By VALERIE FINHOLM | Courant Staff Writer

December 28, 2007

Copper isn't just for cooking anymore.

The rich-looking metal is making an appearance in contemporary kitchens, where copper faucets, backsplashes, pendant lighting, sinks and countertops contrast nicely with white cabinets and espresso floors.

Copper tones show up, too, in paint, window treatments and home accessories.

Al Ferris, owner of The Secret Copper Shop in New Milford, says that lately customers are buying more of his hand-made "interior design" pieces such as modern-looking paper-towel holders, old-fashioned copper candle holders and lamps.

Copper pots have always been staples in well-equipped kitchens. Now the metal is starting to be incorporated into kitchen renovations.

Tracy Herand and her fiancé, Mike McCarty, chose copper to renovate the 1970s kitchen in the house they recently purchased in Stamford.

Herand says they wanted something different than the stainless steel and granite kitchens they saw in showrooms.

The couple's interior decorator, Sharon McCormick of Durham, suggested copper.

"We like things a little bit different, not wildly different," Herand says. "We're from the Southwest, [so] we're more into earth-tone colors."

McCormick says that so far the couple has chosen a copper faucet and sink, copper-colored pendant lights, a copper hood for the stove, copper sconces and copper pulls for the cabinets.

"You don't want to overdo it" with copper, McCormick cautions. "That's like a woman wearing all of her jewels at the same time."

That's why the couple is using other materials for the floor, backsplash, countertops and cabinets.

It takes a certain person to live with copper, McCormick adds. When new, the metal is shiny, but as copper ages, the color mellows and a gray-green patina tints the surface.

"That's the charm," McCormick says.

Another features of the warm-hued metal is that it actually repels germs, says Alan Isaacs, vice president at Frigo Designs, a designer and manufacturer of custom metal countertops, vanities and other home products. Copper's anti-bacterial properties — a plus in the kitchen — are one reason why copper alloys often are used for door handles in hospitals.

Bob O'Donnell, a design associate at Tile America in Manchester, says homeowners increasingly use copper tiles for kitchen backsplashes "to make a statement."

He says copper tiles work well with a plain granite countertops, but they are pricey — copper tiles sell for $50 to $60 a square foot compared with an average of $10 a square foot for ceramic tiles at the store.

As copper moves into the kitchen, it also is showing up elsewhere around the house. Sheryl Baylis, a professional drapery maker who owns SBR Designs in Hartford, notes that Hunter Douglas is offering a new line of copper-colored honeycomb shades.

And a copper-topped pedestal coffee table is on display right at the front of Crate & Barrel's West Hartford store.

But copper is costly. So start saving your pennies.

Contact Valerie Finholm at vfinholm@courant.com.