Welcome to our new (ish) column, The Brass Tacks, in which we highlight the tiniest but mightiest details in the house: good-looking hardware, hinges, and fixtures.
My partner and I bought our first house a few weeks ago—a compact 1940s Cape—and we’ve have been feverishly painting and moving ever since. But even with fresh paint on the walls and the floors newly stripped, all I can see is the dingy, yellowed plastic switch plate covers that conveyed with it. Searching for an upgrade, I came across these, crafted at a 126-year-old foundry in Japan—pricey, but proof that even the most quotidian fixtures can be beautifully made.
Above: The Idha Brass Light Switches and Plates are by Takaoka, Japan-based Futagami (whose work we’ve featured in 20 Best Online Shops for Japanese Housewares and elsewhere). “Futagami has been crafting brass goods since 1897,” according to Housework. With origins in Buddhist brass tradition, they maintain true to their roots with an unwavering attention to quality craftsmanship while exploring modern homeware aesthetics.” Above: The switch plates are “outfitted with a brass toggle designed to be pleasant to the touch in every use.” Shown here is the Two Switch – Large Square switch plate, available from Housework. Above: “Brass is revered for the subtle patina it develops over time, slowly transforming and becoming more tied to people and place, deepening in both complexity and meaning,” reports Housework. I particularly like the petite sizes, like the 1 Switch – Small Circle switch plate. Above: And the 1 Switch – Small Square.
For more finds (including budget-minded ones), head to our Hardware archive.
(Visited 5,514 times, 1 visits today)
You need to login or register to view and manage your bookmarks.
This error message is only visible to WordPress admins
Error: No connected account.
Please go to the Instagram Feed settings page to connect an account.
v5.0
×
Join the Remodelista Family of Websites
Become a Member at no charge
When you register as a free Member of the Remodelista family of websites (Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home), you gain access to all current posts plus 10 archived posts per month, our internal bookmarking tool, and the community bulletin board.
Access 10 archived posts (older than one year) per month on each site
Use of our internal bookmark tool, so you can save products, posts, and other pages for quick reference
Access to our community bulletin board so you can ask and answer design-related questions
Unlimited access to the Product Catalogs, Design Travel sources, and Architect & Designer Directory listings
Choose from our ten newsletters to keep up with the latest on the sites
Or Subscribe for Maximum Value!
For $5/month ($59.99 paid annually) you'll enjoy unlimited, ad-free access to Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home and all the benefits of Membership.
Annual subscribers pay 50% off the monthly subscription price of $9.99
×
Subscribe to the Remodelista family of websites
For $5/month ($59.99 paid annually) you'll enjoy unlimited, ad-free access to Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home and all the benefits of Membership.
Annual subscribers pay 50% off the monthly subscription price of $9.99
×
Sorry! As a registered member you get 10 free posts from our archive (posts more than a year old) every 30 days. You have reached your limit for this 30-day period. If you would like to access unlimited posts from the archive (ad free, too), become a subscriber today, and keep reading as many articles as you want.
Full Access Individual Subscription
Benefits include:
Unlimited access to Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home sites
Ad-free browsing environment
Unrestricted access to 30,000+ archived posts
Receive the full-text daily newsletters
All features that Members have access to
Annual subscribers pay just 50% off the monthly subscription price of $9.99
Sorry! You have reached your limit of three (3) free posts from our archive every 30 days. You can increase this to 10 posts by joining as a free Member, or read unlimited posts with no ads by becoming a paid Subscriber.
Subscribe to the Remodelista family of websites
For $5/month ($59.99 paid annually) you'll enjoy unlimited, ad-free access to Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home and all the benefits of Membership.
Annual subscribers pay 50% off the monthly subscription price of $9.99
Become a Member at no charge
When you register as a free Member of the Remodelista family of websites (Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home), you gain access to all current posts plus 10 archived posts per month, our internal bookmarking tool, and the community bulletin board.
Congratulations on becoming a Subscriber to Remodelista, Gardenista and The Organized Home! You now have access to many great features across the sites:
Unlimited access to all three sites
Ad-free browsing environment
Unrestricted access to 30,000+ archived posts
Receive any of the newsletters, including the the full-text daily Remodelista and Gardenista newsletters
Use of our internal bookmark tool, so you can save products, posts, and other pages for quick reference
Access to our community bulletin board so you can ask and answer design-related questions
Congratulations on joining as a free Member of Remodelista, Gardenista and The Organized Home! You now have access to many great features across the sites:
Access to all posts published in the past year
Access 10 archived posts (older than one year) per month on each site
Use of our internal bookmark tool, so you can save products, posts, and other pages for quick reference
Access to our community bulletin board so you can ask and answer design-related questions
Unlimited access to the Product Catalogs, Design Travel sources, and Architect & Designer Directory listings
Choose from our ten newsletters to keep up with the latest on the sites
If at any time you want to become a Subscriber and enjoy unlimited, ad-free access to all our content, just go to the My Account link and choose Subscribe.
Advertising funds our work at Remodelista and helps us provide you with a daily dose of design. We hope you’ll consider disabling your adblocker for Remodelista so we can continue our mission: a well-designed home for all.
Have a Question or Comment About This Post?
Join the conversation (0)