Keeping Your Bathroom Organized in Style

Keeping your bathroom organized and neat is an important part of good housekeeping, and you should be able to do so in style. You might have unique tastes in home decor, and your bathroom should be able to reflect that.

If you have a certain image in your head of what you want your bathroom to look like, and you have all your decorations picked out, don't just settle for plain bathroom accessories and home hardware! If you have a specific style in mind, there are bathroom hooks, shelves and even toilet paper holders that will match. You might think these things are a little trivial, but they make a big difference in the grand scheme.

This bathroom hook is from Belwith Keeler and is in the style of art nouveau. It's so much more exciting and decorative than any standard, boring bathroom hook that you'd find in the your local store, and it will do the job of keeping your bath robe or towel off the floor.

Even something as utilitarian as a grab bar doesn't need to pass on the style of your bathroom. Add a lovely grab bar like this one from Alno Creations for safety by your shower or by the toilet.

Your bathroom probably had a very standard and plain mirror when you moved in, but you can replace it with one that will go well with the other decorations and hardware in the room. This beautiful mirror one by Jeffrey Alexander would fit in with a romantic, fanciful bathroom.

A toilet paper holder is easy to remove and install, so adding one to your newly redecorated bathroom wouldn't be a big deal. Especially not if it looks as nice as this one from Alno Creations. It would look best in a very modern and polished bathroom, with a slightly ultra-modern twist.

Do you want a medicine cabinet that isn't just like all the other medicine cabinets? This Pegasus beveled mirror also doubles as a place to store all of your medicines and other bathroom necessities.

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.

Helpful Tips for Installing Cabinet Knobs and Pulls

So you have some brand new cabinet knobs or cabinet pulls that will go great with the new look you've chosen for your kitchen. Now you're faced with the task of installing them. Don't let this intimidate you! You do want to take your time and be extra careful, but it's not as hard as it sounds.

You either have brand new cabinets and drawers that have never had holes drilled into them before, or you've filled in the holes in your old cabinets and made them fresh for an all new knob installation. This is an important first step, because you don't want any old holes visible.

Things You Will Need

Make sure you have all of your supplies together before you get started:

A tape measure, Sticky tack, A drill, Drill bits the same size as the screws you're using, A piece of cardboard, A pencil.

Decide on Placement

Placement of the knobs or pulls is important, because being able to grab them and open the cabinets or drawers comfortably and easily is 100% of their function. Not only will you need to be able to grab and open them easily, but so will everyone else in the house.

Centered isn't always best – it really depends on the nature of the cabinet doors and drawers themselves. You can test the positioning of the knobs or pulls by putting some sticky tack (it won't damage the surface of the cabinets) on the hardware where they would be touching the cabinet, and stick them on. Try out a few positions until the look and feel right on each cabinet.

Laurey Mission Bay Pull in Antique Pewter

Make a Template

Once you have that figured out, you can make a hole stencil based on the positions and the holes of the knobs or pulls. This is especially helpful if you have pulls where more than one knob needs to be drilled to install each one.

Use your cardboard for this. Take one pull and place it on the cardboard where it will be touching the surface of the cabinet. Mark right next to the side of the pull with the pencil. Poke a hole through the carboard where you marked with the pencil. Use these holes as a stencil for marking the cabinets where you will be drilling.

Amerock Allison Knob in Antique Brass

Make a Pilot Hole

Carefully make a pilot hole on the pencil marks with a drill bit that is slightly smaller than the one you will actually be using to drill the holes for the screws. A pilot hole doesn't go all the way through, but only gets the hole started, so the drill doesn't damage the wood.

Make Sure the Drill Bit is the Right Size

Use a drill bit that is the same size as the screws. Too big will cause the knobs or pulls to be too loose, and too small will end up splitting the cabinet wood from the holes you drilled.

Decide Which Finish is Best for Your Home Hardware

There are so many types of finishes for home hardware, it can be hard to decide which one is right for your home. You might even have decided on the perfect theme and the perfect colors, but with so many beautiful and versatile pieces of cabinet knobs, bathroomhooks and other essential pieces, it can start to get confusing!

First, you should consider the basic color scheme of the kitchen or bathroom where you plan on installing your new home hardware. Does it involve mostly cool colors or warm colors? Cool colors are blues, greens, purples and pinks, or shades that contain these hues.

If your bathroom features cool colors, one special kind of finish that would work well here, is verdigris. Verdigris gives the look of oxidized copper, which if you look at an old penny that has been oxidized, has a bluish green color. It also has a rustic and old fashioned feel. It would go great in a bathroom that has an aquatic theme.

Next, think about the basic décor aesthetic of your kitchen or bathroom. Is it more polished and modern, or does it have a very country, shabby-chic or rustic feel? Your finish should definitely match the aesthetic.

Chrome home hardware would be perfect for modern, ultra modern, or even a fancy or “romantic” theme, depending on the style of the cabinet hardware and hooks, right down to the toilet paper holder and even the soap dish. On the opposite side of the coin, antique iron, antique bronze or antique copper would go well in a rustic style atmosphere.

