Tag Archives: kitchen

How to Decorate With Knob Finishes That Coordinate Well

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When choosing knobs and drawer pulls you not only have to consider their durability and practicality of the material they are made from, you also have to consider how the knobs are going to fit in with your overall decorating scheme.

For instance, ceramic or wood drawer pulls would probably look old fashioned in a big, flashy metallic kitchen in a condo. This type of décor is much better suited to aluminum, nickel or stone knobs and pulls.

The finish, which includes the color and the texture of the piece is your first consideration. First of all you need to note whether or not the color of the pull will match the rest of your décor. A choice of color might be obvious when it comes to choosing plastic or wooden drawer handles but it might not be so obvious when it comes to figuring out what type of metal finish is best.

As a rule of thumb remember that the more textured and two-toned that a finish looks on a drawer pull, the heavier and weightier it is going to look. This is why drawers and cupboards that are made out of wooden slats often look good with a pull that is two toned or heavily textured. If the cabinet or light in color it might look good with a heavily textured fixture.
Drawers and cabinets made of natural wood can also bear the weighty look of a two toned or heavily textured pulls especially if they are a more golden colored wood such as oak or maple. Usually black fixtures with a rough surface look great wooden kitchen or even on the drawers in an all-wooden library.

Perhaps the trickiest color of drawer pull to deal with is bronze. Depending on what color you place it against it can either look stunning or ghastly. For instance, bronze pulls just don’t look that distinctive when placed against veneered wooden surfaces but they look great when affixed to a cabinet painted a glossy pure white or black.

The types of pulls that suit either light or dark woods are ceramic or glass. Go for glass pulls if you are looking for a Victorian or antique look. White ceramic pulls look best on lighter woods and in rooms that are painted in lighter shades such as lemon yellow or a leafy green.Novelty plastic pulls look best when they are placed against a glossy bright primary color or white.

Copper and wooden pulls are not recommended for steamy bathrooms and humid kitchens. Copper oxidizes and wood cracks and retains bacteria. Perhaps the best type of fixture for a bathroom is stone, plastic or metal.

Always remember that the definition of good taste is sometimes “form following functionality” even when it comes to choosing something that seems as a minor as a pull for your cabinet door or drawer.

How to Decorate a Kitchen With New Cabinet Knobs

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If you want a “kitchen makeover” but can’t afford to replace all the cabinets there is a simple solution – try changing the kitchen cabinet knobs! You will be amazed at the major transformation that can take place simply by paying attention on this one minor detail.

By all means if your kitchen needs a coat of paint, go ahead and paint those old cupboards. It’s a lot cheaper than ripping all of the cupboards out and then waiting ages for a contractor to install everything for you. However before you paint or revarnish your cupboards take the time and trouble to select the cabinet knobs that will go the best with your new color. Nowadays there is a vast selection of knobs and pulls to choose from on the market including the classic wooden pulls, ceramic knobs and sleek nickel or metal grips.

The reason that it is a good idea to choose the color of the paint that you are going to use for your new kitchen cupboards at the same time you pick out your new knobs is because then you will have a better idea of whether or not the two design elements are going to coordinate. Here are some rules of thumb to follow when it comes to choosing new cabinet knobs and paint colors.

Stone knobs look the best on cool colors such as metal gray, blue or olive green. They also look good against black or white. If you are going to choose stone cabinet pulls then make sure that the color palette for your kitchen cupboards is also an earthy color.

Silver, aluminum or nickel knobs and pulls look best on cabinets that are painted a light color. The exception is black and white.

White or black ceramic knobs contrast well with just about any kind of paint color, especially if it is a primary color. If the ceramic knob boasts a design try to choose a paint color that picks up on one of the hues in the design in a complimentary way.
Plastic or novelty pulls look best in a kitchen that is painted a bright color. Novelty pulls are shown off the best in a kitchen that is painted all one color (including the trim.) This pulls the eye’s focus towards your main decorating accent which could be pulls shaped like bumblebees or teapots or any other number of creatures or objects that are offered by manufacturers these days.