There are many types of readers out there. Maybe you live in a home you own that you’ve made completely your own, either by way of building custom from the ground up, or renovating/tinkering with something preexisting until it was just right. Or maybe you own a home but don’t really feel the need to make major changes to your builder-grade fixtures, be it for budget purposes or you just aren’t bothered enough. Or the third category (the category I’m in): You’re renting and either have finicky landlords or you don’t want to spend money on a ton of reversible changes you likely won’t be bringing with you to the next place. I’m sure there are other “categories” of readers here I’m missing, as everyone’s situation is unique, but today, I’m focusing in on the second and third type.

Specifically, how to improve some basic bathroom, builder-grade fixtures without ripping them all out and replacing them. As a reminder, every single one of the bathrooms in my rental townhome looks like this:

As with many homes built in the same era as this one (2010-ish), the cabinets are cherry, the tile is beige, the counters are beige, and the hardware and builder-grade fixtures are, of course, satin nickel. On paper, I understand the appeal of this metal finish: It’s not as cool-toned or harsh as chrome, so it’s more universally complementary, and the satin or brushed finish keeps things mostly finger-proof. But yes, it’s basic. I don’t have any problems with nickel, in fact. I love polished nickel; so warm and beautiful. But the “builder-special” usually comes in just the most boring faucet silhouettes.

Take one of my guest bathrooms above, for instance. That faucet screams “I bought this from an open-box special at Home Depot for about $43.97.” It’s transitional, i.e., it has no real style. It’s not modern; it’s not traditional. It’s like the plain Cheerios of the faucet world. Does the trick, but doesn’t really taste like anything.

However, I have absolutely zero interest or intention in changing the faucets or hardware in my bathrooms. Reasons include: A. We’re saving for a house, and this isn’t an important use of funds that could otherwise be put into our investments. B. If all goes according to plan in reason A, we don’t plan on staying here very long. C. Everything works just fine, everything is made pretty well, and it would be wasteful to buy interim faucets and hardware that end up where, exactly, when we move out? There’s no telling whether they’d work in our next place. Nah. I can’t be bothered.

SO, that brings me to today’s post. Jess had the idea of giving the “builder-grade bathroom fixture finish” concept the “cherry cabinets no-reno upgrade” treatment that I cooked up years ago and did gangbusters around here. What can you do with color and mostly soft goods and accessories to work with (or distract from) a dated, not-that-exciting faucet in a bathroom of yours? Could you spend the equivalent money on the rug/shower curtain/paint/etc., that I’m recommending on, say, a new faucet you like better? Sure you could! But where would the challenge be in that? I love a “Make It Work” obstacle more than most, so I put on my thinking cap and my color cape and got to work creating color combos and moodboards for satin nickel, chrome, polished brass, and matte black.

Could anyone use these color palettes regardless of their faucet situation? I’m glad you asked! Of course you can. Does someone’s bathroom vanity, countertop, and flooring material drastically affect how these would look IRL? Probably, but you’d be surprised what you can accomplish when you have a cohesive design story across all other elements. You can always pull from the colors and textures I recommend for some temporary solutions such as peel-and-stick floors (or even a vanity upgrade if that’s in the realm of your desires and budgets).

Now, let’s start with the most ubiquitous:

Builder-Grade Fixtures Color Combo #1: Satin Nickel

• Fixture Finish: Satin/Brushed Nickel
• Color Palette to Try: Olive Green, Black & White, Warm Wood, Ivory
• Metal Mix: Satin/Brushed Brass

As I mentioned before, satin nickel is actually fairly easy to work with because of its warm undertones. It pairs well with brass (especially if it’s also satin or brushed) if you’re brave enough to mix metals…and you should! This is easy to accomplish by changing out your cabinet hardware (fast and cheap!) or your switch and outlet plates (also fast and cheap!). The mistake I see a lot of people make is going the cool-toned route. They see silver and lean into black and white. You could do that, of course, and it would work well enough, but it would be just as basic as your faucet. Instead, pull the warmth out of the nickel and use olive greens and ivories! A little black-and-white marble moment through some bath accessories and even a cute striped towel set adds a touch of modernity, while a darker-toned wood table (or anything else wood, really) adds a realness and depth to everything else.

