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Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Silver and Gold

Frontgate catalog

I have always had a strong preference for silver or platinum when it comes to jewelry. In fact, when I got engaged (when I was in college, believe it or not), I was the only one of my peers with a platinum engagement ring (and after my wedding, a platinum wedding band). Now, silver/platinum seems to be the norm, but in the early 90s most people were still doing the gold wedding sets and thought I was very old-fashioned.

In my home decor, I have a less defined stance. In the living areas, I like the warmth of gold. In my bedroom, I like the elegant and cool tones of silver. To make things more complicated, I prefer the look of a warm cream tone natural stone in my bathroom (gold?), and a cool white marble with gray for the kitchen (silver?). I think it comes down to warm versus cool. The right color depends on the character of the room, the quality of light.


Silver
I think of silver as being light, cool, gray, or blue. Interestingly, many of the pictures in my computer files meet this description.

House Beautiful, February 2008. Design by Ashley Whittaker. This room is SO beautiful. The sources does not list where the chaise is from, but if anyone know who makes a similar one, please let me know! The blue translates as cool, and silvery to me.

Interior design by Barbara Barry, via Studio Annetta

This beautiful gray room is so elegant. Interiors by S.R. Gambrel, via Patricia Gray.

This room translates as silvery to me, perhaps because of the mirrored console and the crystal lamps. Coddington Design.


This is a sophisticated holiday setting Martha Stewart, seen in Laura Loves. Definitely strikes me as a silvery scene!

Mariette Himes Gomez for Hickory Chair. The silver table looks perfect with these colors, and look at the ottoman - a silvery gray!

La Terraza del Casino, designed by Jaime Hayon, as seen on Me, Myself, and I

Ironies Rain Mirror

Niermann Weeks Caronia Floor Lamp. I love this lamp!

Gold
I think of gold as being warm, and I also think of it as being yellow.

Jan Showers, Western Interiors Magazine, via Katiedid. This is such a warm, rich room.

David Hicks tablescape, from Peak of Chic

Jan Showers, from Western Interiors Magazine, via Katiedid. This is the same house as the yellow living room.

Antique Italian sunburst mirror. I bought this after months of longing for it, and it makes me happy every time I see it!

Niermann Weeks Montaigne lamp. I love this lamp, it is on my 'top 5' list.

From a Houston real estate listing, via Cote de Texas. This is my dream bathroom. I love the warm tones of the marble. To me, this translates as a 'gold' bathroom (although the fixtures look like a brushed nickel).

This is from Bayou Contessa's latest post - it is amazing - attributed to Southern Accents. I love the warm parchment tones of the walls, the gold of the mirror, the warm color of the wood floors.

So, what about you? Are you a silver or gold fan? Or perhaps you are in the middle - gilver.

27 comments:

  1. Awwww...thanks for the mention here! Haydon's restaurant makes me drool!

    You are quick getting that Ashley Whittiker room up. I barely cracked my magazine opened to day and fell in love with the (dare I say) table skirt!

    Back to the point...I am a fan of both silver & gold these day. Funny story...when I got married, a co-worker was gossiping to another co-worker about my engagement ring and said she felt sorry for me that my fiance could only afford a "silver" ring...and not gold. Little did she know what that "silver" was! These day's I'm also breaking out my gold jewlery - mostly stuff from the 80's and vintage pieces from my mother in law from earlier. As for home decor...I am a fan of the brushed brass...I think that's what we are calling it these days!

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  2. Funny my myself and I - dare you say -table skirt, say it!

    beautiful post!!! Guess what - I just bought that same exact sunburst mirror yesterday, I swear - the same exact one! My glass is so old looking! I got it a Tara Shaw for pennies - $400 hehe
    I love that place.

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  3. So much eye-candy! I'm a silver girl at heart ;-)

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  4. Thanks for the comments! MM&I, funny story about the ring!

    CDT, oh PLEASE why did you have to tell me that. I paid much more for my mirror. Nothing like the prices in that auction you posted a few months ago! Oh well, I love my mirror and it was worth it! You need to let me know when Tara Shaw has a great treasure as you and I seem to have very similar taste!

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  5. M&Co - sorry, I did not see your comment when I was posting my last comment. It was so interesting doing this post, because the 'silver' rooms were plentiful in my inspiration files, but the gold rooms were not. Yet, I love gold mirrors and gold (gilded) tables and sconces, so I have that attraction to gold too.

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  6. I too am a silver / white gold wedding ring person. I have much more silver jewelry than gold, I supposed I shunned gold for so long. But I love the look of old gold vs. a shiny new gold.

    I also love old old mirrors with the silver faded and crackled - these are 'silver' to me as well.

    I'm gonna have to get me a table skirt but with teenagers, dogs, cat and an occasional little kid around I'm thinkin' it's an accident waiting to happen!

