What Home Hardware Brands are the Best to Shop for a New House?

Shopping for new home hardware can get complicated, if you are looking for hardware that matches with existing hardware, or if you're getting all new hardware and want it to blend seamlessly across the board. This means you should find brands with a wide selection of collections and finishes, so you can find your style, and find all the types of hardware and accessories you need – towel bars, tissue paper holders, cabinet knobs, appliance pulls, etc. – and have them all match.

This specific instance would be if you are remodeling or you've had your new house built, and now you need to start adding the useful and decorative hardware and home accents. Using the same style and/or finish across your home, from the doorbell to the hinges, can make it look much more polished and cohesive.

We've compiled some of the best brands for just this purpose. The following brands have a big variety, and don't specialize in just one style, like modern or vintage. The following are also examples of what to look for in other brands.

Note: It can be necessary match finishes from the same brand, even though another brand has the same type of finish. The shades and tones in the finish can vary greatly from one brand to another. For example, brass from one brand might be a little darker, or more yellow in tone from another brand's brass finish.

Brand: Hickory Hardware

Why They Are Great

They have a huge variety of collections with different styles and finishes. Let's say you just put the vintage -looking cabinet hardware from the Queen Anne collection throughout your home. The finish is a bright gold-toned brass with a little bit of a weathered texture. You can shop their other home hardware, right down to the door stops, and bathroom robe hooks in this finish.

Brand: Hawk Hill

Why They Are Great

You can do some one-stop shopping for your door bell button backplates, House numbers, cabinet knobs and appliance pulls in collections that cover these things, or collections that go well together. For example, you can grab house numbers in copper, a rustic-looking door bell backplate in weathered copper, your cabinet knobs, appliance pulls or cabinet pulls in the same rustic bronze that is signature of that brand.

Brand: Alno 

Why They Are Great

They have several different collections for bathroom accessories , which are versatile enough to match with any other cabinet hardware or home accent collections. They also offer a wide variety of finishes, to make the job of matching even easier. They have modern styles like the Contemporary 1, 2, and 3 collections, as well as Eclectic and the rustic Hammered or Mission collections.

Some other brands with a big variety of products: Top Knobs, Liberty Hardware, Laurey, Jeffery Alexander and Amerock.

Confused? Cabinet Hardware Types Explained

You have a lot of different options in cabinet hardware. Not only are there a huge selection of cabinet knobs to choose from, but many different kinds of cabinet pulls. It all depends on how you want your kitchen or bathroom to look, and the general function of the cabinets and drawers.

There are so many different kinds, that many people have questions about the differences between them. What is a cup pull, and why should I get that instead of drop bail pulls? Much of it has to do with your personal preferences. Here are some helpful descriptions and images of the different types of cabinet hardware.

Cup Pulls

 

Cup pulls lay flush with the surface of the cabinet door or drawer on the top edge, as well as the left and right edges. The rest of it is raised up so that you can "cup" your fingers under the bottom and pull. Some people find this to be a comfortable way to open cabinets and drawers, while others don't. Some are rounded, but they can be virtually in any shape.

Drop Bail Pulls

Drop bail pulls have a "bail" that hangs from the base of the pull. You would just grab the hanging bail and pull. These are a nice alternative to regular pulls and knobs, as long as you don't mind grabbing onto the bail before you can open the drawer or cabinet. They can have a nice vintage or antique vibe, and can come in many different shapes and styles.

Ring Pulls

Ring pulls always come in a complete ring shape, but can be different shapes that deviate from a circle or oval. They can hang from the base of the pull like a drop bail, or stick out straight. They also come in all different styles, so you can find one that will go great with the rest of your kitchen or bathroom.

Euro Bar Pulls

These pulls are always long and sleek and stay true to the sturdy bar shape. Euro bars often double as towel bars on the cabinets of many kitchens, and can be installed horizontal or vertical depending on your needs and taste. Sometimes it's necessary to combine euro bars with matching knobs. For example, euro bars on the cabinets and matching knobs from the same collection on shorter drawers.

Backplates

Backplates are often used as the base of the cabinet knob for added decoration. When using one, choose them from the same collection as the knobs you'll be using them with. They are very versatile and come in many different styles and finishes.

Escutcheon Plates

These are used to cover key holes and the bases of knobs, so the unattractive inner workings of a lock and door knob aren't showing. These come in many different styles and finishes, from plain and modern, to whimsical and classic. The name comes from the French word "scutum", which means "shield".