Then, there are the more versatile finishes available. Oil rubbed bronze home hardware is very popular, and it comes in many different shades of the same basic neutral, ruddy brownish gold. It's neutral, because it would go well with both cool and warm color schemes. Nickel is also very versatile, comes in variations like polished, satin and even black nickel, and is also considered largely neutral.

Now that you've answered these questions, you can narrow down your search for the right home hardware finish. Next, you can focus on the shape to go along with the overall style and feel of the room or rooms.

BRASS VS. ZINC Cabinet Knobs and Cabinet Pulls

BRASS VS. ZINC Cabinet Knobs and Cabinet Pulls – What’s the difference and which is right for me?

Two common metals you’ll find when shopping for decorative hardware are zinc and brass. You might not notice a difference by just looking at it, but if you pick it up, you’ll find the brass is heavier, more solid and more expensive than the cabinet hardware made from the zinc alloy. You will find too that brass cabinet knobs and cabinet pulls, which is approximately 67% copper and 33% zinc is 20%-80% more expensive than a comparable piece of zinc die cast hardware, due in part to the price of copper. But does that make it better for you? Not necessarily.

The vast majority of cabinet knobs and cabinet pulls on the market today are manufactured from die-cast zinc, but there are great selections of cabinet hardware manufactured from solid brass. We automatically think that something that feels full and substantial in our hands is going to be heavy and therefore better quality. But when you put it on your kitchen cabinet, you can’t feel the weight and if the finish is good enough you probably won’t be able to tell the difference.  Browse a variety of cabinet knobs and pulls in a variety of finishes and base metals to choose from.

Brass is very high quality, durable and great for strength in decorative hardware pieces that are perhaps not as complex. Zinc alloy is used to make more intricate shapes because it is easy to cast into complicated designs at a relatively low cost, making it ideal for items such as this cabinet hardware piece.

You also get consistent quality. Being able to recycle zinc alloys makes it environmentally friendly. From a wear perspective, both zinc and brass have great track records, but unless your solid brass has a durable finish on it, it will tarnish sooner than other cabinet knobs and cabinet pulls that only look like brass, or are brass plated.

So whether your cabinet pull is made of zinc or brass, either way you know you are getting a quality cabinet knobs and cabinet pulls. Many manufacturers offer similar designs of cabinet knobs and cabinet pulls, so find one you like and see what your budget will afford. If you need help in your search to find a particular style or price range give our customer service center a call.

Cabinet Hardware Themes

Cabinet Hardware Themes:  What style cabinet knobs and cabinet pulls Define you?

Whether you are upgrading your current suburban home with cabinet knobs or styling out your new urban condo with cabinet pulls, you will face the question: What cabinet hardware theme defines you?  Don’t worry, I understand the excitement and challenges that go along with answering the question.   There are thousands of different cabinet hardware knobs and cabinet pulls available on the market today and filtering through them all can be a headache.  Isn’t shopping online supposed to be easy?   Below is a list of a few popular themes I see on the market today.

Traditional    There is nothing boring or cliché about traditional cabinet knobs and cabinet pulls.  In fact, some of my favorite cabinet pieces are of the traditional variety.  Traditional cabinet hardware pieces provide a clean, warm feel to your home.  Black, Brass and white are a few of the most popular traditional finishes.  I recommend browsing traditional cabinet knobs and cabinet pulls made by Classic Brass, Top Knobs, Rusticware, Richelieu and Berenson Decorative Hardware.

Contemporary  If you’re the fashion forward type with a sense of style or just looking to refresh your kitchen with a fresh look contemporary cabinet hardware has your name on it.  I  even admit there is something sexy about being associated with the words ‘contemporary’ and ‘modern’.   Smooth curves, sharp edges and bold finishes are a few defining features of cabinet knobs and cabinet pulls.  I recommend satin nickel as an initial contemporary finish to check out.  Popular contemporary knobs and pulls brands on  include Alno Inc, Atlas Homewares, Wer Designs, Forms + Surfaces and Valli Valli.

Value     When shopping for cabinet knobs and cabinet pulls on a budget rest assured you do not have to sacrifice style and quality.  Smart shopping and saving money is a big deal for most people.  Value cabinet hardware has been a focus for many manufacturers in the 21^st Century and guess what:  magically quality and price found a happy meeting place.  In fact, there are more value cabinet knobs and cabinet pulls offered on the market than anything else.  Simple in design, easy on the eye and quality that lasts is value cabinet hardware at its best.   Value brands include Liberty Hardware, Elements by Hardware Resources, Amerock and Hickory Hardware.

Artistic   An Artistic Cabinet Hardware Revolution?   Well, you likely will not be comparing your cabinet hardware selection to the Sistine Chapel but kitchen cabinet hardware creativity and artistry does continue to evolve and impress.  Just ask your contractor or interior designer:  Artistic cabinet knobs and cabinet pulls on the market today are plentiful.  You do not have to settle for a ‘round’ knob.  There are the ever popular artistic designs such as the Birdcage Pull, T-Knob, Wave Pull and curvy knob still on the market today.  There are also new crystal designs, animal knobs and pulls and floral themes to choose from.  The cabinet hardware artistic cupboard is as full as ever.  Artistic Brands we recommend include Notting Hill Decorative Hardware, Anne At Home, Sierra Lifestlyes, Sietto and Gayle Bright.