Updated October 2026
The tap went in brass, the appliances are stainless, the pendants came with the house, and the pulls, the 1 metal chosen for every door and drawer, are still to decide, samples on the counter. Somewhere in that is the worry that a kitchen with more than 1 metal will look like a run of separate decisions, sharpest when guests are expected this season or when new doors from The Countess, made for the boxes already in place, have given the room a complete new look without a full renovation. Whether it does depends less on which finishes are in the room than on where each is allowed to sit.
Yes. Most kitchens photographed in design magazines mix 2 metal finishes, and some carry 3. The cabinet pulls do not have to match the tap, the appliances or the light fittings. What they need is a clear relationship to them: 1 finish that leads, 1 that supports, and a reason each piece wears the finish it does. Matching everything is the safe choice; mixing with intent is the designed one.
The 2-finish rule
Decide on a lead finish and a second finish, and stop there unless you have a strong reason not to. The lead finish covers the most metal the eye meets at once, which in most kitchens is the cabinet hardware, or the appliances if they are stainless and unpanelled. The second finish takes a defined zone, such as the tap and pot filler, the folding tap over the range, or the pendants over the island.
A 3rd finish works in a large or open-plan kitchen when it stays small: a single accent such as the pendant shades or the stools, with the other 2 finishes carrying the room. Designers who use 3 often describe a split of roughly 70, 20 and 10 percent. In a small or traditional kitchen, keep to 2.
Think in 3 horizontal bands
Interior designer Shea McGee's method is to divide the kitchen into bands: lighting at the top, plumbing in the middle, cabinet hardware at the bottom. Keep 1 finish within each band, then pair 2 bands and let the 3rd differ. Pulls that match the pendants, with a tap in something else, read as composed. Pulls that match the tap, with pendants in something else, read the same way. Mixing within a band, such as a brass tap next to a black pot filler, is what reads as accidental.
Within the hardware band, keep every knob and pull in 1 finish. If the island is painted a different colour from the perimeter, the island hardware can take the second finish, and that is the 1 common exception.
Warm, cool and neutral
Finishes, the metal's colour and surface, fall into 2 families plus 1 neutral. Brass, satin gold, champagne bronze and dark brass are warm. Nickel, chrome, stainless and graphite are cool. Matte black belongs to neither, which is why it mixes so easily with either family.
The strongest pairings put 1 warm against 1 cool or 1 neutral: brushed brass pulls under black pendants, matte black pulls with a brass tap, brushed nickel pulls with a black tap. 2 warm finishes together, such as brushed brass with champagne bronze, read as a near miss rather than a choice, because the eye tries to match them. If you want 2 finishes from the same family, change the sheen as well, so a polished finish sits beside a brushed one. Our finishes guide describes how each of the 8 common finishes looks on painted and wood cabinets.
Do pulls need to match the appliances?
No. Stainless appliances count as a cool finish and as a large one, so treat them as the lead and choose pulls that contrast: matte black, brushed brass or graphite all sit comfortably against stainless. Pulls in brushed nickel or chrome match the appliances and tend to make the room feel like a showroom, which some people like and many find cold.
Panelled appliances are different. The fridge and dishwasher are dressed as cabinets, so their appliance pulls should wear the same finish as the cabinet hardware and ideally come from the same collection in a longer length. See How long should appliance pulls be?
Do pulls need to match the tap?
No, but they should be chosen with the tap in view. The tap is the 1 piece of metal everyone touches and looks at every day, so it usually sets the second finish. If the tap is brass, choose pulls in matte black or brushed nickel and let the brass be the warm note. If the tap is chrome or stainless, pulls in matte black or brass bring colour the room would otherwise lack. If the tap is black, almost any pull finish works, with brushed brass the most common partner.
Do pulls need to match the light fixtures?
Lighting is the easiest band to vary, because it sits above eye level and reads as a separate layer. Pendants are also the piece most people change again within 10 years. If the pulls and the tap already share a finish, the pendants are where the second finish belongs.
Pulls that mix the metals for you
Some designer pieces carry 2 finishes in 1 pull, which lets a kitchen use a single hardware line and still read as mixed. The Esquire Cabinet Pull by Amerock pairs a black bronze or gunmetal bar with polished nickel posts. The Tack Contemporary Cabinet Pull comes in matte black with polished gold or polished chrome ends. From Citterio Giulio, the knurled Renate and Luca pulls are offered in matte black with natural brass. The Duo Mini Nordic Cabinet Pull by Viefe sets oak or walnut into black metal. Each is worth seeing in your own light; see the current price in the shop.
Which to choose
Pick the lead finish for the cabinet hardware first, because it is the finish you will touch most and see most. Choose the tap finish second, from the other family or from matte black. Let the lighting agree with 1 of the 2. If the appliances are stainless, count them as the cool finish already in the room. Keep every knob and pull in the kitchen in 1 finish, order 1 piece before the full set to see it against your cabinet colour, and write to concierge@countess.ca if you would like a second opinion on a pairing.
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