Are Brass Faucets Back In Style? A 2/2 at 1325 N. State Parkway in the Gold Coast
This 2-bedroom in the Ambassador House at 1325 N. State Parkway in the Gold Coast recently came on the market.
The listing says it has been “completely gutted.”
The kitchen has custom cabinetry, a honed marble counter top and backsplash and brass waterworks fixtures.
The brass fixtures follow through in the dining room chandelier and the bathroom faucets and shower head.
Those of you of a certain age might remember that brass was very popular for faucets in the 1970s and 1980s.
Apparently, brass has been making a national comeback since 2014, as this article in the Atlantic Journal Constitution is 2 years old:
If you haven’t noticed, brass is back. No, not that shiny lacquered brass of the 1980s and early 1990s.
If you elected to get rid of your old shiny brass fixtures, faucets and cabinet knobs, don’t fret, said Kandrac. The new brass doesn’t look like the old.
“The brass being used now has a more muted, matte and weathered finish,” said Kandrac. “The metals in today’s brass will age and become more attractive over time, without the high shine.”
As a warm and timeless metal, brass is not only being used in lighting, it has re-emerged in other areas of interior design, ranging from bath and kitchen fixtures to furniture and decorative accessories.
This unit has the other features buyers look for, including central air and washer/dryer in the unit. Parking is rented in the building for $130 a month, which the listing calls the “best parking deal” in the neighborhood.
Normally, we don’t chatter about the interiors of the properties as this isn’t a design blog.
But this was a gut renovation with specific finishes selected. Most buyers aren’t going to put in all new faucets or pulls on kitchen cabinets so these will be there when you buy it.
Are brass faucets and other fixtures finally making their way to the Midwest?
Will buyers be demanding brass fixtures in 2017?
Ryan Preuett at Conlon has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #20E: 2 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 1650 square feet
- Sold in May 2002 for $180,000
- Sold in September 2013 for $445,000
- Sold in March 2016 for $430,000
- Currently listed “completely gutted” for $725,000
- Assessments of $1161 a month (includes heat, doorman, pool, exterior maintenance, lawn care, scavenger, snow removal)
- Taxes of $6341
- Central Air
- Washer/Dryer in the unit
- Parking is rented at $130 a month
- Bedroom #1: 14×16
- Bedroom #2: 14×13
Those brass faucets look fucking terrible, what idiot convinced these people to install them and probably pay top dollar for them?
I like them but agree they could turn many buyers off.
I have to give them credit for committing to it. I think it would be worse if it were just placed occasionally.
“Are Brass Faucets Back In Style?”
“I think it would be worse if it were just placed occasionally.”
Actually, what’s more in style today is mixed metals. not a fan.
First – Brass has no Class
Second – In what world is this place over $750M? Just a metric ton of fail
I can deal with the brass handles and pulls but not on the plumbing. #fail
Hunter green and duck motifs are back in style too.
Face it, the whole place is tacky. And I had almost those exact dining chairs. Never even sat on and this ghetto woman hovered over them for 1/2 hour at a garage sale and wanted to jew me down on my asking price of $40 for all 4 (I paid over $200/each for them).
I sliced them up and put them out at the curb. $10/each? Hellz nah!
Brass is trending now for plumbing fixtures. White or gray cabinets and brass. But yeah a mix of materials is what’s in style. However, the trendy brass is very dull, not shiny. Perhaps the pictures are not reflecting what these fixtures look like in person. Or they just failed on the hardware and fixtures.
What a greedy flipper…paid $430k for this 4 months ago. I see all he did was change the flooring (about $10k tops), redo the bathrooms ($20k each tops), and change out the kitchen cabinet faces + countertops + buy new appliances ($25k tops). So he spent about $75k tops to “gut rehab” the place and wants to sell for almost $300k more?
