Selecting Hardware for your Kitchen

When it comes to renovating your kitchen, choosing the kitchen cabinets is the first step. What many people may not realize, is that choosing something as small as hardware for the cabinet doors can also have a big impact on the final look of the room. The shapes of the handles, materials and finishes all contribute to the overall look of the kitchen and can take it to the next level.

There are six different finish options to choose from: chrome, brass, bronze, black-bronze, oak and leather. Oak knobs lend a more traditional feel, while leather pulls for example create more of a contemporary statement. Both finishes can also be used to bring an element of softness.

When choosing between the metallic finishes, a key guideline to go by is contrast. Lets say you have taken the bold move and painted your kitchen in a darker color, Charcoal for example. Chrome hardware would be a great choice in this case, to create a nice contrast and really bring the kitchen to life. A warm brass handle would also look great set against the backdrop of a charcoal cabinet. You wouldn’t want to choose black-bronze, which would just blend into the cabinetry and lose its sense of interest. If however, you choose to paint your kitchen in the standard colors of Driftwood and Shell for example, then a black-bronze, or bronze would be a great choice.

When it comes to the shape of the hardware, there are also some choices to be made here. There are two styles of the classic cup handle, the first being the Barlow, which is a crescent moon shape. The Chichester cup handle on the other hand has a more traditional square frame. The knobs tend to be more elegant. The Barlow Beehive has a nice spiral design that is very timeless, while the Britten knob is very simple and understated. These are just a few examples of the many knobs to choose from.