Hi friends!
I promised I’d write shorter posts and write them more often, but I have been seriously sidetracked! I can’t wait to share with you what’s going on. Some exciting things are coming for Holly Thompson Homes and I will be sharing them with you this spring.
We deal with a variety of people who are wanting to update their homes or sell them or want our opinion about whether they should sell them or what they’d have to do to fix them up.
The one thing I hear the most that they want changed immediately? The thing that people are most dismayed about? The thing that they insist on changing before they even think about selling their house or settling in, no matter how much it costs?
You’ll never guess. Carpet? Not quite. Paint color? I wish. It’s something completely offensive to the masses…
It’s this: original ’90’s brass hardware. Oh my gosh! All those horrible hinges and doorknobs that are everywhere! The absolute ugliest things ever, causing shame to all who have not updated them yet!
Like these ones, that are in my house:

Our front door
It gets worse…look at our bathroom! It’s everywhere!
And even this designer faucet didn’t get the memo:
Nor did the upper cabinets in the kitchen…
What on earth were we thinking?
I actually wouldn’t mind switching out this brass hardware. But if I did, do you know what I’d switch it out for?
Higher-quality brass hardware.
Yup, that’s right. I would keep it brass.
(If you happen to have really high-quality real-brass ones you don’t want, send me an email and I’ll take them off your hands).
But y’all. Brass is BACK! If you happen to have old brass hardware in your house, wear it proudly and know you are on-trend. It’s been there so long it’s back in style.
Rest easy, my friends.
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Note: If you are one to protest and say it’s still outdated, just keep this in mind. Chrome was overdone in the ’80’s and most of us grew up with dull toothpaste-encrusted chrome faucets. Then came the brass. Then came a huge backlash to both chrome and brass, fueled by HGTV in the early 2000’s when brushed nickel became the only metal a sane person could stand to have in their home. Ten years later, people decided to update the rather dull brushed nickel with oil-rubbed bronze, which was really just another name for black. Black faucets, hinges, light fixtures, everywhere. High contrast and attention-getting, which is usually not what you want from hinges (but I could be wrong).
So then, guess who was welcomed back? Chrome and Brass (and polished nickel, which is beautiful but easily ruined with cleaners).
Yay for brass! Give it a second chance, guys!
I don’t think I’d be too worried about this when selling, but I’m not on the brass bandwagon just yet. Of course, there is a wide variety of brass. I’m not quite there with the yellow brass but the beautifully aged brass could grow on me. Great post Holly!