“all he did was….”
they did a little more than that. the cabinetry layout is slightly different, opened the wall up between the kitchen and dining area, changed out the door hardware and hinges to match the brass look, replaced all light fixtures, removed the built-in in the dining area, painted, etc. Sure, these things are smaller in scale then what you mentioned but they add up. Still doesn’t warrant the premium they’re asking though.
@nodifferent: Re your statement: “and wanted to jew me down on my asking price of $40” . . .
perhaps you’re from a part of the country that hasn’t yet gotten this message, but that language is extremely offensive. I’m going to assume it was accidental due to not thinking about it, but hopefully a bit of awareness will help.
My childhood recollection (which may be due to cheap brass) is that brass doesn’t age very well….doesn’t it develop an icky patina?
Not a fan of electric cook tops and doubly not a fan of ones without a vent above.
Otherwise, there isn’t anything terribly offensive here aside from the price.
But the price is in fact terribly offensive.
Everyone seems to be skirting the bigger issue here. What’s going to replace stainless steel/brushed nickel/satin chrome (and a few more) for plumbing fixtures, light fixtures, appliances etc. Based on these posts it’s not going to be brass but what else is out there – especially for appliances?
“all he did was….”
we all know from the HGTV shows that there are always unexpected problems that cause dramatic pause and you don’t really think Tarek and Christina absorb those costs themselves DO YOU!
Brass is not in itself bad. Brass is the base material of most quality plumbing fixtures. I don’t think that they are tacky in themselves. Additionally, kudos for something other than the common and banal stainless steel and nickel. Often, brass is a living finish that will darken somewhat over time and reveal additional natural beauty of the material.
Is it great for resale? Probably not. Can it be beautiful. Yes. Repress the urge to hate it because your parents had plastic-y brass in the 1980s.
“They” have been saying this new brass is back. The problem is that it doesn’t look fresh or edgy. Stale. It ruins the other improvements. No. We are not there yet. Sorry.
With all the white and stainless, having all that brass just sticks out. Really, who wants all the attention on your cabinet handles. Maybe nickel is boring but I still think boring would be better here. I would have put extra money in something less garish but still a good selling point like electronic blinds or heated floors. Or a slide down to your car. Ps. Who thinks “no different” is working for the Trump campaign?
For your info, I used that term specifically because I hadn’t heard it since the 70s…. until I moved to Chicago in 2005. It was used by a flaming lakefront liberal. No lie. I still love her though. I was never called a “cracker” or “johnboy” until moving to Chicago either. And at the office I worked at in Evanston, had a co-worker say aloud something about “Getting those Roman Catholics out of the way” in regards to a very sensitive subject. The HR Dept was supposed to address that but I know they never did.
Happy Diversity!
“Based on these posts it’s not going to be brass but what else is out there – especially for appliances?”
bright colors is my guess… because you know millenials are special snowflakes and all sorts of shit like that
like these
https://www.google.com/search?q=bright+color+appliances&safe=strict&biw=1285&bih=555&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj3rvHp6uvOAhVLwmMKHer4AwgQ_AUIBygC
“bright colors is my guess… because you know millenials are special snowflakes and all sorts of shit like that”
I guess I’ll stick to stainless for a few more years.
“I was never called a “cracker” or “johnboy” until moving to Chicago either.”
No one’s afraid of whitey here. Hie thee to crackertown.
But seriously, the casual use of more esoteric slurs in Chicago is really notable.
On a different matter here…I believe that this unit is in a “co-op” not “condo” building, right? Which would account for the larger taxes and assessments.
“On a different matter here…I believe that this unit is in a “co-op” not “condo” building, right?”
No. It’s a condo building. Assessments don’t include the taxes.
I don’t think those assessments are that high for the amenities, including a pool. This isn’t your typical 1150 square foot 2/2 either.
“perhaps you’re from a part of the country that hasn’t yet gotten this message, but that language is extremely offensive. I’m going to assume it was accidental due to not thinking about it, but hopefully a bit of awareness will help.”
