Watch Your Back Plates

Behind every great doorknob is a great back plate.  Back plates are just as important as the knobs themselves, and can be just as highly designed, so if you are planning to replace your knobs you should also consider replacing the back plates. 

Why not purchase your new hardware in complete sets so that everything matches?

After all, you don’t want to have a brass doorknob situated within a copper back plate. Also, if you’re looking for an ornate Gothic-inspired door knob, it's counterpart should be the same to keep the look completely eye-catching. If you’re keeping your hardware sleek and modern then make sure that the back plate doesn’t look too old or lavish.  Thinking about these small details may seem significant, but having a stellar doorknob with an equally exquisite plate could be the secret key to making your door entrance pop.   

And while I recommend keeping the metals and designs of your doorknobs and back plates consistent with one another, perhaps you are the more adventurous type with an eye for aesthetics and a desire to make a look that’s all your own.  Go ahead and explore mixing and matching. Perhaps a highly sculptural polished chrome doorknob might sit nicely on a very basic back plate in the same finish.  Or maybe you’re looking for something regal and eccentric, and want to pair a muted dark nickel knob with an elaborately decorated and bold back plate in polished brass?

Whatever it is you are looking for when replacing your hardware, what is important to note how many options there are available for any style and in any color.  In addition, it is important not to just think about the small picture in terms of the doorknobs—but also to think about the options and varieties in the other areas of a hardware set.  Just because your installing a new back plate, does not mean it has to fade unnoticed to the background.      

Door Pulls With A Twist

The other day I visited the new Diana Student Center at Barnard College and came across its eye catching door pulls.  Before even entering the highly designed building I was already taking notice of a fine architectural detail, as each door contained a long glistening rectangular band of metal with a 180-degree twist at its center. These pulls weren’t just regular door handles for me to grip without batting an eye—they begged to be noticed.  After coming across these handles, I got to thinking about how effective unique and interesting door pulls can be, and about the potential they have to add a successful decorative element to any lacking space. 

Think about it. Every person has to notice a door handle, since he or she has to use it to enter and exit a space. Because of its daily functionality, a door handle is easy to brush off as an ordinary item, and so many people simply go for a plain and basic model. This is why users for the most part don’t remember what a doorknob looked like, since it more than likely was ordinary in the first place. But if I think about it, nine times out of ten an upscale retail store will ornament their front entrance with a more elaborate door pull, and I always can’t help but take notice.  That’s because a unique door pull is a simple and easy addition able to spruce up an overall look by adding luxury and texture to any entrance. 

Don’t just settle for an average everyday handle. Instead, I implore you to think about the endless possibilities there are available in choosing a door pull. No matter what manner or style you are designing for, I can bet there is hardware out there for you.  If you’re designing a modern interior, you might want to keep it simple and add some shine to your space with a sleek silver amorphous pull. Smooth and unornamented, these pulls are glossy and chic in their undulating shape and the way they catch the light. 

Are you more of a fan of art-deco design? Then perhaps you should go for a vertically ribbed pull, which will add some texture to your room and feel good on the door-opening hands.  Maybe you’re designing in a gothic manner, and are looking for something with heavier ornament.  Well there are plenty of styles to choose from including handles with pointed floral detailing to ones with spiraling cable designs.  There are even pulls out there for those with artistic and whimsical eyes, who are looking for the door handles that resemble nothing like they’ve ever seen. 

Heating Up

I'm always fascinated when designers are able to take mundane (and often visually unappealing) in-home necessities and turn them into decorative pieces that are absolutely breathtaking.

For me, radiators and air conditioners were eye-sore essentials that every room needed and were unfortunate sacrifices that designers made for the sake of comfortable habitation.

Then I came across the designs of Irsap, an Italian company who specializes in the design of radiators. Often, the company boldly ventures into crafting heating systems that double as fabulous pieces of modern art.

I'm currently drooling over Irsap's Medusa, shown above right, which is a steel wall-hanging system of sinewy latticed tubes enclosed in a circlular tube. Like a metallic apple pie crust, this beautiful design can hardly be recognized as a heating system unless you are overtly told.

Also worthy of notice is their Curval design, which is a trio of three vertically hanging polymer-aluminum panels that undulate like ribbons or waves. It's absolutely breathtaking. I could go on and on about several other pieces I adore, but go check out the rest of their collection and be amazed by what Irsap can do with a little metal to make your radiator museum-worthy.

