Elegant Decorating Home Decorating With Copper

During the American Arts and Crafts movement, craftsman found copper finer and more attractive than iron, and less expensive and easier to work than silver. Thus copper became the premier metal for decorative ornamentation during this time. Copper decorative wares such as hand-hammered lamps, chargers and candlesticks are iconic collectibles now, but copper is and was an ideal metal for architectural use. Copper sheeting is perfect for crafting the best downspouts, half-round gutters, and flashing. Copper is a metal that adeptly straddles the line between function and art. For instance, the stunning, motto-embossed fireplace hoods at Craftsman Farms are among the era’s most memorable works.

Copper is considered the oldest metal in use but is enjoying renewed popularity. Copper can be found almost everywhere in and around the house, from reproduction copper and mica lamps to copper basins in either the pantry or the garden. Copper is still fondly associated with the objets d’art of the original movement and is used in many of the beautiful reproduction available today. But the use of copper for functional items like range hoods, sinks, lighting, and architectural trim continues to be far more persuasive today than it was a hundred years ago.

You can most readily find copper in the kitchen. Especially popular are hammered copper sinks. These heavy-gauge copper sinks are usually chemically patinated to stabilize the finish. Copper also creates a dramatic look when used for range and fireplace hoods.

Faucets and decorative hardware also benefit from a copper finish. For the most part, these fittings are constructed of brass and bronze, and then finished with a coppery hue. Copper is a fairly soft metal. If left on its own, it will develop an attractive patina or coloration with age. Unfortunately, fingerprints and other human contact will make it blotchy and unattractive. This is the reason for patination, which is a stable coating that creates the look of age.

Decorative lamps and fixtures can be beautifully crafted from copper, especially when paired with mica or art glass and treated to hand hammering and patination by a real artist. These days, hammered finishes are fairly common in reproduction vases, chargers, and other tabletop accessories, but you need to be aware that some work is better than others. The Michoacán region in Mexico produces wonderfully affordable hand-worked copper. Closer to home, many artisans produce closely copied period reproductions of chargers, candlesticks, vessels and the like, and imbue them with their own sense of the Arts and Crafts spirit. Other artisans have branched out, incorporating techniques such as Repoussé, where the piece is hand-worked and hand-tooled in order to create more figural, three-dimensional results. Approaches like this require a superior level of craftsmanship.

Copper is also wonderful in the garden, as copper basins make excellent birdbaths and fountains. Copper is also great in the water-channeling devices known as rain chains, which have channeled and stored rain water for hundreds of years. Frank Lloyd Wright, for instance, incorporated a sculptured rain chain in one of his Usonian houses. In any garden, these long linear skeins of rings, inverted bells, or fluted cups are certainly both useful and beautiful.

Avo Barsoumian has been in the interior flooring and interior design industry for over 25 years. He owns and operates a home flooring company in Pasadena. The offer the largest selection of elegant hardwood flooring, beautiful laminate flooring and plush carpeting under one roof. Searching for that perfect cheapest carpets for your new town house or  laminate flooring direct to redecorate your older house? Then give Carpet Wagon a call.