Do you love the look of white kitchen cabinets with brushed gold hardware that you see all over Pinterest and Instagram … but you’re wondering, ‘is gold cabinet hardware too trendy?’
Do you really want to replicate this look in your own home, but a part of you is afraid you’ll make an expensive mistake that you aren’t able to easily change later?
By the end of this post, you’ll feel ready to make a decision based on what YOU want (i.e. gold cabinet hardware or not) without worrying about regrets.
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IS GOLD CABINET HARDWARE TOO TRENDY?
Gold cabinet hardware is definitely trending in kitchens, BUT keep in mind that both gold and silver are the two most classic fixture metals. Either one will always be a classic choice … even if it isn’t the hottest trend at the moment.
So, yes, gold hardware is a huge ‘trend’ right now and this ‘trend’ will die down (as all trends do), but don’t let that stop you from getting what you want.
As I wrote in ‘How to Choose Timeless Design Finishes vs. Trendy’, it is absolutely OK (and encouraged) to add some trendy finishes to your new home build or renovation. Adding just a little bit can go a long way.
The goal is to keep your design foundation (your cabinets in this case) classic and timeless so that your home can grow and evolve as your style grows and evolves.
You can mix in trendy finishes that are easy and inexpensive to change in the future when they are no longer trendy … or you tire of them!
LEARN HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT CABINET HARDWARE FOR YOUR KITCHEN.
WILL I REGRET USING GOLD CABINET HARDWARE?
Maybe, but I DOUBT it.
If you do regret putting gold cabinet hardware on your kitchen cabinets, then just change it.
I know, I know … you’re afraid you’ll make an expensive mistake, but guess what … cabinet hardware is NOT an expensive ‘mistake’ (unless you buy super high-end, expensive hardware).
Changing out drawer and cabinet hardware is a relatively EASY and INEXPENSIVE thing to change, so don’t stress about this decision.
We aren’t talking about making a decision on your exterior stone or your flooring that goes throughout your entire house (THOSE would be expensive changes).
You can easily change out an entire kitchen of cabinet and drawer hardware in one afternoon … even I can do this and I’m not ‘handy’ around the house at all.
So … if you want gold cabinet hardware, GO FOR IT!
SHOP GOLD CABINET HARDWARE
Gold cabinet hardware is certainly a hot trend, but don’t let that stop you from designing your kitchen the way YOU want to design it (i.e. with gold knobs and pulls)!
Just GO FOR IT and order that gold hardware! You’ll love it … and, remember, if you tire of it in a few years, it’s an inexpensive and easy change to make. So no regrets!
If you’re interested in learning how to make ALL your design decisions for your new home, be sure to grab my FREE ‘Design Decision’ guided workbook!
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Hi Caroline,
My kitchen cabinet for our new home is not pure white,its ivory white kind of color and our countertop and backsplash is an ivory color with veining. Our floors are woodstock(darker brown hardwood). Wouls you suggest black or gold hardware/faucet??i was interested in black but after seeing gold now really confused.
You can go either way, Gaya. That is, black or gold would both work well in your kitchen. I always recommend that your faucet be the same finish as your cabinet hardware.
I am going to have my kitchen cabinets painted in a beautiful dark navy blue and just ordered solid brass long drawer pulls ! It is going to be beautiful with my 1929 porcelain sink with solid brass faucet !
Sounds gorgeous, Mary!
Will my stainless steel stove, dishwasher, sink, and refrigerator work if I you use gold cabinet pulls?
Of course! You can use gold cabinet hardware with stainless steel appliances :).
I love the gold/antique brass hardware all over the house!! It adds such warmth. I also love your floating shelves (especially the wood finish). Any chance you can share where they’re from and/or the finish color?
Hi Lisa! The images in this blog post are not from my home. You can contact the owner of the image directly (all links are in the photo captions) to find out info about the floating shelves :).
