Once again, Dear Friends, your commitment & love for me and this community is astounding. It brought me to to tears. There is beauty in the breakdown. Identifying with shared experiences & feelings are the beauty part and it almost makes the breakdown managable. I wish I could have you all over for tea & a chat one afternoon because you are kindred spirits. We’ve gone beyond paint and into humanity & pain & truth. I just love you for it!
Now, where were we before we got rudely interrupted?
Hardware is not something we pay attention to until we need to. If you are thinking of refinishing your cabinets then it’s time to start thinking about how you are going to open said cabinets. It is such an easy solution and will make a huge impact. Even if you are not ready to take the plunge and paint your cabinets think about changing out the hardware to update.
Once again, do your research and look at loads of pictures. Here are some of my favs.
Here are some decisions that you will have to make when picking out new hardware:
Color. Do you want oil rubbed bronze? Black? Matte black? Shiny black? Nickel? Rubbed nickel?
Finish. Matte or shiney?
Style. Round? Cupped? Handle? Knob? A mix?
Design. What kind of round, cupped, handle or knob? Fancy? Plain?
Akkkk! I remember taking DAYS to pick out my hardware because of all these choices. Once again, I want to take a moment to remind you that if you currently have a single knob and want to do a handle you will have to drill a hole at the correct measurement. This sounds easy enough, but for someone that hates to measure anything, it is tedious. On the flip side, if you have a handle now and you want to now use a knob you will need to fill one of the holes with wood filler. No big deal. You can totally handle it.
Last thing, I wish I had a great site that I could point you to to find interesting & affordable hardware. I don’t. I have purchased from hardware stores, internet sites and local shops and feel like it’s never a home run. Anyone out there have a GREAT SITE to recommend?
For my kitchen I knew I wanted whatever Ina Garten had in her kitchen! She had cup pulls on white cabinets:)
Is that roast chicken she’s making?
We are refinishing our cabinets this spring.. one question that you possibly know more about than me… can you go from your hinges being exposed to replacing them with hidden hinges?
Thanks! You and your work are absolutely amazing. Hope you are feeling better!
It is very expensive.. I ended up putting new cabinet doors on instead because my cabinet style in my small kitchen would have required the most expensive Blum hinges. Close to 1,000$ we decided to opt for new doors with hidden hinges and not using our old doors.
Loooove the blue kitchen, cup pulls, stove, copper pots and topiaries in the white kitchen, and your blog. When the nasty people start wrecking havoc you know that you have achieved something wonderful as they don’t prey on those who haven’t yet been noticed. Praying you are free of pain and back to work soon. Chin up Buttercup!
I love the French country look and if I could have a white kitchen with nickel knobs on the cabinets and pulls on the drawers I would live in my kitchen!:) Thanks for the how-to post. I have found using a template to put the hardware on consistently and evenly takes the worry about getting holes drilled in the wrong place. You can either make a template with a piece of cardboard or buy one in the home improvement store.
Great insight Brenda and unfortunately, oh so true! Jealousy rears it’s head in ugly ways.
Hi just wanted to thank you for giving me the inspiration and ideas to create some lovely pieces to add to my house to make it a home:) ( that sounds quite cheesy!) but it’s true!
Hi just would like to ask, I have lime oak kitchen doors which are worn,they have wax on them ,do you know which kind of paint would suit.?many thx
Great comments by Brenda above. BTW Christen, I loved the photo yesterday of your three beautiful children…they were looking all fierce, but they were adorable. Take care, sweetie, hope you’re feeling better each day.
Dear Christen,
Great information on hardware! I think of it as the “jewelry” of the kitchen and when I selected mine, I chose a shiny sparkly black knob that pulled the black color out in my counter top. A girl has to have some bling, doesn’t she? By the way…if that is roast chicken, I am betting it is Friday night at Ina’s…..isn’t that Jeffrey’s favorite Friday night meal? HA!
Christen,
Love, Love, Love you!!! Thank you for inspiring me every day. I get on here every evening just to see what you have posted that day. Praying for your recovery. Just know that we all love you! 🙂 (Really wish we could all come over for tea and good conversation)!!!!!
For hardware, check out:
Van Dyke’s Restorers