Are you considering black finishes in your remodel or new home? Enjoy this blog post going over my opinion on if its worth the investment.
We built our home last year and as of June we will have lived in it around 7 months! It's my version of a modern farmhouse. I knew that I wanted a very simple color palette through out the whole house. Everything that can be matte black... is! All of our light fixtures, faucets, shower heads, door knobs, drawer pulls, hinges and even our front door is the popular matte black! The question is.. Do I recommend matte black finishes or not?
Purchasing Process- Price Comparison & Availability
Most of our light fixtures in our house were bought off of Amazon or from Home Depot! We purchased a few lights with each paycheck for a few months until we had them all. By doing this we knocked off a payment or two off of our house loan. My thoughts during the whole process was buy cheap light fixtures and if I have to replace one or two in a few years it would be okay.
Matte Black Fixtures are ALWAYS more expensive! When I had decided on matte black I thought the price tag would be the same, but slowly found out every faucet or light fixture was about $15-$30 more compared to a bronze or chrome. In some instances the price difference is even more. Our master bathroom shower head system was about $150 more for matte black.
Whenever it comes to availability it was hit or miss. I feel like the world will always use Covid as an excuse for product availability and that was what issue we ran into. We used Delta faucets and shower heads and since its one of the top selling brands, we didn't run into many issues. We were on the fence about out master bathroom shower system for our large tile shower and procrastinating almost ran us in to a big problem. The shower system we wanted was back ordered in matte black for several months. We ended up having to piece together our own system to keep the matte black color.
Matte Black Light Fixtures
If you hate dusting, they are not for you. I am a clean freak and dust my light fixtures once a week so its not a deal breaker for me. The matte black shows everything, really if you have bunch of natural light coming through big windows. Overall, I am super satisfied with the simplicity of our light fixtures and do not mind the extra dusting.
Matte Black Faucets
They show water spots and collect dust. Again, this all goes back to your cleaning routine. Most people do not want to deal with the extra hassle of more cleaning duties and that is completely understandable. For some reason our shower heads and faucets tend to shower water spots even more and this does get on my nerves. I am currently on the hunt for a good cleaner to help with this because you do have to be careful with what cleaners you use on black faucets. Also, depending on your countertop company, a lot of the undermount sinks have silver overflow drains. Most people wouldn't mind this but it drives me crazy. Our standing tubs drain was silver and we didn't notice that either so it does not match the faucet. I have had bronze and silver faucets in previous houses and the matte black is still my favorite despite the issues we have had.
Black Doors, Door Knobs and Accessories
If I had to choose one to complain about the most it would be our front door. It's impossible to keep clean and who wants to clean their front door all of the time? Windows are one thing but I find my self wiping down the whole door all the time! It was a painted front door and its already got some dings and scratches in the paint I have had to touch up. It's pollen season in Kentucky and the black door stays coated! In our high traffic areas the black coating on our doorknobs are already showing some signs of wear. I am NOT happy with this at all. Our drawer pulls and cabinet handles show smudges easily but seem to be holding up well. We have matte black toilet paper holders and I had never realized how much dust rolls of toilet paper make, they stay covered in white fuzz! The only thing I regret is painting the front door black, the other things I can handle.
Do I Recommend Matte Black Finishes?
Yes! Do your research and get good brands that do not show wear quickly. If you hate cleaning, I would really consider the extra effort that you need to put in on cleaning day. My house would not look as simple and modern if I had went with silver, gold or bronze finishes. The black ties in all of my decor and paint colors and works perfect for us. I also feel like ten years down the road someone will not look at a black faucet and say.. wow that is so outdated looking! My husband is a mechanic and the black faucets and door knobs help hide grime easier if I miss it during my cleaning routine.
I would love to hear your opinion! Please leave a comment, ask questions or share your experience!