You’ll notice I pulled a tile for this and every other moodboard. Guilty! I couldn’t help myself, but if you’re not installing anything permanent, just pull that color for something else major, such as wall paint, trim, or even a peel-and-stick wallpaper. An even less intrusive approach is to use the tile color in a rug or shower curtain instead of what I picked. Just be sure the color from my selections appears somewhere else via an accessory or another moment.

And lastly, a seriously underrated technique to make dated or ugly elements in a room work: Bring in some weird and whimsy. In this case, a wool fish rug. Without it, the room looks like it’s trying too hard to be chic, even without being built around a chic faucet. But with it, it feels happy and pulled together. Go ahead, cover it up with your hand and see what I mean.

1. Artisanal 5X5 Ceramic Wall Tile | 2. Like Buttah by Clare | 3. Architectural 3 – Gang Toggle Light Switch Standard Wall Plate | 4. Dyed Thread Cotton Bath Towel | 5. Nexus Black Marble Soap Pump | 6. Nexus Black Marble Toothbrush Holder | 7. Ugglerum Side Table | 8. Trellis Shower Curtain | 9. Handmade Fish Runner Rug

Builder-Grade Fixtures Color Combo #2: Chrome

• Fixture Finish: Chrome
• Color Palette to Try: Ice Blue, Burgundy, Dark Oak, White
• Metal Mix: Chrome, Lacquered Color

Now, on the opposite side of the undertone spectrum is chrome for our popular choices for builder-grade fixtures. The faucet below is one we had in my childhood home until my parents did a big bathroom remodel, so it feels very nostalgic to me. I can still feel the memory of that plastic-y knob in the muscles and tendons of my hand. I can even hear what it sounds like when it opens and closes. Anyway, I digress.

Chrome is actually very popular again, so you may find yourself taking this color palette and applying it to a bathroom you’re working on with a super cool and very “now” chrome faucet. Either way! Here, just as I did with nickel, I’m leaning into the undertone with a cool, icy blue juxtaposed with a warm burgundy because I love those two hues together. Chrome doesn’t mix that well with other metal finishes, in my opinion, so I’m keeping any other metal here in the same family. You could probably get away with a polished brass or a matte black, but eh, not necessary. White is super classic with chrome and looks sharp and clean, so you’ll see that in the soap pump and toothbrush holder, as well as the shower curtain and towel. The towel’s red embroidered border and the sweet little florals are our moment of whimsy here without going too overboard. And technically, I guess so are those glossy blue knobs. I LOVE colored knobs; so unexpected and playful. I picked a fairly contemporary checked pattern for the rug to counterbalance a faucet that might feel very “yesterday”. Wood is always necessary to ground everything shiny (here, I went with a tray, but you could do this with a wastebasket, decorative storage box, bathroom furniture, etc.). Be sure to add in enough of that burgundy if you don’t do something like that tile; otherwise there won’t be enough depth, and it’ll just end up looking like a baby boy’s chrome-and-ice-blue bathroom.

1. Bottega Glossy Porcelain Tile in Mahogany | 2. Ice Sculpture by Benjamin Moore | 3. Colored Gloss Pebble Knob | 4. Wooden Decorative Tray | 5. Classic White Chrome Bath Accessories, Soap/Lotion Pump | 6. Classic White Chrome Bath Accessories, Toothbrush Holder | 7. Floral Embroidered Bath Towel | 8. European Linen Shower Curtain | 9. Machine Washable Checkered Gray Area Rug

Builder-Grade Fixtures Color Combo #3: Lacquered Brass

• Fixture Finish: Lacquered Brass
• Color Palette to Try: Butter Yellow, Ochre, Blush, Rattan
• Metal Mix: Polished Nickel, Antique Brass