STFU, loser. The “PC” era is over and people are sick and tired of PC bigots like you. Did you not read what the U of C is telling its freshmen? It’s you who are a tired minded, unaware, dolt living in the past. Ride into retirement with that Arkansas hillbilly couple, please.
“And at the office I worked at in Evanston, had a co-worker say aloud something about “Getting those Roman Catholics out of the way””
Wow, very unkosher. Not surprising though, there are extreme bigots in the Left, and so full of hate. Thanks for sharing so we can be vigilant against such vile and odious views. We saw it recently with R. Bader Ginsburg’s comments.
Chicago trivia: Maxwell St. used to be called Jewtown.
@Sabrina: Can we, once and for all, get Helmet Hofer off this site?! Cribchatter is supposed to be about real estate, but for every one of his comments on RE, he spews a dozen comments showing his hatred of blacks, jews, women, gays, etc. (maybe it’s really Donald Trump posing under the HH moniker?)
Helmet: perhaps its time for you to move elsewhere, somewhere where you won’t have to live alongside others you deem undesirable. Perhaps a cabin in upper Montana, off the grid??
“(maybe it’s really Donald Trump posing under the HH moniker?)”
wow so funny and original, you should be on late night
This just looks like a boring, bog standard cleanwall job. The brass is the only interesting part of the whole enterprise. At least they didn’t use effing stainless.
I love seeing places where the owners had the cajones to do something bold, personal and loving to their living space. This is not one of those places, brass notwithstanding. Not worth more than 550k.
“I love seeing places where the owners had the cajones to do something bold, personal and loving to their living space.”
They are flipping this. There is no reason to be “bold” or personal. They are trying to appeal to the majority of buyers. You want it as neutral as possible (which is also why the brass choice is very interesting. It implies that the vast majority now want that.)
On that Flip or Flop show on HGTV, they use the same paint color in 90% of their flips. It’s also, no surprise, the #1 paint color in America.
If you watch Fixer Upper long enough, you also basically see the same interior over and over again. The reclaimed wood, the white walls, some grays and black. That’s it.
Remember when everyone owned that same coffee table from Pottery Barn in the 1990s? I think it was even on the Friends set or some other tv show.
“@Sabrina: Can we, once and for all, get Helmet Hofer off this site?!”
Everyone knows Dan. I’ve banned him many, many times. Yes- he is full of hate. Ignore him.
I stayed at the Ludlow Hotel in NYC on the Lower East Side and they have some very nice brass fixtures in the rooms. It is one of these trendy boutique joints and new so it isn’t left over from decades ago.
I never really thought about brass for fixtures again, but these looked really nice. Very high quality pieces and the designer pulled it together nicely. The fixtures really pop against the white marble and vintage tile in the bathrooms. All the door fixtures and lights have brass too. I think what makes it work is that there is a nice patina that makes it look old and worn.
I could see though where if it isn’t done right, it could be a major fail though.
“an we, once and for all, get Helmet Hofer off this site?! ”
Look at you. A censor and a bigot!! There is nothing more abhorrent than a censor.
You must hate freedom of speech, That’s extremism. In Chicago we have diversity, Maxwell St. was called “Jewtown”. You could easily Google this. The terminology “jew me down” relates to American history and it’s tied directly into the flea market origins of our famous Maxwell St. It’s been in many movies incl. Blues Brothers.
Helmet, history also gave us kids in cars without seat belts, women not voting, whales killed to almost extinction, slaves, workers being exploited without unions, child labor, acceptable drunk driving, processed foods being marketed as healthy, smoking everywhere being acceptable, the list goes on.
Evolve sweetheart!
“In Chicago we have diversity, Maxwell St. was called “Jewtown”. You could easily Google this.”
Google tells me this is true. The Maxwell Street Market was called “Jew Town” for most of its history.
who really cares if it was called jew town?
“who really cares if it was called jew town?”
Only historians. Apparently many markets in many cities that had a lot of Jewish merchants were called Jew Town.
Closed, 1/6/17, $690,000