Spiraling

I just came across this really cool image of a custom metal residential spiral staircase that got me thinking about the use of metals in staircases.


In fact, all kinds of things can be done with metal to create andan interesting and unique staircase for your home or even spruce up your old wooden or concrete staircase. 

Here, this gorgeous spiral oak staircase's support frame has been rendered in a stainless steel that adds a sleekness and sophistication to a rustic retreat.   

Maybe you're looking for a more upfront touch of design to your set of stairs at which guests to your home can marvel? Then why not think about installing a unique and intricate metal railing to your staircase. Check out this ornate wrought iron design that runs alongside a wooden staircase. I think it's quite stunning.

Lastly, you could go all in and design a staircase entirely out of metal.  These staircases are perfect for modern interiors--they're young, fresh, and lustrous, but also scream luxury.  Here's a cantilever steel staircase that's quite minimalist in design but is also a dazzling eye-catcher. 

Whether you're thinking of installing a new staircase in your home or a merely looking for a touch up, why not consider incorporating metal to add a little bit of elegance to your spiral.    

     

Beauty Bars

How many people want to think about those metal grab bars in bathrooms that are now becoming necessary to install for the elderly and infirm? It seems that the very idea of these functional but cringe-worthy attachments seem to put a damper on design plans.

Well recently a number of City College Of New York students decided to change this, revamped the grab bar into a functional but visually appealing device. Student designs ranged from incorporating a toilet paper dispenser into the bar to a bar that contained an ipod holder. In the end, five student designs were selected, and have subsequently gone into production, picked up by New York plumbing-supply company Blackman and architecture firm Beyer Blinder Belle. With these attractively designed grab bars, perhaps architects and designers can begin to sweat a little less when they need to make accommodations to their original designs.

Walking On Air

Talk about a soaring idea: Coverings Etc. has taken aluminum from the fuselages of waste-worthy airplanes to make what they call Bio-Luminum™ tiles. Melting the aluminum into blocks and slicing them into thin slabs, these innovative and modern tiles are completely recycled, and durable enough to be used for flooring and wall treatments. These tiles are sleek and sexy, and with their creation we will be ridding the world of massive lots devoted to airplane graveyards, one aluminum floor at a time!


In fact, metal floors are a growing idea in the industry and are a freshly elegant innovation when it comes to flooring. We're used to walking on hardwood or ceramic tiles, but how many times have you walked on smooth planks of nickel or decorated tiles of brass? Well now you can, and your floor will spruce up a room while never looking better.  Perfect for an elegant foyer, visitors will immediately notice the polished metal flooring beneath their feet, and are sure to marvel at the texture and color of such a unique feature.  


Lastly, seeing as floors take the bulk of rough treatment within a household (we do walk all over them don't we?), a metal floor will be able to stand the test of time: It's durable and won't ruin easily, and is also incredibly easy to keep clean. 


The industry of metal flooring is still just opening up and the possibilities are endless, but it's definitely worthwhile to begin thinking about customizing your own metal flooring so that you can get ahead of the game and literally walk on luxury.  

Hot & Cold

A little two-story house on Green Street has been stirring up quite a bit of heat despite its icebox exterior. Located in Brooklyn at 198 Green Street, the building underwent a daring residing in the hands of the owner, who intended to create a standout modern home. Now, 198 boasts an entirely stainless steel façade at its front that gives it a very sleek and modern feel, particularly when juxtaposed with the wooden slat homes next to it. The façade is also ornamented with a raised striated steel band that diagonally cuts the home on its surface into its two levels. Compact and metallic, the building has been cited to look like a refrigerator, garnering the property nickname “Sub-Zero House.”

After its unveiling, however, the fridge house has been stirring up a lot of controversy, pitting adoring Brooklyn residents against some violently detesting individuals. Members of the opposition claim the house now looks like an uninviting fortification, with one vocal resident claiming the owner should hang himself from one of the façade light fixtures. Others disagree, and we here admire the creativity with which the owner approached his renovation, daring to step outside the box and create a unique modern home that’s joined the pool of real estate gossip for which New York is famous in the first place. Besides, that glossy steel exterior sure looks nice in the sunlight, and that scandalously slanting band makes the building look cool—refrigerator nickname or otherwise.