The lacquered brass of today’s builder-grade fixtures is very different from the lacquered brass of the ’80s. Mostly because that wasn’t even brass most of the time, but instead a tacky gold finish coated in a clear, shiny film. But even if you still have that, I promise we can make it look good…well…better. Here, I decided to lean alllll the way in. Got a yellow faucet? Let’s go full-force yellow, almost as if you meant to have a polished brass-like fixture. The key? Keep all those yellow shades varied. This is how you create depth and dimension. Dark ochre towels, beige and pin-striped shower curtain, sunflower-hued bath mat, buttery yellow wall tile (or paint), light natural rattan trash can, and even a yellow-adjacent burl wood-finished little wheeled cart. The bubble tray is a glossy dark brown, which plays off the shine of the brass, but continues the warmth of the other tones. In contrast, however, I picked polished nickel for some bath accessories because they cut through the richness some, but still echo both the warmth and shiny qualities of the polished brass. You could also go the route of opposites with a satin antiqued brass (like in the switch plate below). And finally, for a touch of whimsy and unexpectedness, mix in some hardly-there blush somewhere—here I picked a paint color by Clare, though you could add in some accent towels or art as well with this shade!

1. Wing It by Clare | 2. Clé Guild: New California in Cigar/MatteYarrow | 3. Art Deco Step Satin Antique Brass – Single Toggle Switch Plates | 4. Glossy Decorative Tray | 5. Pierce & Ward Burled Finish Cart (12″) | 6. Diagonal Ribbed Towel Sets | 7. Bedford Silver Soap Dispenser | 8. Bedford Silver Bath Tumbler | 9. Rinna Rattan Waste Bin | 10. Cotton Linen Striped Shower Curtain | 11. Frontgate Resort Collection™ Skid-Resistant Bath Rug

Builder-Grade Fixtures Color Combo #4: Matte Black

• Fixture Finish: Matte Black
• Color Palette to Try: Ivory, Beige, Amber, Antique Wood, Travertine
• Metal Mix: Satin Brass

The newest finish to the builder-grade fixtures scene is matte black. It was plastered everywhere around 2015-ish during the height of Modern Farmhouse. There’s nothing inherently wrong with matte black hardware or finishes, but it does tend to feel quite cold and industrial. If you have something similar and are ready to change the vibes, may I recommend just going hard on the warm neutrals? I always did a deep emerald green color story here (that’d be good, too), but I recognize that not everyone likes or needs color in every room of their home. Instead of white, go with ivory, linen, bone, and vintage wood. Some brushed soft gold is a great pair to bring in some different metals to break up a bank of black hardware. I also love some travertine in here, either via surface materials or in an accessory like a tray, for instance. A limewash finish adds additional texture and complexity. And finally, our touch of whimsy comes through the amber “confetti” canisters.

1. Bone Limewash | 2. Mason Marble Black Knob | 3. Amber Confetti Glass Canister with Lid | 4. Amber Confetti Glass Liquid Soap Dispenser | 5. Tuscan Large Beige Marble Rectangle Tray | 6. Moderne – Brushed Gold Decorative Metal Wallplate | 7. Waffle Cotton Bath Towel in Ivory | 8. Three-Legged Wooden Stool | 9. Organic Oasis Shower Curtain | 10. Frontgate Resort Collection™ Bath Mat in Ivory

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And that’s all she wrote! Four moodboards with four color palettes to complement and elevate fairly basic bathroom builder-grade fixtures and their finishes. But again, these can be used even if you have a super awesome bathroom faucet finish. You can even pull these same combos into your kitchen, too! Get crazy, and let me know what you think.

Until next time, friends…

*Opening Image Credits: Design and Photos by Sara Ligorria-Tramp | From: How Sara Course Corrected Her Initial “Clean, Modern, And Very Neutral” Primary Bath Design Plan Into The Actual Design She Wanted – It’s A Surprise Reveal!