Once upon a time, mixing gold and silver jewelry was considered a fashion faux pas. Interior design has long had a similar rule: Whether it’s brass, chrome, nickel, or blackened steel, you pick one finish and stick with it. Thankfully, both worlds are evolving. Lo & Co’s new Duet collection challenges the idea that cohesion requires uniformity, pairing brushed brass and polished nickel in hardware inspired by the layered elegance of fine jewelry.
Photography by Liam West/Lightly Salted; courtesy of Lo & Co.
The Australian architectural hardware brand’s first mixed metals collection was developed in collaboration with Melbourne-based SMAC Studio, pairing brushed brass with polished nickel across cabinet pulls, knobs, and levers. Rather than using two finishes simply for visual effect, the collection explores how different materials interact with light, proportion, and one another to create depth.
Photography by Liam West/Lightly Salted; courtesy of Lo & Co.
The timing wasn’t accidental. According to founders Arielle Lopresti and Teegan Cocchiaro, the idea had been building for years before becoming a reality.
“We’ve always been drawn to mixed metals,” they share. “We were inspired while visiting Milan for Design Week and found that many Italian spaces mixed metals.”
That trip included a visit to designer Vincenzo De Cotiis’ Milan apartment, where fearless combinations of materials left a lasting impression. Combined with the renewed popularity of mixed-metal jewelry, it helped shape a collection that feels both contemporary and enduring.
Photography by Liam West/Lightly Salted; courtesy of Lo & Co.
Jewelry has long served as a point of reference for Lo & Co, whose founders often describe their hardware as “jewelry for the home.” With Duet, that influence became more literal. While the knobs and levers borrow the boldness of statement jewelry, the elongated pulls reference finer pieces, using subtle detailing where the two finishes meet to create the collection’s defining gesture.
Balancing brushed brass and polished nickel required restraint as much as contrast. Rather than allowing one finish to dominate, the designers relied on texture and reflectivity to create equilibrium.
Photography by Liam West/Lightly Salted; courtesy of Lo & Co.
“The contrast was entirely intentional,” they explain. “We chose to highly polish the nickel and softly brush the brass, so each catches the light differently. Both are quite subtle in color, which means neither overpowers the other.”
The collaboration also reflects SMAC Studio founder Shona McElroy’s long-standing interest in two-tone hardware. Her early sketches established the collection’s jewelry-inspired direction before Lo & Co refined the forms, proportions, and finishes into the final product family.
Photography by Liam West/Lightly Salted; courtesy of Lo & Co.
Perhaps the collection’s most compelling idea isn’t aesthetic at all, but psychological. Many homeowners hesitate to mix finishes, worried that cohesion requires consistency. Lopresti and Cocchiaro see it differently.
“Cohesion doesn’t have to mean uniformity,” they say. “A considered mix of metals brings depth and interest to a space.”
That philosophy extends beyond a single launch. Rather than treating mixed metals as a one-off experiment, the founders hope Duet becomes part of Lo & Co’s evolving design language while giving customers the confidence to be more adventurous in their own homes.
Photography by Liam West/Lightly Salted; courtesy of Lo & Co.
The Lo & Co Duet collection is available at loandcointeriors.com.
Editorial Transparency: This article was developed with the assistance of AI tools, which may have been used for research, outlining, editing, or copy refinement. Reporting, fact-checking, and editorial decisions were made by the Design Milk editorial team.
