2018 Home Design Trends: Matte Stainless Steel Offers a Softer Touch
2 min read
When on the lookout for home design trends for 2018, you will constantly come in contact with designers and home staging heroes preaching the perfection of stainless steel.
At first, it was in the shiny and reflective almost chrome coated aesthetic that this alloy attracted the most attention. Many homes to this day still sparkle with glossy stainless steel speckled throughout the kitchen. The only stylistic issue was its propensity to pick up fingerprints.
Brushed stainless steel is still popular today. Its surface is a slightly toned down in terms of reflectiveness. The gloss might be gone, but slightly glinting thin parallel lines shine through, creating a pattern of uniformity and muted elegance. This has been around in kitchens and bathrooms for a while now.
Then came matte stainless steel. This is a muted, richly textured finish that gives a new face to alloys in home staging and decor. As a more industrial look, it gives off less of a loud sight and more of an accessible and versatile tone. Matte stainless steel can be sprinkled everywhere in the home, not just the typically sterile settings of the kitchen and bathroom. Door handles, lamps, coffee tables, and wall hangings can all accommodate this rougher non-reflective finish.
It’s no surprise then that stainless steel 304, the same grade used for home design, is the most common grade. What is surprising? The popularity of a matte finish. This flat, darker tone and textured appearance is actually achieved by simply not finishing the surface. From the industrial background to the home furnishing front lines, matte stainless steel has come a long way. Why?
High-end home furnishing customers tend to look for specific qualities when designing a room. Items that gave a calm and comfortable feeling were preferred by 60% of these customers. Herein lies the heart of the matte-r.
Most stainless steel gives off a bright, loud, and piercing appearance. There is nothing wrong with that, but a matte finish is dulled, dimmed like the lights on a romantic night in. It is calming and comfortable, not so cold as the stainless steel staples of old.
