In contemporary design, all that glitters is no longer silver. Nor is it nickel, chrome or mirror-polished stainless steel, the similarly cool metal tones that have outsold other finishes on everything from faucets to furniture for decades. Brass, last in vogue in the '70s, has been moving in from the margins, showing up on a pendant light here, a table leg there—exuding a certain cocky, outsider glamour. In recent years, it's started to make silver tones look, all too accurately, commonplace. And now, no metal is shining more compellingly: Brass is conclusively back.
1. Pencil Holder, $75, jaysonhome.com 2. Ilse Brass Box, $275 each, georgjensen.com 3. Auböck Bookend, $585 for two, shop.cooperhewitt.org 4. Candleholder, $248 for set of three, dwellstudio.com 5. 48-ounce Hammer, $60, globalindustrial.com 6. Origami Bowl, $199 for set of three, akmdcollection.com 7. Stelton EM 77 Vacuum Jug, $149, huset-shop.com 8. Whisk, $8, crateandbarrel.com 9. Vase, $495, kellywearstler.com 10. Josef Hoffmann Candle Holder/Vase, $280, neuegalerie.org 11. Brass Gala Box, $198 each, jonathanadler.com 12. Hex and Block Paperweights, $95 each, daniel-emma.com 13. Icosahedron Paperweight, $148, michelevarian.com
Though copper and bronze, its pricier cousins, are also looking newly desirable, brass—a poor-man's-gold alloy of copper and zinc typically relegated to plumbing, tubas and Olde English doorknockers—has gained the strongest following. Leading designers from Jonathan Adler to Michael S. Smith, Kelly Wearstler to Celerie Kemble, all offer products in brass: burnished chairs, glowing desks, honeyed chandeliers, lamps, barware, desk accessories and more. Brass is also entering the mainstream, prominently featured in catalogs from such retailers as Crate & Barrel and Restoration Hardware. Relatively affordable, this ancient metal is nevertheless speaking to a 21st-century desire for luxury, timelessness and artisanship.
In a sure sign of its ascendance, the warm metal look is also popping up in electronics, where silvery shades generally go unchallenged: The white version of Lady Gaga's Heartbeats ear buds for Beats by Dr. Dre is distinguished by brass-toned studs, and demand for Apple's new gold iPhone 5s, whose plating could pass for brushed brass, has been so relentless that at least one website has emerged to help track its availability. Even car-makers are starting to see past silver (the most popular auto color for years,until it was topped by white in 2011); automotive paint manufacturer BASF has begun to develop several shades of gold for the Chinese market, and industry forecasters are predicting that the brassy and bronzy shades of '70s cars are ripe for revival in America.
Interactive: Top Brass
Metal finishes are signifiers, said Mr. Adler, who currently offers more than 200 brass products, including a 60-pound sculptural peacock table. "Silver tones are cool, high-tech, Calvin Klein simplicity," he said. "Brass equals warmth, English clubbiness, Moroccan craft and Italian mid-century fantasy." In other words, brass has a more colorful past.
The new brass age arguably began nearly a decade ago with designer Tom Dixon. A Brit with fond memories of growing up in North Africa with the region's polished brass cookware, he began to experiment with the metal to enhance lighting designs. "It's human nature to get bored," he explained of his decision to use a warmer material. "Brass felt like a more human alternative to hygienic and cold stainless steel kitchens, chrome cars and aluminum electronics." Launched in 2006, his Beat series, a collection of vessel-shaped pendant lights made in India from blackened brass with polished hammered interiors, has sold in the tens of thousands and become iconic—primitive yet decidedly modern.
Finish Lines
1. Pencil Holder, $75, jaysonhome.com 2. Ilse Brass Box, $275 each, georgjensen.com 3. Auböck Bookend, $585 for two, shop.cooperhewitt.org 4. Candleholder, $248 for set of three, dwellstudio.com 5. 48-ounce Hammer, $60, globalindustrial.com 6. Origami Bowl, $199 for set of three, akmdcollection.com 7. Stelton EM 77 Vacuum Jug, $149, huset-shop.com 8. Whisk, $8, crateandbarrel.com 9. Vase, $495, kellywearstler.com 10. Josef Hoffmann Candle Holder/Vase, $280, neuegalerie.org 11. Brass Gala Box, $198 each, jonathanadler.com 12. Hex and Block Paperweights, $95 each, daniel-emma.com 13. Icosahedron Paperweight, $148, michelevarian.com
Though copper and bronze, its pricier cousins, are also looking newly desirable, brass—a poor-man's-gold alloy of copper and zinc typically relegated to plumbing, tubas and Olde English doorknockers—has gained the strongest following. Leading designers from Jonathan Adler to Michael S. Smith, Kelly Wearstler to Celerie Kemble, all offer products in brass: burnished chairs, glowing desks, honeyed chandeliers, lamps, barware, desk accessories and more. Brass is also entering the mainstream, prominently featured in catalogs from such retailers as Crate & Barrel and Restoration Hardware. Relatively affordable, this ancient metal is nevertheless speaking to a 21st-century desire for luxury, timelessness and artisanship.
In a sure sign of its ascendance, the warm metal look is also popping up in electronics, where silvery shades generally go unchallenged: The white version of Lady Gaga's Heartbeats ear buds for Beats by Dr. Dre is distinguished by brass-toned studs, and demand for Apple's new gold iPhone 5s, whose plating could pass for brushed brass, has been so relentless that at least one website has emerged to help track its availability. Even car-makers are starting to see past silver (the most popular auto color for years,until it was topped by white in 2011); automotive paint manufacturer BASF has begun to develop several shades of gold for the Chinese market, and industry forecasters are predicting that the brassy and bronzy shades of '70s cars are ripe for revival in America.
Interactive: Top Brass
Metal finishes are signifiers, said Mr. Adler, who currently offers more than 200 brass products, including a 60-pound sculptural peacock table. "Silver tones are cool, high-tech, Calvin Klein simplicity," he said. "Brass equals warmth, English clubbiness, Moroccan craft and Italian mid-century fantasy." In other words, brass has a more colorful past.
The new brass age arguably began nearly a decade ago with designer Tom Dixon. A Brit with fond memories of growing up in North Africa with the region's polished brass cookware, he began to experiment with the metal to enhance lighting designs. "It's human nature to get bored," he explained of his decision to use a warmer material. "Brass felt like a more human alternative to hygienic and cold stainless steel kitchens, chrome cars and aluminum electronics." Launched in 2006, his Beat series, a collection of vessel-shaped pendant lights made in India from blackened brass with polished hammered interiors, has sold in the tens of thousands and become iconic—primitive yet decidedly modern.
Finish Lines
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