    Lovely post BTW !!!

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  7. Gilver!!! Love both, but if anybody was either/or before this post, I think they'll go away loving both- how could they not with such beautiful images??!!

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  8. My pendulum swings back and forth, but right now I am on the gold train. (But I love my "silver" ring).

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  9. This post, I know, took a lot of time and planning. Thank you, it's beautiful. I am gold in most things, but tend to go "silver", nickel, etc. with hardware and fixtures. Classic, just like platinum wedding rings.

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  10. Oh, I'm with you TTI. As long as they don't occupy the same fixture... I've always loved grey, nickel, grey-veined white marble. Funny how I'm framing all our new art for a "gallery wall" in gilt, though. I think it's thanks to one of your blogs!

    (Mrs. E sparkles in Tiffany platinum, too. How can you go wrong?)

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  11. Beautiful post! Especially love the David Hicks tablescape and the Montaigne lamp--I've always been a gold girl. (Of course, like others, I'll make exceptions for platinum :)

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  12. Actually - there were two - I bought them both becauce previously all her sunbursts were metal - these were the first wood ones. Bought one for me and one for my client. $400+ AND the cutest white and gold italian candlesticks - old, for $800. plus two gold wood urns - $400. I swear what I paid for all of this, in the stores I would have gotten one thing. Go on her web site and shop around. it's the best.

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  13. Great Post! Thanks for showing both these metals at their sparkly best! And Cote de Texas is right-you can really find great things at Tara Shaw. Gold and Silver...what to do????? Gilver, of course.

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  14. Not related to the gold/silver preference....do you think that fireplace is old in the martha stewart picture?? I love that look and maybe it's just about finding the right color paint.
    My husband and I are on the verge of a major renovation, ahhh the stress, so good for a new marriage! We're adding a living and family room and I'd like to find an old mantel for at least one of the rooms. Does anyone have suggestions on where to look??

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  15. By the way, this is the first post I've ever made...not sure what I've been missing. I googed a designer I was interested in and found your blog. You have divine taste!

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  16. Thank you to everyone who has commented! Isn't it exciting to get new comments on a post?

    CTD - you are killing me! I need to check out Tara's site again. I remember the password!

    Bayou Contessa - thank you for the kind words! I love your blog. When I saw that picture of the front hall I almost fell off my chair. The proportions are PERFECT, and the sconces frame the mirror beautifully. I love the height of the sconces, although isn't it unusual to put them at that height?

    Virginia, welcome to the world of design blogs. Prepare for a lot of inspiration! I just looked at the fireplace on the Martha picture. Knowing Martha, it could be old! I know that there are lots of places that specialize in architectural treasures. Atlanta has a great store called Architectural Accents (http://www.architecturalaccents.com/) that has amazing antique fireplaces, doorknobs, etc. Check out their website, you will get lots of ideas. Thanks for visiting my site! Which designer did you do a search on to find my site (my guess: Suzanne Kasler, one of my favorites).

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  17. Thanks for mentioning me! I have always been a fan of silver and icy blues--your pictures are so elegant and serene. But then I got a pair of gold earrings for Christmas, and I love them. I may be headed that way for now.

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  18. Gee! Thank you for the mention! I loved that Jan Showers house. You have some really great shots here, and I plan to study them all for a little inspiration. I need to check out CDT's suggestion for Tara Shaw's shop!

    I am mostly a silver and polished nickel gal, but my ring is gold. Sometimes I wish it were platinum!

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  19. love the shots you placed in this post..i TOTALLY adore gold mirrors, they have a certain feel to them....!

    Jen Ramos
    '100% Recycled DESIGNER Cards'
    www.madebygirl.com

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  20. What a great post! I used to be very much a silver girl in every aspect,but now, I find myself liking both. It just depends on the object or the application

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  21. Great photos- I saw that Niermann Weeks floor lamp in a magazine ad and I fell in love with it too!

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  22. Lovely post. My gut is always drawn most to silver. It somehow resonates with me more and I love the clean cool sparkle from it (rather than gold's warm glow) But I think there's always room for both.

    I'm glad that the whole gold v platinum thing in jewelry has evened out... I don't like all-or-nothing trends

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  23. I'm a gliver who is drooling over that rain mirror!

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  24. My, popular place here! Great post, you come up with the best stuff.

    Before I sign off, I just wanted to say I am a gliver. Now you know.

    :0)

    Melissa

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  25. Wonderful post! I love a bit of glam so metallics like gold, silver and platinum have always drawn me like a magnet. Copper as well. I agree that for jewelry, I do prefer the look and coloration of platinum. But for rooms, it really depends on the mood and color scheme :)

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  26. gilver! and i LOVE the patricia gray room here.

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