Kitchen Hardware
File this under ‘ways to update your kitchen without painting or redoing the cabinets’.
The stainless steel hardware in our kitchen certainly wouldn’t have been my choice, but the more that we started fixing up the kitchen, the more glaring it became. Call it psychosomatic, but the silver color became a fixation that I couldn’t let go of.
But if you’re going to be updating kitchen hardware, there are a few things to keep in mind depending on how easy and seamless you’d like to make the process.
Hardware Finish:
Gold, nickel, brass, lacquered, unlacquered… where to begin?
Keep the finish cohesive on cabinetry. A separate piece of furniture? Feel free to experiment with a different metal, but if you’re choosing an unlacquered brass, mixing gold finishes will easily look less styled or purposeful.
The exception… wood can easily mix and blend, whether it’s a painted handle that matches the cabinets or a simple wooden knob, I think you can easily pair with an existing metal.
You’re welcome to mix metals when it comes to faucets. However, I would caution against mixing metals that are too similar as it can come across an accidental mismatch. Instead, consider polished chrome to pair with an aged brass or gold. You get the picture.
Hardware Style:
Pulls, knobs, cups… the choice is yours to grab (or pull)
Once again, keep things consistent. I think you can vary the actual style a bit, but decide on a general layout.
However, this doesn’t mean you need to stick to one style or collection when shopping. For example, I didn’t want all of our drawers to be exactly the same so we opted for the first row to be a slightly more traditional pull, while the lower tiers would be a bin pull instead. The styles our clearly distinct from one another, but the unlacquered brass on both pull the look together.
With the mixed pulls, I liked the idea of a clean and simple brass knob for the cabinet doors. However, I also have played around with backplates. If the cabinets were painted darker or the other pulls were more streamlined, I’d be keeping these backplates in an instant for some added drama!
Hardware Size & Placement:
This is where you have to decide, how much of a project are you wanting to take on?
If you’re starting from scratch with fresh cabinets, take the reigns to get fully creative. Devol Kitchens is the ultimate inspiration right now for creative and modern placements of pulls, knobs, etc.
Knob and handle placements from Devol Kitchens (featuring Bella Brass Knob and Antique Silver Cabinet Handle).
However, if you’re just wanting to refresh your current situation, use the existing holes for incredibly easy replacement. Instead of measuring the exterior pull, measure how far apart the screws are on the interior. Chances are, you’re replacing a standard size pull which means you’ll have a plethora of options.
In general, there are three locations to choose from: corner, intersection, modern
Three primary mounting locations for cabinet knobs.
However, if keeping the same measurements just won’t do, I’ll walk you through the process to conceal as best as possible in an upcoming post.
Hardware in My House:
