Cabinet Knobs and More

A True Reflection

June 25th, 2007

Of all the common metal finishes, the polished chrome finish provides the most accurate reflection. When struck with blue light, it reflects blue light. When struck with green, it reflects green. Unlike copper, brass or bronze, polished chrome alters the light spectrum the least, coloring reflections the least.

What this means for the home decorator is that you use chrome (a shortened form of “chromium”, the metallic element that gives us this good reflection) where you don’t want to introduce another section of the color palette that you’ll just end up having to match and somehow blend into your color selection. (The “KISS” principle, “Keep It Simple, Stupid”, applies to home decorating, where you often want to keep the number of colors in your decorating scheme to a minimum.)

Just one word of caution concerning chrome should be observed. Since most lighting fixtures come in either fluorescent or incandescent, your chrome selections with also reflect their spectrum of light. Incandescents naturally reflect the warm yellowish spectrum and your chrome fixtures will dutifully reflect the same. The fluorescents will give off a bluish-whitish spectrum and your chrome fixtures will dutifully reflect the same. So, your chrome fixtures will tend to amplify your light sources, appearing, if you will, as additional sources of light, at least as far as the eye is concerned.

If you want to limit your color palette and polished chrome is your means, you’ll want to look at the wide selection of options at Knobs, Hinges and More. You’ll be amazed at the possibilities. To get more of an eyeful, look at other postings on this site, where we take different perspectives on choosing hardware specific to your lifestyles and life statements.

Entry Filed under: Bathroom Accessories