Materials · 4 min read
Patina, not polish
Why we specify unlacquered brass — and what to expect from a metal that's been allowed to age.
Unlacquered brass is a quietly contentious choice. It will darken. It will mottle. In time, it will look nothing like the day it was installed.
That is the point.
A lacquered finish is a thin film of plastic over the metal. It works for a few years and then begins to peel. Unlacquered brass simply ages — first to a warm honey, then to something deeper and more interesting.
If you want a bathroom that looks identical in twenty years to the day it was installed, we'll specify a lacquered finish for you. If you want a bathroom that gets better, we'll specify it raw.