Black steel is the house finish: matte, deep, and almost without reflection, so the lever reads as a line rather than an object. It suits dark joinery, lacquer, and any room where the window is the brightest thing.
Dark grey steel keeps a trace of light along its top edge. In a pale interior, plaster, oak, linen, it draws the handle just far enough forward to be found without being seen.
Leather is the finish that changes. Black stays formal; brown moves toward honey where the hand rests most. Both are stitched, not wrapped, so the seam falls away from the grip.
