There is something about brass that instantly makes a home feel warmer. If you’ve been wondering how to decorate with brass without making your home feel too formal or overly coordinated, I think the secret is to use it slowly, mixing it with pieces you already own and love.

I’ve found myself adding more brass to my own home over time, sometimes through vintage and antique finds and sometimes simply because I’ve found a new piece that suits the look I’m creating. I don’t think a cozy, collected home needs to be entirely vintage or thrifted. Old and new pieces can sit very happily together.

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Here are nine simple ways to bring the warmth of brass into your home without feeling as though you need to redecorate everything at once.

1. Start with small brass accents

Start with one or two small brass pieces rather than trying to transform an entire room. A candlestick, little decorative dish, photo frame or small vase can be enough to introduce that lovely golden warmth.

I particularly like brass against darker timber. Place a small brass piece on an old wooden dresser or side table and suddenly both materials seem richer. Add an old book, a little ceramic dish or some dried flowers and you have a simple vignette that feels as though it has gradually come together.

This is also an easy place to mix old and new. Keep an eye out for brass pieces when you’re browsing antique or thrift shops, but don’t feel that everything has to have a history. If you find something new that you genuinely love, bring it home.

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Start with the pieces that catch your eye and let the collection grow from there.

2. Bring in the warmth of brass lighting

Use brass lighting to add warmth as well as function. A brass table lamp, wall light or small rechargeable lamp can completely change the feeling of a room once the sun starts to disappear.

I love lamps in the evening because they create those small pools of light that make a home feel quieter. A brass lamp sitting on a timber sideboard or beside a stack of books catches the light beautifully without needing to become the centre of attention.

You certainly don’t need an antique lamp to achieve this look. There are some beautiful new brass and antique-style lamps available, and once they’re surrounded by books, ceramics, timber and other collected pieces, they settle naturally into the room.

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Choose lighting because you love the atmosphere it creates, rather than because you feel you need to fill every dark corner.

3. Pair brass with wood and natural textures

Mix brass with wood, linen, ceramics and other natural textures to soften its shine. This is one of the easiest ways to stop brass from feeling too polished or formal.

Think of a brass candlestick beside a slightly wonky handmade ceramic bowl, or a little brass frame resting against warm timber. Add linen curtains, woven baskets, old books or a soft rug and the brass becomes part of a much more relaxed room.

I especially love the way afternoon light catches these different textures. Brass glows, timber shows its grain and linen becomes soft and slightly rumpled. Nothing needs to look perfect.

Look around your home before buying anything new. You may already have the textures you need and simply need one small brass detail to bring them together.

4. Scatter brass candlesticks around your home

Use brass candlesticks anywhere you want a little old-world warmth. They are probably one of the easiest brass pieces to style because they work almost anywhere.

Try one or two on a dresser, dining table, mantel or bookshelf. I actually prefer candlesticks that aren’t perfectly matched. Different heights and slightly different shapes make a grouping feel as though the pieces were collected over time.

And this is where new and old brass can blend beautifully. You might have one tarnished candlestick from an antique shop beside two newer ones, and there is no reason they need to match exactly.

Add simple taper candles and light them occasionally rather than saving them for something special. There is something lovely about changing the feeling of an ordinary evening with candlelight.

[Shop the brass candlesticks and candle decor I’ve saved on Amazon]

Let yourself experiment with where they live. Sometimes the nicest styling happens when you move something somewhere unexpected.

5. Use a brass tray to create a collected vignette

A small brass tray can turn a handful of everyday objects into a simple, collected vignette. It gives everything a loose boundary, which helps a dresser or table feel layered without becoming cluttered.

On a bedroom dresser, you might add perfume bottles, jewellery, a tiny vase and a favourite photograph. On a coffee table, it could hold a candle, matches and a small decorative object.

The things on the tray don’t need to be decorative objects bought specifically for styling. In fact, I think these little arrangements are more interesting when they include things you actually use.

You could use an antique brass tray if you find one, but newer antique-style trays work just as well. The important part is what you gradually gather around them.

[Browse my favourite trays and vignette pieces in my Amazon Storefront]

Play around with your arrangement, live with it for a few days and move things if they don’t feel right. There is no deadline for getting a vignette “finished.”

6. Add brass picture frames and mirrors

Bring brass onto your walls and shelves with picture frames and mirrors. These are especially useful if you love brass but don’t want every surface covered with decorative objects.

Small brass frames are beautiful mixed into bookshelves or placed on bedside tables and dressers. Fill them with family photographs, old postcards, botanical prints or images that actually mean something to you.

A larger brass or antique-style mirror can become a focal point without making the room feel overly decorated. I particularly like brass mirrors above timber furniture because the warmth of the two materials works so naturally together.

You can also mix brass frames with timber and darker frames rather than creating a perfectly matched gallery wall.

[See the brass frames, mirrors and home accents I’ve collected on Amazon]

Give yourself permission to add things gradually. Empty wall space is not an emergency.

7. Let old and new brass live together

Don’t worry about whether your brass is genuinely vintage. A collected home can include an antique-shop find, something inherited from family, a marketplace bargain and something ordered online last week.

I actually think that mixture makes a home feel more personal.

Vintage pieces bring age, patina and little imperfections, while newer pieces make it easier to find something in the size or style you actually need. Once they are sitting together among your books, furniture, photographs and everyday belongings, where they came from becomes much less important.

Rather than trying to create a completely “vintage” room, look for pieces that have warmth and character.

And then give them time to become part of your home.

8. Stop trying to match every brass finish

Let different brass finishes mingle rather than trying to match everything perfectly. Polished brass, brushed brass and aged brass can all work together.

In fact, a little variation often makes a room feel more naturally collected.

A shiny new lamp might sit beside an older tarnished candlestick. A brushed brass frame could hang above an antique brass tray. Over time, even newer brass pieces can soften and become part of the layers of your home.

If you’re unsure, step back and look at the room as a whole rather than comparing two pieces centimetres apart. If the overall feeling is warm and balanced, you’re probably doing just fine.

Homes aren’t showrooms, thankfully.

9. Repeat brass gently around the room

Repeat small touches of brass around a room instead of grouping every brass item in one place. This creates a quiet visual connection without turning your decorating into a theme.

You might have a brass lamp on a side table, a small frame on a bookshelf, candlesticks on the dining table and a little brass dish on a dresser.

Your eye notices that warmth moving around the room even if you aren’t consciously aware of it.

If you want to add more brass, walk around the room and notice where it might naturally belong. Perhaps there’s a dark corner that could use a lamp or an empty little spot on a shelf that could hold a frame.

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You don’t need to fill every gap. Sometimes one tiny detail is enough.

Creating a Cozy Home Takes Time

Learning how to decorate with brass doesn’t mean buying a collection of matching pieces and finishing a room in a weekend. The homes I’m most drawn to usually feel as though they have slowly grown around the people who live there.

You might begin with a brass candlestick you find while wandering through an antique shop. Months later, you might come across a lamp you love online, then eventually add a little frame or tray. Before long, those individual pieces begin to feel as though they have always belonged together.

That, for me, is part of the pleasure of creating a home slowly. There is always another little corner to rearrange, another old treasure to discover and another piece that may find its way home with you eventually.

Let your home take its time becoming yours.

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