Why style seekers are searching for gold

Shamrocks and Guinness are nice, but this St. Patrick’s Day we’re all about the pot of gold.

Specifically, gilded garlic presses, designer chairs, light fixtures, cocktail shakers, saucepans and everything else golden. And the best part? No leprechaun wrestling required.

The Midas touch is tapping every room in the house fueled by trends in maximalism that call for surrounding ourselves with more, not less, of what we love, layering textures and mixing finishes that embrace the look of luxe: Burnished gold, matte brass and emerging shades of rose gold that feel warm and rich when paired with deep, opulent colors or used as accents alongside bright white or pastels.

At the end of the home decor rainbow, style seekers are striking gold.

Luckily, when it comes to metal finishes, matchy-matchy is out and mixing materials is in. Going for the gold doesn’t mean ditching chrome fixtures, stainless appliances or silver and pewter accessories. It’s about bringing them together.

Paul L’Esperance, interior designer and co-owner of L’Esperance Design in West Hollywood, said his firm always incorporates mixed metal finishes in its decor. “It looks nice,” he said, “and it’s sexier.”

Rachel Parcell, designer and founder of the influential Pink Peonies lifestyle blog, is building a new home and said, “I’m trying to design something that is timeless, and I have lots of mixed metal finishes. … In my kitchen I’m doing silver faucets but then mixing them with brass hardware.” Parcell chose a new luxury French range that combines gold and silver.

“I think the thing with trends is that people sometimes run too hard with it,” said Parcell, “and then they get sick of it … it’s about offsetting one with the other, and making a statement without overkill.”

Think: a touch of luster, not the look of Versailles.

Small updates can work wonders. “In a powder room, by just changing the faucets and door hardware to a matte gold, you can make the room look like you gutted it,” L’Esperance said.

To mine the trend without going overboard, L’Esperance suggests “candle accessories, small statues, maybe even just a single chair or table.” He added that shower heads can also add a bit of glitz and pair well with stone slabs or tile.

However, even as we warm to the idea of newfound gilt-y pleasures, the trend continues to evolve.

“I think the newest thing coming out right now is the rose gold,” said L’Esperance, who predicts we will be seeing more of this gold shade in the future. “It’s like if polished brass and pink got together. It’s a little bit softer, like a rosé.”

Count us in.

home@latimes.com

Bonnie McCarthy contributes to the Los Angeles Times as a home and lifestyle design writer. She enjoys scouting for directional trends and reporting on what’s new and next. Follow her on Twitter @ThsAmericanHome

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