Material

Mild Steel

The metal behind the metal. Mild steel does the structural work in most of what we build, and increasingly it is also the visible surface.

Strong, direct, unapologetically structural.

Ask about mild steel Finishes

Steel-framed glazed entrance doors to a villa

Mild steel is our strongest and most economical material, and it carries loads that would need far heavier sections in softer metals. Most of our staircases, canopies and large frameworks are steel underneath whatever finish is visible.

It has also become a finish in its own right. Blackened, waxed and clear-coated steel gives a matt, slightly industrial darkness that sits well against stone and timber, and it has become one of the most requested looks in contemporary interiors.

Steel must be coated. Left bare it will rust, so every steel element leaves our workshop with a specified protective system rather than a decorative one alone.

Surfaces

Finishes that suit mild steel

All finishes

Brushed and patinated metal finish samples

Brushed & satinPolished

Special textureTextured

DistressedPatinated

PVD-coloured and textured metal finish samples

PVD & coatingsCoated

In the work

Mild Steel in place

Blackened steel geometric balustrade panel

Blackened steel screen over an arched facade window

Laser-cut steel figurative sculpture in a courtyard

Blackened steel canopy framing a hotel bar counter

Questions about mild steel

Will mild steel rust?

Yes, given the chance, which is why every piece is finished — coated, blackened, waxed or painted — and why the edges, corners and fixing holes get the most attention. Indoors, a good finish lasts indefinitely. Outdoors, mild steel is a maintenance decision: checked yearly at the edges, and refinished before the rust rather than after it.

What is blackened steel?

Mild steel with a dark, chemically converted surface — the finish of a fire basket, a stair stringer, a boutique’s shopfitting. It is the colour heat would make it, which is why it belongs near fire, and it is finished with wax or a clear coat to hold it. It marks, wears and develops, and that is its character.

Other metals