be paired with hardware finishes that make the pulls—and hinges if they're visible—pop.
As a general rule, for every foot of ceiling height, the light fixture should be 2.5-3 inches high. Therefore, a room with a 10-foot ceiling could handle a light fixture 25-30 inches tall.
Designers unanimously predict the ongoing popularity of the vintage and retro-inspired trend into 2024. With a focus on reviving nostalgia and crafting timeless spaces, there's a prevailing emphasis on contemporary lighting that exudes a retro vibe.
Pastels are also the perfect tones to mix and match with other accessories in your bathrooms and kitchens and work well with chromes, brushed nickels, mattes and more. Black fixture is here to stay for good. Black fittings, especially matte black taps and fixtures, offer style as well as substance.
I would recommend using the same hardware on all interior doors, but it's okay to have hardware and plumbing fixtures that are different. When you have different finishes and fixtures throughout the house, it creates a unique and custom feel.
Consistency is key.
While each room does not have to match throughout the house, there is a consistent theme. Every room will have an individual colour scheme and design, but there will be a common theme throughout them all.
Does cabinet hardware have to match your faucet? No. But, traditionally kitchens and bathrooms will match hardware finishes to the faucet to tie the finishes in the room together. Matching cabinet hardware to your faucet creates a cohesive look.
To clarify— it's not uncommon to match hardware and lighting fixtures. Despite the aforementioned fluctuation in style-rules, it hasn't gone so far that matching finishes is anywhere near faux-pas status.
The simple answer is no, sockets and switches do not have to match. In fact there are many occasions when we would suggest choosing a different finish for the sockets and switches in the same room.
4: Mix Finishes, Tastefully
I recommend mixing at least two, but no more than four finishes in each room. This is the hardest to do well, especially if you are new to lighting. Before you buy, take some time to get inspired.
No, your bathroom hardware doesn't have to match. There is a common belief that if the metals in your bathroom are different colors or finishes, your bathroom will look tacky, unbalanced, or just plain chaotic. That couldn't be further from the truth!
If you plan on hanging a sconce on each side of your mirror for instance, then your bathroom will have a more cohesive look to it if the sconces match the existing bathroom accessories. Although matching existing finishes to light fixtures serve as a safe possibility, there is also the opportunity to mix finishes.
However, there is no rule to say you can't have the same lights, this is what some people like. But that doesn't mean that every room in the house should have the same set of pendant lights, or even matching your table lamps to your pendant fixtures. The key thing is 'subtlety'. Choose similar styles but not the same.
Many people think that matching your finishes is the best way to coordinate your home or kitchen, but in reality this often creates a monochromatic and dated look. We often get questions about which metals work best together, and the answer is: They all can go together…as long as there is clear design intent!
Colour Inconsistencies:
Sometimes, the light strips display different colours along their length, causing a rainbow-like effect. This colour inconsistency can be attributed to uneven voltage distribution or faulty LED chips.