Hi there,
I’m in the process of a kitchen renovation and I know I want brass cabinet hardware. I’m really struggling with choosing between Satin Brass or Unlacquered Brass. I love both looks with dark cabinetry but wonder if the aging process on the unlacquered will drive me crazy. But then again, I can always polish them back to their original state. Any suggestions or things I should consider would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Angie! It seems to me like the unlacquered is going to bother you … so it sounds like you answered your own question. I would go with the Satin Brass … especially if you’re already saying that you would polish the unlacquered back to its original stage :).
Hi Carrie!
I need new kitchen fixtures (over the island and table) as well as all new hardware for the cabinets. Is it best to use the same finish for all of it?
TIA-
-Heidi
Hi Heidi! Kitchen hardware is a personal preference. I personally like to keep all of my hardware (i.e. cabinet hardware and light fixtures) the same finish. I then branch out with any little knick-knacks or accents on my counters. However, some people love to mix and match hardware finishes in their kitchen. Do whatever makes you happiest when you are spending time in your kitchen :).
Hi Carrie
I’ve been dithering over my kitchen colours for over 9 months and I’m driving my cabinet maker slowly insane!
I think I’ve decided on dark navy blue lower cabinets, a white benchtop with black marbling, white subway tile splashback and white upper cabinets. I have black and glass pendants over the island. The cabinets will have a shaker style profile.
With these colours, would you choose brass, brushed nickel or black hardware please?
Hi Charlie! I don’t think I would choose black hardware because it could clash with your navy lower cabinets. As far as gold vs brushed nickel hardware, you can go either way. It just depends on the ‘feel’ you are going for. Gold/brass is very popular now and has been for several years … plus it’s gorgeous. Brushed nickel is the safer choice (in my opinion) and will still look great. You can’t go wrong either way. – Carrie
I also want to go with white and navy cabinets. I was thinking of gold/brass hardware. My pendants will be black and glass. What finish should my faucet be? I was going to go with brass/black but I am afraid I will tire of the all the gold and the faucet is to expensive to change in a few years.
I agree, Marylynn, that the faucet will be expensive to change later. If you really think that you’ll grow tired of a brass faucet, go ahead and do silver (or black)!
Hello I’m about to do my kitchen with white shaker cabinets, a navy island and white quartz countertop with some veining and white subway tile. I am also replacing all interior doors. I already purchased glass doorknobs with a square brushed nickel backplate for all the doors in the house. Do I have to stick with brushed nickel/stainless steel faucet and cabinet hardware? I love the look of the navy with the gold hardware and faucet. I’m afraid it may be too much. Thank you for your help.
Hi Karen! I personally like to keep all of my hardware to match throughout the house, but that’s just me. You can mix and match if you want!
As an add-on to Caroline – we have SW Sandbar cabinets with something similar to Thomasville Clove island. Kraus Faucet is champagne bronze w/ black hose. My dilemma is do I match hardware to ChBrz or the black hose?
Do you have the information on the cream tile backsplash in the photo above with the black hood?
Hi Cindy! I don’t have the product info. You will need to contact the original source which is linked in the image caption. Good luck :). – Carrie
Hi Caroline, I’m building a new house and have chosen gold kitchen hardware, white cabinets, and trying to decide interior paint color, I am leaning towards Agreeable Gray from SW, do you think this will look OK with the gold hardware and some gold accent lighting fixtures?
Hi Emily! It’s hard for me to say without seeing all of the design finishes/colors together. I recommend you paint a remnant of drywall (or purchase a peel and stick sample of Agreeable Gray) and place it next to a piece of gold hardware and a sample of the white cabinet color you chose. I think it will look just fine, but I can’t say for sure without seeing everything together in a pile :).
Hi!
I’m currently designing a kitchen and really like the gold look. Would it go with a stainless-steel hood? Also, do i need to have gold hinges for the cabinets?
Thank you!
Hi Jessica! Yes, you can mix gold hardware with a stainless-steel hood. As far as your hinges, I would go with gold IF they are visible when the cabinet doors are closed. If you only see the hinges when the cabinets are open, you don’t necessarily need to go with gold.
