The better question is what is appropriate for your house. Unless you are going for period-revival authenticity, there is no “right answer” for a colonial style house. Can you share some photos of rooms in your house?

What is period-revival authenticity for a 1970s take on colonial?

Think first about if you intend to unify the hardware throughout your house eventually. What do you naturally gravitate to and like? Our hardware was very mix and match but we loved our brass door locks and we found brass closet handles at an antique store that we adore. We have slowly added brass throughout the house. I think it is timeless.

@Kendra - that was my point, though perhaps made a bit too subtly.

Thanks, nexp and Kendrah ! Yes, I would like the hardware to be more unified - You are both right, I guess I am confused because if I wanted to be authentic I would be putting in shag rugs and a harvest gold stove! We kept our 1970's blue/gray slate entry and wood-paneled den -- I love both though I know they are dated - maybe one day this house will be sought after for those historic features! The house had brass throughout and it is still on the doorknobs and on other things that should probably be replaced. As we updated, for example, when we replaced the oak kitchen with a white one, we have been choosing metals that were more in style at the time of the update - oil rubbed bronze and satin nickel. I have been wondering though that now that brass is coming back into style whether brass really is more appropriate for a colonial than nickel or oil rubbed bronze. Truth is that I prefer satin nickel but I also worry that it is trendy and I might not like it in a few years. With this big window job, it is time to decide once and for all! I am just going round and round in circles though!

Or - now that I am thinking of it, are you saying, nexp, that finish should match the house? Should, for example, the rusticness of the entryway (dark blue gray slate) call for oil rubbed bronze which to me is a little less delicate than the other finishes?

Yes, that’s what I was getting at. Don’t worry about what’s “in” now. If you decorate with today’s trends without regard to what is harmonious with the other finishes in the house, then it will look dated when the trend ends. If the room looks right as a whole, you won’t be itching to change it when a trend ends.

If your rustic slate foyer calls out for ORB, run with it! That’s sounds like a much better combination than polished krass would be. If you have a formally decorated dining room with a brass colonial style chandelier and Chippendale dining set, polished brass window hardware would make sense.

If you take this approach, no one is going to think “Ah, I guess she re-did her windows in the late 2010s!”

Personally, I don’t find satin nickel trendy at all. I think it is fairly neutral and looks well with many decor styles.

nexp - thank you very much for your excellent advice! There was originally such a polished brass chandelier in the dining room which we replaced with an oil rubbed bronze one to tone down the formality. I am thinking now of putting a satin nickel on the windows and changing the shiny brass doorknobs to satin nickel also. The light fixtures will remain oil rubbed bronze and all the other finishes will be one or the other of these two. It would be nice to have everything the same but I can't see one or the other finish working everywhere - please let me know if there is a flaw in this plan or if it can be improved!

Nexp - thank you so much for this guidance! I was spinning in circles over this.