Design is experiencing a gilded age of sorts, as manufacturers throughout the industry are making it easy to bring a touch of opulence to the home.
Beginning in the bath, MGS offers its gold lav set. Featuring a sweeping arc and the maker's signature handles with flat, angled tips sliced across the cylinder, the design is dramatic without going overboard. A modern matte gold finish keeps it subtle and stylish.
For a larger-scale impact, look to the walls. Paint manufacturer Benjamin Moore has issued its 2009 Color Pulse forecast with three gold tones making the grade. True metallic gold offers a glittery sheen, while shades such as “old gold” and “Glen Ridge gold” bring rich autumnal hues. The maker's Studio Finishes Latex Metallic Glaze can also add a golden sheen to any paint color you choose. The acrylic-based glaze is easy to apply, the company says, and resists spattering during application. Drying quickly to a glimmering translucent metallic luster, the semigloss glaze is available in gold, silver, bronze, copper, white, or pearlescent tint base.
Tile manufacturer Walker Zanger also offers a shimmering wall application. Inspired by the beauty of India, the Mantra collection includes a golden henna shade (left) artfully expressed in glass. Mantra is handcrafted by melding multihued streams of molten glass to produce an opulent array of tones marked by delicate veining. Available in gloss or matte finishes, the mosaic tiles measure 5/8-inch square.
Finally, shine a light on these metallic finishes with Mondo glass pendants (above) from Besa Lighting. Designed for foyers, lofts, two-level great rooms, entryways, and other high-ceilinged spaces, the Mondo domes are available in 20- and 24-inch diameters. With unique distressed metallic foil finishes in gold, silver, or copper, each shade is handcrafted of European glass and designed to complement eclectic decorating schemes.
For more product information, visit ebuild.com, Hanley Wood's interactive product catalog.
