You may have heard the term “living” or “organic” finishes in recent years being tossed around in the home-improvement and design realms and for good reason!
These finishes have been making waves for their versatile aesthetic value, as well as their uniqueness in the marketplace.
That being said, what exactly do you need to know about these finishes and where you should start if you’re interested in purchasing a product with one?
The first thing to know is that these metals start to oxidize over time as a result of the fact that no sealant or coating has been applied to them. This means that as the air continues to interact with a metal such as copper, brass, or bronze, their superficial layers will start to change in texture and color over time. We refer to this new layering as a “patina”, which is used to distinguish its new characteristics from the original coloring and texture.
More specifically, these are the common environmental factors thought to influence the patination of a product: humidity. airborne salinity, pollutants, oxygen content, foods, cleaning products, and water hardness.
All of these elements will come together in some unique combination to influence the way patination will occur with your living finish. In the instance of foods, an example of patina being affected would be lemon on copper, which can actually deteriorate or reverse the patination process. The point here is, no two copper faucets of the same kind will ever precisely have the same patina.
Now that you know a bit about the patination process, it’s time to start thinking about what kinds of products and metals you’re interested in and getting an idea of what the patina could look like over time.
We work exclusively with designer/manufacturer HotBath, based out of Italy, for their incredibly refined living finishes and top-tier quality. The Cobber Collection, which features a vast array of stunning faucets, shower-heads, mixers, and accessories, is able to be purchased in several different “living” finishes all with their own unique character.
All in all, you’re able to choose from aged brass, brushed brass, brushed copper, natural brass, and bright nickel; whichever one you choose, we’re sure you’ll be ecstatic at the beauty of experiencing a newfound relationship with your finishes as they undergo metamorphosis over long periods of time.
