How HGTV's Christina Hall Mixes Hardware For A Seamless Kitchen Design

Christina Hall of HGTV's "Christina on the Coast" is known for her stunning SoCal interior design style with a hint of country chic. She's no stranger to taking drab houses and turning them into the homes of their owners' dreams, and perhaps her greatest skill is seamlessly merging modern trends with timeless designs for homes that never go out of style. One particular project showing Hall's expertise comes from season 5, episode 1 of "Christina on the Coast" on HGTV. For a couple with a cramped and outdated kitchen, she renovates the space to make it bright, open, and airy — giving it a much-needed style revamp in the process. For this kitchen, she also makes use of one of the hottest recent kitchen hardware trends, mixed metals. For the large coastal contemporary kitchen, Christina Hall utilizes a mix of black and brass cabinet pulls.

"It's a little masculine," she says about the sophisticated black hardware. Then, she points her clients to the brass cabinet pulls on the kitchen island, "And then we got the brass on the green, super pretty." This combination gives the room an elegant dimension and some striking visual appeal. But, mixing metals can be a polarizing and intimidating design choice if you don't know how to pull it off. Below, we break down Christina Hall's kitchen design and share tips about how to choose the cabinet hardware that's right for you, and how to mix metals like Hall does for a stylish yet timeless appeal.

Mixing metals might be one of the latest kitchen trends, but it was once a taboo design choice. While this can explain why some designers shy away from the trend, the truth is that a good mix of metals in kitchen hardware can add depth, character, visual intrigue, and a sense of sophistication to the home. Christina Hall knew that when she chose to mix black and brass kitchen hardware for her HGTV clients. To pull off the look, she started with a more dominant base metal, a simple matte black for the white upper and lower kitchen cabinetry that wrapped around most of the kitchen, complemented by a black sink faucet with subtle brass finishes. Finally, Hall used the same cabinetry pulls for the oversized sage green kitchen island, except in a beautiful brass tone.

Her clients were thrilled, and the completed kitchen she posted on Instagram was a perfect example of how understanding how to mix metals with intentionality and cohesive design can elevate a kitchen's aesthetic and feel. This isn't the first time Hall has used a metal mixture. For another bright contemporary kitchen, she's used nickel hardware, complemented by a few brass accent pieces like the faucet and over-stove pot filler. She's also completed a moody modern kitchen with dual-tone cabinet pulls made from black and nickel-tone metal. These combinations can be emulated to create a SoCal chic Christina Hall-inspired modern kitchen you'll want in your home.

Christina Hall's HGTV makeovers make metal mixing for kitchen hardware look easy, but the truth is, like all good designs, pulling off the look requires planning, attention to detail, and coherence with the rest of your kitchen style. If you're thinking of mixing metals for your kitchen hardware, we recommend doing as Hall does and picking a maximum of two metals to keep the look balanced. Choosing one metal as your base metal and another to complement the look in specific areas, not scattered throughout, will keep the look harmonious without overwhelming the space. Also, as Hall did for her clients, don't choose metals that are too similar in appearance; instead, use contrast to create visual interest. 

Using two metals too close to each other in color, such as silver and nickel, or gold and brass, can make your hardware look sloppy. Instead, as Christina Hall tends to, mix golden tones with silver tones, or metallic tones with black. These combinations give your kitchen depth and interest. Hall is a fan of using sources like Pinterest and design websites to narrow your search and find your desired style. This can help you choose the best metal mixture for your kitchen's color palette and style. Finally, as Christina Hall does, know when simple is best. She also frequently uses only one hardware style. This is a good idea if your kitchen has other flashy elements that should be allowed to stand out and take center stage.