Rosettes

A "rosette" usually refers to a round, flat design that radiates from the middle, much like the petals of a rose. The rosettes we're talking about here are used as backplates, but are in a category of their own because of their shape and design. Match the rosettes with the knobs in the same collection, if you choose to use rosettes.

Home Hardware Q and A: All About Oil Rubbed Bronze

Do you love the rich and warm chocolatey color of oil rubbed bronze home hardware? There are a few things you should know about this beautiful finish that can have quite a bit of variety.

Q: I used to have some oil rubbed bronze sink faucets and knobs in my old house and I loved them. I recently started shopping for some oil rubbed bronze home hardware, and some of it looks so much different than the ones I had before. Are there different kinds of oil rubbed bronze?

A: The look of certain finishes can be very different from one brand to another. Oil rubbed bronze is a great example of this, especially because there are several different methods for achieving the look of oil rubbed bronze. Most oil rubbed bronze pieces you find today are made simply by coating the outer surface with a rich, dark brown paint. A manufacturer might also used a chemical to darken the outermost layer of hardware.

If the house you lived in before was old, it might be that the oil rubbed bronze there was also old, and achieved the aged or worn look in some spots naturally, over time. This look is very hard to replicate, and it's true that oil rubbed bronze will look a little different from piece to piece, even if they're all from the same brand!

Natural or authentic oil rubbed bronze, also referred to as a "living" finish, is slowly and constantly being changed with use and wear. The more it's touched over the years, the more it will achieve the lighter, rubbed off spots to show the copper underneath. Most manufacturers use a non-living finish to get the oil rubbed bronze look, which means it won't rub off with time, or there are spots that are already worn to make it look as if the door knob or faucet knob has been used for many years.

My advice is to stick with the oil rubbed bronze home hardware from one brand. If you are using oil rubbed bronze cabinet knobs from RKI and you want to use backplates with them, you will need to use the oil rubbed bronze back plates from RKI If you don't, you could risk the backplates being a much darker or lighter shade, and it won't look right at all.

The same goes if you're trying to match the oil rubbed bronze faucets and knobs with the cabinet hardware and towel bars. You should definitely purchase them from the same brand. The brands Hickory Hardware, RKI and Amerock are just a few of them many brands that have extensive oil rubbed bronze collections.

The Best and Most Popular in Brass Home Hardware

Brass is a very popular finish when it comes to cabinet pulls, cabinet knobs, backplates and hinges. This is because it's a very versatile finish, which means it will look good in almost any home with any style. It can come in a beautiful golden color that gives a feeling of decadence, or be made to look like it's one hundred years old.

If you're searching for the perfect finish and style for your home, check out these popular options for brass home hardware. Just a warning: you'll see so many great versatile brass finishes, that you still might have a very hard time deciding! Don't worry, I'll try to help you narrow down your decision with some style suggestions.

Weathered Brass

The “shabby chic” trend and style is keeping the weathered brass finish a hot look in home hardware. It can come in all different degrees of weathered, and one brand's version of weathered brass can vary greatly to another brand's weathered brass. You have a lot of style options, as well. You can go full country-cottage with a very roughed up weathered brass that looks as if it really has seen a century of wear. There's also the lightly weathered, and everything in between.

Antique Brass

Antique brass finish looks different from weathered brass, in the way that it still looks polished but has some dark tarnishing around the edges and in patches. It creates a beautiful duo-toned look of warm goldish and brown colors that contrast nicely, and look genuinely antique and fancy. The look gives an old Victorian manor feel, and goes beautifully with other antiques and antique-looking home décor.

Polished Brass

Want some shiny, pristine and bright gold-colored home hardware? Do you want your home to look like it's dripping with gold like a palace? Polished brass is not for the faint of heart when it comes to use in your kitchen or bathroom cabinet pulls, hinges and backplates. It will catch the eye, but catching ones eye with cabinet hardware is unexpected. Unexpected can be very interesting and a very good thing.

Burnished Brass

Burnishing is traditionally a polishing technique with a heating tool, which not only polishes but hardens the surface and gives it a darker look. Burnished brass finishes aren't always burned when it comes to home hardware, but they are just made to mimic the look of old fashioned burnished brass. This is a very traditional look that is also very versatile, it all depends on the shape and style of the hardware pieces themselves to determine where you put them.