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poorgirl

Hardware for new Bathroom

5 years ago

Hi there, I’m stumped as to what to do in the main floor bathroom. All the
fixtures are polished chrome but the door handle and hinges are matt black. All the door handles and hinges are black in the house .
I haven’t purchased the towel rack , toilet paper holder, or the shower glass handle ,was thinking about doing these in black, and maybe adding some other black things , or change the door handle on the inside to chrome , paint the hinges chrome and keep the outside handle black and then use polished chrome for the towel rack and everything else that is needed in the bathroom so it’s all the same. All the pieces that are in the shower are the surround, window and niche frame . The bathroom is 5’ x11’ and the shower door will be on the wall that the shower handle is on.
Please let me know what you would suggest. Thank you

Comments (24)

  • 5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    Your bathroom is looking nice! You don’t have to mix metals, but if you do, I think chrome and black look great together. I’d leave the door alone regardless. My personal preference is for chrome everywhere except the vanity drawers and cabinets. I can’t tell what metal color is on your light fixtures. I like repeating the black on the lights. IMO black showerheads risk annoying you with hard to remove water spots, so I’d leave those chromeone.

    What color is your vanity and what will your wall color be?


    Edit: Id prefer chrome shower handle too. If you choose a long one it can double as an additional towel bar.

  • 5 years ago

    Thank you AJCN, this is all new so the hardware and fixtures will be staying, the wall is painted BM classic grey, the ceiling is white dove and the vanity is Collingwood OC28. The light fixtures are polished chrome. I wasn’t planning on putting black in this room, but when my husband installed the doors there was the black,

  • 5 years ago

    Thank you Glo !

  • 5 years ago

    Your color choices are very soft, fresh and pretty. A black shower door handle or other items might be too much contrast. How about you go to a big box store and buy a few black and chrome items to test out. After you decide, you can return/buy your final selections.

  • 5 years ago

    I would definitely not change the door hardware, it should remain black. I think you would not be wrong to do either all chrome in the bathroom, or to include matte black for accessories. Both would work equally well, it just depends on your personal preference. If your plan was to stick with all chrome, I see no reason not to keep with that plan!

  • 5 years ago

    AJCN and Amy Lynn, the plan was to have all chrome, my inspiration pictures are mostly chrome, very cohesive and soft looking. I’m having a hard time just having the door hardware black and nothing else . AJCN thank you for your suggestion, I will go and purchase some matt black and chrome hardware and then decide, I wasn’t planning on having a long towel bar on the shower panel or door, it was going to a handle, I didn’t want the 1st thing you see coming into the bathroom is a towel bar, I know my husband will be hanging a towel on it ! I was looking at putting the towel bar across from the vanity and put a hook near the shower door or I might be able to put it in the shower. I was going to buy the command hooks to see how it would work.
    I was trying to wait for these decisions until the shower was completed but not the case, .

  • 5 years ago

    I would use chrome for everything in the bathroom; you don't need anything else black in there unless you want it.

  • 5 years ago

    It seems that there would be no harm in changing the door knob to chrome, if the black really bugs you. But I think you may be asking for trouble trying to spray paint the hinges. I've done it before and it doesn't work so well because of the moving nature of the two parts together. I would think you may have better luck getting chrome hinges and painting the plates that attach to the jamb and door black.
    Having said that, I really see no problem having a black door set that matches the rest of your house. I wouldn't think twice if I saw that while visiting your bathroom.

  • 5 years ago

    Thank you everyone for your help, I think I’m going to buy some black and chrome and go from there.

  • 5 years ago

    May I ask what your countertop is? I’m looking for the same for my vanity.

  • 5 years ago

    I too would leave the door hardware as is. continue the chrome everywhere eles

  • PRO
    5 years ago

    You can certainly mix metals if you chose to do so. Notice in our design below how we also mixed metals:

    Hudson House: Bathroom · More Info


  • PRO
    5 years ago

    If you would like 2 finishes, you could mix black and chrome.

  • 5 years ago

    Thank you so much for all your input. I had an inspiration bathroom that i cant find now and i have waited 2.5 years for this bathroom, my inspiration was all chrome so i think I’m going forward with chrome and if i don’t like it then I’m going to switch out the black.... i have an entire house that we are renovating i think i need to get on with this one thing, thank you for your help.
    Gerry i will find the information on the countertop, its a pure white and i believe its called Super White but i will confirm for you,

  • 5 years ago

    Coronet Thomas Design, thank you for your photo, its a beautiful bathroom and i see how different finishes work,

  • 5 years ago

    Whatever you do, don't try to "paint the hinges chrome." Chrome plating is not a painted finish and were you to try this it would look cheesy and not hold up.

  • 5 years ago

    Kudzu9 I won’t paint them, I’ll have to live with it, maybe a black hook on the back of the door.

  • 5 years ago

    Stick to your chrome hardware vision. :) If the new black door handle makes the bathroom feel unbalanced to you, perhaps adding a subtle touch of black in the decor would do the trick for you. A thin black picture frame, a picture with a hint of black, or a white soap dispenser with a spare black line or lettering, for example. You'd really only need a faint echo of that black. When it comes to towel bars though, I say consider hooks instead. Towel bars take up a lot of wall real estate and once you have a towel on there, it's even more visually clunky.





  • 5 years ago

    Tartanmeup, thank you for this excellent suggestion. That’s what I will do. I have a full wall across from the vanity my plan was a towel bar and 1 hook closer to the shower. Where do you put the shower mat? I was thinking a towel bar on the back of the door or do you use a towel in the floor , the shower mat would be a white and small.

  • 5 years ago

    Touches of black are fine. Don’t change what’s already installed. Do a little black at a time as suggested by @tartenmeup. If you feel it needs kore black, use black handles on the vanity. But a little black (towel rack, toilet paper holder, etc) is good. Black faucets get hard water spots so don’t even worry about those. Chrome is the better choice. So far, the bathroom is looking really pretty!

  • 5 years ago

    The trick to figuring out towel bars and hooks in a bathroom is knowing how many daily towels will be in use and how diligent users will be hanging up a towel mat after use. Pays to be realistic. A towel bar or two behind the door might make sense for your household (if the top one isn't out of reach). What's nice about this location is it's hidden from outside view. Would anyone need a hook for their clothes as well? Have you decided on the hand towel spot? You mentioned Command hooks upthread. They're a great way to figure out what actually works in a space before buying the hardware.


    (Was just browsing Fine Art America for myself and spotted this b&w floral watercolour which exemplifies the soft hint of black I was suggesting. To be clear, art is personal and should be chosen because it speaks to us, not because it matches decor. Not to say it can't do both but when it comes to art in our home, we're often better served when we don't get bogged down by design rules or overthink decor elements. There is a lot of art out there and finding a piece that makes our heart sing can be a really fun hunt.)





  • 3 years ago

    I just wanted to thank the OP for starting this thread! I am having the same dilemma so reading through all these comments has really helped me as well! This is a fantastic community!

  • 3 years ago

    cwurch, your very welcome, at the time i didn’t see the amazing print that tartanmeup had posted. If you hadn’t found this thread i would never have been able to thank Tartanmeup. I absolutely love that print and would have purchased it 2 years ago but now, we are going to sell our house next year and where we are going i wouldn’t be able to use it.
    I did end up listening to everyone, kept the black handle added black accents and its a beautiful space.