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Is it me, or is oil rubbed bronze losing popularity? I know it was a huge trend in the late 2000s and early 2010s, but it seems like it is less popular now. Some brands have discontinued select styles of fixtures in an ORB finish. Does anyone think ORB is now out of style?
It seems like Kohler is trying to start a new trend of rose gold plumbing fixtures, while Moen is betting on brushed gold. I wonder what will be the next trend.
Don't follow the vendor of products to see what's "in." They only make money if they get people to buy something new.
Stick with the tried & true that have been "in style" for centuries. Bronze has been around for a looooong time. It will always be in style, though not necessarily the "latest thing." That's a different thing entirely.
I like classic. Classic never goes out of style. Just get whatever is classic and looks best in your style of home.
Just don't understand why anyone has to select day-to-day functional fixtures based on what's in "style" at the second. Think for yourself. Buy what you happen to like and will want to live with for years. Quality and good design trumps appearance IMHO. Unless you are desperate to milk every nickel out of an upcoming house sale and are a willing victim of every passing trend that is.
Well, I think the most "timeless" would be polished chrome or stainless, as those finishes have been used since at least the 1920s and continue to be used today.
They're also the most durable.
I think the most timeless is brass. You find it in almost every period. The silver finishes work best with very modern style furniture, IMO. Brass, which has not been trendy for a number of years, works with almost all traditional styles. I think my favorite finish is antiqued brass which was very trendy in the 1970s. I like it because it blends and isn’t too shiny.
But the bronze type finish works for my house now, because it seems to blend, or at least not war, with the various pieces of furniture I own, most of which I’ve owned for a number of years.
When I buy a high quality faucet, I look for all brass with chrome finish. Longest lasting finish and never out of style. I also try to buy Delta or at least Moen. The internal parts for every Delta faucet made in the last 50 years would fit in a coffee can. Most of the other manufacturers change internals like you change your underwear.
When I buy a high quality faucet, I look for all brass with chrome finish. Longest lasting finish and never out of style. I also try to buy Delta or at least Moen. The internal parts for every Delta faucet made in the last 50 years would fit in a coffee can. Most of the other manufacturers change internals like you change your underwear.
For sink fixtures, I agree with you. For light fixtures, I do not.
I think the most timeless is brass. You find it in almost every period. The silver finishes work best with very modern style furniture, IMO. Brass, which has not been trendy for a number of years, works with almost all traditional styles. I think my favorite finish is antiqued brass which was very trendy in the 1970s. I like it because it blends and isn’t too shiny.
But the bronze type finish works for my house now, because it seems to blend, or at least not war, with the various pieces of furniture I own, most of which I’ve owned for a number of years.
Brass (not coated) corrodes enthusiastically, which is why it's usually coated. Unfortunately any coating that leaves it brass-colored isn't durable enough to keep its appearance long term. Once it starts pitting it looks like poop and there's basically nothing you can do except strip and re-coat.
I disagree that "silver finishes" which I assume includes good old polished chrome are only for modern. My 1939 house and the 115 other houses in the subdivision built at the same time join me in that disagreement.
Stainless steel would be the best for durability, as there is no finish - the base material is the finish - but casting SS is high dollar; forging it to shape is even more so; and machining is more costly than brass, which is why the vast majority of plumbing fixtures are brass underneath whatever finish. Brass casts like a dream and machines wonderfully also. As far as I know a heavy polished chrome plate on brass (there's probably a flash coat of something under the chrome) is the most durable finish for plumbing fixtures made of brass.
And then there are the el-cheapos made of molded plastic and vacuum-metallized; only for your low-end rental properties or the barn.
I don't dislike ORB but it's not what I would choose for my own home. Same thing with a copper kitchen sink, I would love it - in someone else's house, but it's not for me.
And I really, really like the brushed gold color that is popular right now, but I worry about that being too trendy and looking dated in a few years. But who knows, maybe we need another standard and it will stay fairly popular, maybe not always the hottest trend, but popular enough that it will be one of the choices that is routinely available.
Overall, I'm not a big fan of shiny metal finishes so I went with brush nickel/brushed stainless for my house when it was built 5 years ago. Not the most exciting but I also knew that I wouldn't get tired of it either.
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