Why would anyone want to camouflage or hide plastic
Because apparently most people don’t like it, or conversely they would prefer other materials. I assume that’s why manufacturers offer so many color variants. Look around your place how many things are made of plastic but superficially pretend to be something else. For example, I quickly found here: - a PET bottle shaped like a typical glass bottle - a shower hose that looks chrome-plated - 2 controls on the fan heater that look like stainless steel - a wallet that apparently is made of leather - a flooring made of “wood” - a “rubberized” keyboard - countless things that have been intentionally colored black and mattified instead of leaving the plastic (originally) glossy etc.pp.
That’s nonsense.
No, that’s my (different from yours) experience. I would appreciate it if you granted me that and not dismiss it as “nonsense”.
For example, keyword Softline, some plastic window manufacturers make a respectable effort to get away from the cheapskate image and present products that are “villa-suitable” visually.
That may be so, after all manufacturers already make an effort with the profiles to make them look “different” with all kinds of surface treatments (foiling, aluminum cladding, mattifying). However, at least I am not talking about villa-suitable metal substitutes, but actually about “DIY store junk” (which very likely was also the initial topic here). Of course I lack usable data on this, but I would just boldly claim that most plastic-handle window owners probably did not opt for the (likely quite costly) premium version. At least I can’t think of a good reason to order it if metal handles are available for only a few euros extra.
By the way, I fully agree with you on this: there is absolutely nothing wrong with choosing handles in profile color. However, I make the restriction that I exclude white (glossy) as a color, precisely because I cannot distinguish it even in higher-quality versions from the typical white cheap plastic handles.