SPRUCE Up Any Cabinet Or Piece Of Furniture

I’ve painted more than my fair share of kitchen & bathroom cabinets. I’ve also painted more than my fair share of furniture. So many times cabinets are in great shape (solid construction, not moldy, etc.) & the style of the cabinets are fine too but not the color. You don’t have to go through the headache & expense of replacing the cabinets when they’re perfectly fine…other than the color.

Easy! Paint & seal them!! I always seal kitchen & bathroom cabinets after painting them because of the moisture the paint will be exposed to in these rooms and for ease of cleaning spills/drips as far as in the kitchen.

Paint changes everything from walls to cabinets to furniture. It’s one of the things that makes the biggest difference and doesn’t cost a fortune (especially if you are a painter yourself…which pretty much anyone can be).

Now…what’s even faster & fancier than a good coat of paint & sealer? What takes bathroom or kitchen cabinets to a whole NEW level? What dresses up a piece of furniture and makes it look completely different? In one word? HARDWARE. Yes, HARDWARE!

Pulls, knobs, handles…you know, HARDWARE! There are SO many different price points for hardware now, it’s mind boggling. You can pay well over $100 for one cabinet handle OR pay less than $100 for enough knobs for an entire bathroom. There are so many options and prices out there.

*This post includes affiliate links for your convenience at no additional cost to you*

Is it jewelry or is it hardware? It’s both, right?

I LOVE beautiful hardware like the pieces above on a special piece of furniture that only needs let’s say, a couple of pulls. Too much even of such a beautiful thing will actually distract instead of add to a piece. Less is more in this circumstance.

For instance, I wouldn’t use these very “stand-out” pulls/knobs throughout an entire kitchen. Maybe if there’s a stand-alone china cabinet but not through-out the kitchen. Too much of a good thing can be well… just too much. Same for a bathroom of course.

Even a piece of furniture that requires several pulls, you may want to tone down a bit by just putting the really special hardware in the top drawer or other prominent place on the piece and use less “showy” but coordinating hardware on the remaining drawers. It all depends on the piece of course. If it only has, let’s say four drawers…it may be able to carry off two really fancy knobs per drawer.

The above “bamboo” style pulls are very clean & classic. They could work in a kitchen, a bath and also on a piece of furniture. They can be placed vertical or horizontal, depending on where they’re being used. As beautiful as these are, they don’t fight for attention and don’t distract or make a piece of furniture or a room look too busy. Love these!

Simply changing out all the knobs on this custom built-in softens the entire look. The shiny, silver tone knobs are just too jarring on this dark piece. The tonal knobs with a bit of interest are the perfect accents. They add to the built-in bookcase. They no longer distract. The wee bigger size is better as well.

An example of builder grade kitchen cabinets that have been painted with a faux finish but still have the old knobs. We can do better than these generic knobs and still not break the bank. SO many options out there!

SO much better! These “birdcage” design pulls bring the faux finish of the cabinets into focus. Just by switching out the pulls, it elevates the entire kitchen. Adding interest and the correct tone of hardware for the newly painted cabinets makes all the difference. These pulls can be turned horizontal or vertical depending on whether it’s for doors or drawers. The same size was used throughout this kitchen. Easy, peasy!

There’s so many places to find great hardware now. Get out there, take a look around to see what you like. Changing out hardware is one of the easiest things to do. If you just don’t know what you want or what would look good, reach out…I can help you via eDesign.

You don’t want to wander around not knowing what would look good and help to elevate your kitchen/bath/dresser, etc. BUT, you certainly don’t want to spend a lot of money on hardware and see you made a bad choice.

Now, if you don’t have any idea what look you want to go for…look on Pinterest! There’s always tons of design options (even for hardware). Narrow down the “look”, then go shopping either in-person or online.

Make sure before you purchase any pulls/knobs/handles that you check first to see if your existing pulls have one or two holes for screws. It’s easier to match up your new hardware with the existing holes. Otherwise, you will need to fill, sand & possibly paint where the old holes were. I always just stay with the same number of holes as were originally drilled into a cabinet or piece of furniture. Makes life easier & it’s never held me back from finding hardware I love.

FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE, BELOW ARE A FEW CHOICES YOU MAY LIKE!

*These are affiliate links which are no additional cost for you to use. I do make a small amount if you use my links. This helps me to continue to write my blog and make suggestions for my readers.

(Click on actual photos to proceed to link)

Above is such a beautiful choice. You can buy them in sets of 4 (as shown here) or larger sets of 12 (shown below). They come in a few color choices too which is nice but the white is very classic for sure.

Let’s look at a few more choices, shall we? Below we have a nice Oil Rubbed Bronze choice with nice detail. Click actual photo to proceed to link.

Below is what they call Champagne Bronze. The ones featured here are the knobs but they come in several different sizes as pulls too for various sized drawers or cabinets. Click on actual photo to proceed and to also see the other sizes available.

The Birdcage Style Hardware remains very classic. This style looks nice mixed with same material/color solid knobs for drawers as well. The style below is the 3 inch hole center in Oil Rubbed Bronze. Click the photo to shop this style & similar others in various sizes.

Let’s take a look at a couple of crystal clear drawer pulls. These come in various sizes (more than just shown below) so click the photo to see the different size selections. They are very pretty on furniture & cabinetry alike. As of this post, these come in packs of 1 (photo here) or packs of 5 (click link to see more options).

Now…below is a very cool Retro look for sure. These are a bit pricey but could be the perfect thing if you only need to outfit a single bathroom cabinet or a kitchen or bath cabinet that has only a few doors/drawers. These would also be AMAZING on a TV console or a nightstand. Basically any piece of furniture that you want to add a chic, cool vibe. The coolness factor will be on high alert with these.

Comes in sets of 4 but of course feel free to order as many sets as you need. Don’t get me wrong…they look AWESOME in a kitchen. Super clean & fresh looking.

Well, there of course are TONS more selections out there. Here are just a few various styles. I’ve shared Classic, Farmhouse, Mid-Century, Retro & a bit in-between. If you need something specific or can’t find what you’re looking for…be in touch. I’d be honored to help you find just what you’re searching for.

Happy Sprucing!

~Scarlett