"At some point, people looked at yellowish metals and thought they were too mums-y and traditional," said interior designer Cliff Fong, a co-owner of Galerie Half in Los Angeles. "The '80s was an era of stainless steel and gelled hair. Everything was hard and slick." Homeowners embraced the clean look and easy upkeep of silvery stainless steel appliances and nickel hardware, and they clung tight. Meanwhile, technology was increasingly influencing design trends. As Apple's computers morphed from creamy beige to pale aluminum, silver tones became firmly associated with high performance and revolutionary thinking. Yet, along the way, these icy, futuristic finishes became so ubiquitous that, for some, they began to look cheap and dated. These days, a silver iPhone can seem almost quaint.
Brass, however, evokes the pre-digital era of hand-wrought craftsmanship. "In a traditional setting, nothing authenticates a room like brass," said Atlanta-based designer Stan Topol, who particularly likes brass sabots on the feet of chairs. "It is the hallmark of a quality piece of furniture." In more minimalist design schemes, brass adds romance. "There's a history to brass that can feel unbelievably classic, like an old French hotel," Michael S. Smith, a Los Angeles designer, observed.
Ms. Kirar sees brass as an essential component of what is being called organic modernism, a more textured, luxurious look that is rooted in natural materials such as leather, stone and wood. "It is not as cold and austere as the minimalist aesthetic that emerged in the 1980s," she said. Low-slung white enameled media units need not apply.
Unless it is lacquered, brass tarnishes, and most designers are just fine with that. "The fresh take on brass is to use it un-lacquered," said Mr. Berman. "Let the metal age and turn gorgeous tones of bronze, brown and olive green with a dull luster that is soft and velvety." Mr. Dixon likes to use brass in hardware and pieces that can be touched, which speeds up the tarnishing process. "Boomers are embracing the softer and more mottled qualities of brass," added Mr. Berman, "not polished or lacquered, but aging gracefully like the generation buying it."
As the home-furnishings market gets brassier, designers are finding other applications for the metal. Manhattan architect Matthew Bremer recently upgraded a standard stainless steel elevator to brushed brass for a 160-year-old townhouse. "This is not the shiny polished brass of past decades that appeared showy and fake," he explained. "It's contemporary but has the authentic beauty of an orchestra instrument that shows its wear from hours of practice."
Increasingly, manufacturers of bathroom fixtures are offering warm metal finishes again (see sidebar below), and many designers are specifying shower door frames in brass instead of nickel. Even in the kitchen, where copper pots and sinks are status symbols, brass, which is naturally germicidal and antimicrobial, is making inroads. Los Angeles custom homebuilder John Finton, author of the 2013 book "California Luxury Living" (Images Publishing), recently completed a kitchen inspired by a black-lacquer and brass La Cornue range. And Kelly Wearstler installed a 1/8 -inch-thick brass countertop with an integrated sink basin in the glossy turquoise kitchen of her client Cameron Diaz's Manhattan apartment.
"I can't see brass appliances being very far away," declared Mr. Dixon, who built a brass bar that can seat more than a dozen for chef Jamie Oliver's London steakhouse, Barbecoa. "We've clad existing refrigerators in sheet brass and they look like Donald Judd sculptures."
Brass, however, evokes the pre-digital era of hand-wrought craftsmanship. "In a traditional setting, nothing authenticates a room like brass," said Atlanta-based designer Stan Topol, who particularly likes brass sabots on the feet of chairs. "It is the hallmark of a quality piece of furniture." In more minimalist design schemes, brass adds romance. "There's a history to brass that can feel unbelievably classic, like an old French hotel," Michael S. Smith, a Los Angeles designer, observed.
Ms. Kirar sees brass as an essential component of what is being called organic modernism, a more textured, luxurious look that is rooted in natural materials such as leather, stone and wood. "It is not as cold and austere as the minimalist aesthetic that emerged in the 1980s," she said. Low-slung white enameled media units need not apply.
Unless it is lacquered, brass tarnishes, and most designers are just fine with that. "The fresh take on brass is to use it un-lacquered," said Mr. Berman. "Let the metal age and turn gorgeous tones of bronze, brown and olive green with a dull luster that is soft and velvety." Mr. Dixon likes to use brass in hardware and pieces that can be touched, which speeds up the tarnishing process. "Boomers are embracing the softer and more mottled qualities of brass," added Mr. Berman, "not polished or lacquered, but aging gracefully like the generation buying it."
As the home-furnishings market gets brassier, designers are finding other applications for the metal. Manhattan architect Matthew Bremer recently upgraded a standard stainless steel elevator to brushed brass for a 160-year-old townhouse. "This is not the shiny polished brass of past decades that appeared showy and fake," he explained. "It's contemporary but has the authentic beauty of an orchestra instrument that shows its wear from hours of practice."
Increasingly, manufacturers of bathroom fixtures are offering warm metal finishes again (see sidebar below), and many designers are specifying shower door frames in brass instead of nickel. Even in the kitchen, where copper pots and sinks are status symbols, brass, which is naturally germicidal and antimicrobial, is making inroads. Los Angeles custom homebuilder John Finton, author of the 2013 book "California Luxury Living" (Images Publishing), recently completed a kitchen inspired by a black-lacquer and brass La Cornue range. And Kelly Wearstler installed a 1/8 -inch-thick brass countertop with an integrated sink basin in the glossy turquoise kitchen of her client Cameron Diaz's Manhattan apartment.
"I can't see brass appliances being very far away," declared Mr. Dixon, who built a brass bar that can seat more than a dozen for chef Jamie Oliver's London steakhouse, Barbecoa. "We've clad existing refrigerators in sheet brass and they look like Donald Judd sculptures."
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