I love gold hardware and currently have silver. Is there a way to “dip” my current hardware? I have so many pulls and it may be hard to find the right sizes. I am not interested in doing it myself but cannot find resources for companies that would do this.
Thank you!
Hi Karen! I don’t have experience with dipping hardware, so I’m not sure how that would turn out. Sorry about that! Good luck :).
Karen,
You might try looking for a place that does “powder coating”. I don’t know what they would charge but I think they could do something like what you’re looking for.
Best of luck…
Julie
Thanks for the tips and the nudge to “just do it” if you want it! We just bought a house and the kitchen needs a refresh. It currently has cherry cabinets, white backsplash, gray countertops, and the island countertop is an even darker granite (black/green) colors. We are considering painting the wall cabinets off-white, island cabinets navy, and changing only the island countertop to white calcatta (white with gray veining) and I wanted to do GOLD hardware. Here’s my question. If all appliances are stainless, including the cooktop in the island and the sink/ faucet, is it OK to do Gold hardware and gold-trimmed pendant lighting or is nickel hardware better?
Hi Stacey! Your future kitchen sounds GORGEOUS! To answer your question, I wouldn’t worry about mixing the stainless appliances with gold hardware … that’s a very common mix of metals. The sink faucet is what I would probably change out to gold if all of my other hardware/fixtures were going to be gold. You could always keep the silver faucet and see what you think once you add gold hardware and pendants. If you don’t like how the silver faucet looks, then you can change it out. Good luck with your kitchen remodel! – Carrie
I’m building a home with a small kitchen. I like the gold hardware and making the island and cabinets all white with quartz countertops that is mostly white with some gray lines (carrara marmo).
The sink is going to be quartz – should I go white or gray on the sink? The faucet gold? Would gold pendants be too much?
Thank you very much!
Gold pendants would NOT be too much! As far as the sink color, that is completely up to you. I would be sure to look at samples of the countertop with both a white sink and a grey sink to see what you like better.
Thoughts on 3 finishes in the same space? I thought I read that 2 was kinda the sweet spot. I have a lot of black finishes throughout, gold , black/ gold, and then my new Thermador cook top is stainless with gold knobs. My sink, faucet, refrigerator, dishwasher are all stainless. So far it looks good together.
I wanted to put black pulls on the wood stained island cabinets , and gold on the white surrounding cabinets…. but my brushed nickle kitchen faucet and all the stainless is throwing me off. That would put gold, black, and brushed nickle in the same space. 🤷♀️
Hi Erin! You can certainly do three finishes in one room, but I personally prefer to keep it to two finishes for fixtures. Good luck! – Carrie
[…] gold may be trendy right now, it is still considered one of the most classic and timeless fixture metals. This trend will not be ending anytime soon. Gold can achieve several different […]
I am building my home and my upper cabinets will be coconut white, my lower cabinets will be smoke gray and my backsplash will be white and gray. What color hardware I should go with? Black or gold?
Hi Sally! I apologize but I don’t give design feedback to blog readers. I reserve this for my paying clients and students. Best of luck! – Carrie
My sink is Elkay silvermist and black faucet and pot filler. My counters are white quartz with veins.
The 8 foot island is black on the bottom. Cabinets are white.
My dilemma is the hardware.
Is brushed nickel or brushed gold, or bronze the best? I’m open as I’m not sure and want it to look very nice and feel the hardware is what one see’s the most in a kitchen.
What is your gut telling you, Nancy? I would go with that answer!
I’m in the process of designing my kitchen and am going with white wood shaker style cupboards with a black quartz worktop (midnight starburst). I am really liking the gold hardware but my question is do you think it would work with the black stardust worktop?
I’m not familiar with ‘midnight starbust’ quartz color. My suggestion for you is to go to Pinterest and look at kitchens with white cabinets, black counters, and gold hardware to see how you like the look. If you like it, go for it! If you don’t, go with nickel or black. Best of luck to you :).