Through the fast evolving interior trend growth, special metal finishes have become a regular in stylish homestyle magazines while manufacturers have been quick to develop ranges to meet demand.

Main metal finishes

Chrome
Nickel (polished or brushed)
Brass (polished or brushed)
Black

There are some further rare and creative finishes such as aged brass, live brass, copper etc, but unless you have very very deep pockets, it’s difficult to have every metal item in a bathroom copper for example, unless everything is sourced from very expensive manufacturers. We say ‘expensive’. Yes there’s a world where people spend £50-100k or more on a bathroom, but like our local peers, we are in the business of creating great quality affordable bathrooms for normal people!!

Polished chrome is easy, provides endless choice, is better priced and frankly speaking still forms the backbone to most people’s very stylish bathrooms.

Mike & Amber's Brushed Nickel Bathroom - 4.jpeg — Brushed Nickel *installed*

See Mike & Amber’s En-Suite Bathroom featuring Brushed Nickel brassware from Aqualla, with the flushplate from Crosswater

But, it can’t be ignored that special finish metals add a certain extra stylish touch that makes a bathroom just that bit extra special when the style is right.

Things to bare in mind

Chic+bathroom+Teddington+-+6.jpg — Polished Nickel *installed*

Click here to see Richard & Jenny’s stunning bathroom with Polished Nickel from Burlington & Imperial

Choices of taps, heated towel rails etc are limited to fewer styles. Manufacturers simply don’t make everything in special finishes.
Mainstream brands now offer special finishes that don’t break the bank, but on average metal finishes seem to add £400-500 to a bathroom budget vs polished chrome.
Heated towel rails, bath screens and shower enclosures are rare in special finishes, but we know the suppliers and some are surprisingly reasonable in price.
You can mix chrome with black and even if having brushed brass or nickel, you can save money having chrome trim on the shower screen. It wont ruin the look, however, if wanting to go for the full metal finish throughout, including the trim/hinges of the enclosure/screen then you may need to spend approx £700-1200 more on a bespoke enclosure from Showerlab or Matki. Mainstream brand Crosswater have a new range out, but stock is limited at the moment, or Frontline have a surprisingly affordable range.