Metallics without the Glitz

Metallics are big this year! That's great news for you if you like a glitzy look. You can have gold lamé curtains, chrome furniture, upholstery with metallic threads, glimmering metallic candles, and polished brass bibelots this season, and you'll be completely in style.

If you're not the glitzy type, you can still enjoy metallics in a more understated way. Here are some suggestions to consider:

• Go with an understated colour or shade. An example is Kirrily Johnston's Pewter Illusion from Dulux paint's Design Metallic range. The colour is classic and anything but glitzy. You can paint trim or even a focus wall without making anyone think "bling."
  
  
  
• Try  a colour you already have in the room, but in a metallic finish. Design Metallic paints come in 14 colours, and there are even more metallic paint options available from other paint companies. You can complement your chocolate brown leather upholstery with chocolate brown metallic paint or echo the deep red of your draperies with subtle metallic sheen in red wall paint. 
• Use metallic paints in small doses: the wall behind open shelving, the risers on a staircase, moulding at floor and ceiling heights, a chair rail. Just enough to give a luxe look without making the room glittery.
• Use brushed finishes on metal rather than polished for a matte look. Pair some metals in furniture or decorative objects with matte finish walls and your room will just have a subtle glow.