Your House Needs Jewelry

A trend report

I was asked by Domino’s Home Front a few weeks ago about an interior design trend I’m loving right now, and my answer was something I’ve been calling “house jewelry”—unexpected, often metallic décor items that add some personality to a room. I don’t know if you could really call this a “trend”, per se, but it’s something I think we’re coming around to after a bit of an aversion to metallics for a couple of years. (You can thank the brass craze of the 2010s for that, I think.)

To me, house jewelry isn’t simply anything shiny, like your average sink faucet or a basic cabinet pull—it’s something that changes the tone of the space. You could wear your favorite vintage jeans-and-a-tee combo every single day for a year and get 365 different looks out of it with some easy jewelry swaps. Like actual jewelry, house jewelry can add contrast, or texture, or an element of surprise to a room that’s mostly filled with basics.

The reality is, even though we all love looking at homes designed by renowned designers and historic spaces that have been around for a billion years, most of our homes are simply… not that. I love my apartment—and I love filling it with beautiful things—but I’ve come to terms with the fact that no amount of flea market digging or Facebook Marketplace hunting is going to turn it into Villa Necchi in Milan or Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé’s house in Paris. It’s a great apartment, but I’m not a magician. I sense that that’s the case for most of us, which means we’re probably not buying big-ticket items that have a ton of personality. I feel safer investing in things I know I can take with me to the next space or that I can adapt to fit my mood when I inevitably want to change things up.

Enter house jewelry. House jewelry can take the form of a pillow or a light fixture or a switchplate or an art object. It doesn’t have to be made of metal, but it does have to be ornamental—an intentional moment of decoration that may or may not have a function besides just “being pretty”. I keep coming back to that jeans-and-a-tee analogy—it’s the house equivalent of an Elsa Peretti cuff or a beaded Dries bag.

Ever since I gave this idea a name, I’ve been seeing house jewelry everywhere. House jewelry doesn’t reference just one design movement or trend cycle—it can skew surrealist, or Brutalist, or even Medieval, like I wrote about last month. This Art Deco door handle at Villa Serralves in Porto is a perfect example.

I have a hunch that Art Deco is coming back to interiors in a big way—if all the drop-waist dresses and feathers we saw floating down the runway over the last few weeks are any indication, we’ll be seeing decorative inlays in flooring and ornate chandeliers sneaking their way back into our inspo boards soon. One of my favorite Art Deco details of late is in the entryway of photographer Anita Calero’s 350-square-foot Manhattan apartment—I haven’t been able to get these metal door frames beneath a mirrored ceiling out of my head.

A more relaxed iteration of house jewelry that comes to mind is a collaborative collection of wall hooks by artist Alexis Stiteler and jewelry designer Ann Erickson. These little brass hooks feature bits from Alexis’ artwork reworked in Ann’s signature organic metalwork style, and I think they’re just so cool—imagine one over a doorway with some dried flowers hanging from it, or one above a vanity to hold a favorite necklace.

Also in what I’d consider the folk art category are these decorative steel panels by Ukrainian designer Victoria Yakusha, each referencing iconography from traditional Ukrainian wall paintings. I think these would look so great in an amongst moodier, darker artworks in an imperfectly assembled gallery wall.

Lighting is one of the most accessible ways to bring house jewelry into your space because there are a ton of beautiful, decorative options in a range of different metals out there. There are elaborate fixtures, like the chandelier at the top of this newsletter (it reminds me of a charm bracelet!) or more subtle routes, like a metallic lampshade. For instance, these silk moire shades with delicate metal trims are so special and would look amazing on a simple chrome base.

The resurgence of collecting silver and pewter in the last couple of years makes adding a bit of house jewelry to a room even easier. I keep a pewter bowl (one with some excellent patina) on my entry table as a catchall for my keys and things, and I love what it adds to the mix. Match Pewter is a great source, but also, keep an eye out at your local flea market or Goodwill for some timeworn, forgotten serving pieces.

I’d maybe argue that metal furniture doesn’t count as house jewelry—it’s like the equivalent of wearing a silver leather jacket in that it is the outfit. But there are lots of little side chairs and end tables out there that, in the context of a room that doesn’t have a lot of shine, have jewelry-esque effect. I always find myself gravitating towards thin, metal-framed chairs that almost function more like a sculpture than an actual chair, but as an owner of two chrome side tables already, I’m not allowed to buy any. (A self-imposed rule: everything in moderation.)

Lastly, I want to touch on the kitchen, because I think she deserves jewelry too. A friend was telling me the other day about her kitchen remodel and how expensive stainless steel countertops are, and it got me thinking about how the objects in a kitchen, when on display, automatically bring a bit of jewelry to the room on their own. An artful peppermill on the countertop, copper pots hanging from a wall rack, or a little metal island for extra storage can do the trick.

My friend Lindsay O’Brien is the Art & Home Merchandiser at Etsy and the writer behind Binzie, a newsletter about all the treasures she stumbles upon on a daily basis. She’s also a jewelry designer and collector, making her the perfect person to contribute to the house jewelry discourse.

I asked Lindsay if she’d share some special décor items that fit the bill, and boyyy did she deliver. She sifted through search results by using the keywords she’d use if she were sourcing actual jewelry, starting with the material and then narrowing with style descriptors (ie. “art deco brass”, “sculptural silver”, “minimal stainless steel”). I wish I could crawl into Lindsay’s Etsy favorites folder—I’m sure it’s a goldmine. Here’s what she found:

Alessi Kalisto Stainless Steel Kitchen Container, $91; Large Brass Kinetic Mobile, $137; Vintage Heavy Twisted Silver Mirror, $160; 1970s Italian Tilting Table Mirror, $219; Vintage Alessi Serving Tray, $72; 1950s Swedish Brass Wall Candle Holder, $181; Antique Brass Art Nouveau Frame, $63; Brass Pendant Light Fixture, $167+; Alessi La Conica Coffee Maker, $213; Vintage Folded Steel Sculptural Bowl, $230; Mexican Silver Picture Frame, $48; Moroccan Tile Ceramic Chain Wall Hanging, $500

I highly recommend giving Lindsay’s newsletter a follow if you’re into vintage home finds, well-curated city guides, and extensive Etsy deep dives.

Happy house jewelry hunting.

x

Ali

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