Redoing kitchen, & need advice on cabinet handles.

[moopdog]

I am NOT good at this. I truly need help. We are going with natural hickory cabinets, and a darker shade of countertop (it's called Madura Garnet). I don't yet know what our floors & walls will be. I am getting stainless steel appliances.

My favorite metal is the oil-rubbed bronze or brushed pewter colors. But I'm wondering if we need to get stainless steel door handles to match the appliances or not? And if so.... does brushed nickel or weathered nickel look just like stainless steel or should get the actual "stainless steel" handles??? Clueless Here!!

 

[akcire]

I am NOT good at this. I truly need help. We are going with natural hickory cabinets, and a darker shade of countertop (it's called Madura Garnet). I don't yet know what our floors & walls will be. I am getting stainless steel appliances.

My favorite metal is the oil-rubbed bronze or brushed pewter colors. But I'm wondering if we need to get stainless steel door handles to match the appliances or not? And if so.... does brushed nickel or weathered nickel look just like stainless steel or should get the actual "stainless steel" handles??? Clueless Here!!

I have had a lot of "new" kitchens. Typically my husband and I buy homes that are gut rehabs. We fix them while we live in them, and then sell them for profit. The trick I have found is to not install any handles for a couple weeks after the kitchen is completed. Once the kitchen is completed I can then look at cabinet handles and any accessories I like.

Sometimes I even forgo handles. It really depends on the kitchen.

 

[LJSquishy]

If you are set on having knobs/handles, I would match them to the other fixtures such as your sink faucet.

We have oil rubbed bronze throughout our home but the kitchen has stainless appliances so I replaced all of the fixtures with stainless steel (lighting, switch plates, faucet). I decided against cabinet knobs, I think it looks less busy, but I would have done stainless steel had I wanted knobs.

Some brushed nickel knobs are very close to stainless, but others look cheap and fake, so you would want to look at them in person.

 

[Sadie22]

Are you going to use your kitchen or are you going to only publish pictures of it in magazines?

Everything does not need to match. Right now our kitchen is half bronze handles, and half white ceramic handles, courtesy of the previous owner who replaced half the metal handles when some broke. The white ceramic handles look nice and they match the white sink and white faucet, but they're on the opposite wall.

 

[CTdiznymom]

Just my opinion, but I would go with the brushed nickel or satin stainless before I went with the oiled bronze. More of the same family of metal, but that's just my opinion.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Go here to see hickory cabinets, stainless appliances and dark cabinet knobs. I think it looks fine:

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg0300394110092.html

There is also a picture of cabinets with what look like stainless knobs. You could find more examples using Google. I think the darker knobs look better. I think brushed nickel is very similar to the stainless steel look.

 

[ABtwinmommy]

Oil rubbed bronze would look great! No need to match knobs to appliances.

 

[Mom2Ben02]

I have a stainless fridge, and I picked "oil rubbed bronze" handles. The quotes are because I bought cheap shiny silver metal knobs, and used ORB spray paint. After four years, I have had to repaint one - the silverware drawer that is the most used.

 

[teacup princess]

Most people these days do stainless Steel appliances so I would not say you have to match you knobs to that. We have stainless appliances with pewter knobs and brushed nickel faucet and accessories. I don't like things too matchy matchy and I think a variety of finishes gives a more interesting look.

 

[Califgirl]

I have stainless steel appliances, dark granite and fruitwood/cherry cabinets with oil rubbed bronze handles. It looks great.

In fact, I don't think stainless handles would have looked good on the cabinets, even though I have stainless appliances. (Like someone else said, you don't have to be 'matchy, matchy'. )

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Our appliances are stainless, but lights, knobs, faucet are oil rubbed bronze.

 

[terryshell]

I think oil-rubbed bronze is a good look!

 

[disneymom2003]

Go here to see hickory cabinets, stainless appliances and dark cabinet knobs. I think it looks fine:

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg0300394110092.html

There is also a picture of cabinets with what look like stainless knobs. You could find more examples using Google. I think the darker knobs look better. I think brushed nickel is very similar to the stainless steel look.

I could not agree more. When we remodeled our kitchen I used this site a lot! I have white cabinets and I was going to go with stainless UNTILL I started looking at white kitchens there. Boy am I glad I ended up with ORB and love, love ,love them. There is a finished kitchen blog. Look at kitchens until you see the one you love. Let us know. I used that forum so much I put pictures of my finished kitchen there. I still get questions. Good luck to you

 

[POOHsie]

I like the oil-rubbed bronze. It looks good in the picture link. One thing I prefer is a mixture of knobs and pulls. A few of the pics show that.

 

[MrsPete]

Currently many people are into purposeful mismatching (i.e., white cabinets, painted island), but I personally prefer something a little more traditional -- I do want the basics to match.

I personally wouldn't think about matching hardware to the appliances, but I would expect the hardware to match your faucet.

I'm not really on the oil-rubbed bronze bandwagon; I'd go for the brushed nickle. I wonder if the oil-rubbed bronze going to be a flash in the pan, and I wonder how it "ages".

One last thought, look around before you buy. My husband and I agreed on some moderately ornate knobs at Lowe's, and when we counted up how many we needed, it was just way out of our budget. He looked around on the internet and found them at Knobby Needs (highly recommend!) for something like 20% the price. Really, the price was so much lower that I was suspicious that they'd be cheap-os, but they were exactly what we'd seen at the store. They've been up now 5-6 years and are still in perfect condition. The real kicker: If we'd bought them at Lowe's, they'd have been a special order item, and we'd have had to wait for them to come through the mail.

 

[Gigi22]

I wouldn't match the cabinet handles to your appliances. Stainless has been in for a while now, how long before it isn't in anymore, KWIM? You don't want to replace cabinet handles if they suddenly look dated, remember the handles are attached to the cabinets with screws, you don't want to change your mind after you have installed a couple of handles.

When we renovated our kitchen, the decorator found cabinet handles in the shape we preferred that closely matched our countertops. The effect is really nice.

I would wait on selecting cabinet handles, go to a good hardware store, buy a selection I liked, and decide on one after seeing them in the finished kitchen. Return the handles you don't like!

 

[dfchelbay]

I am NOT good at this. I truly need help. We are going with natural hickory cabinets, and a darker shade of countertop (it's called Madura Garnet). I don't yet know what our floors & walls will be. I am getting stainless steel appliances.

My favorite metal is the oil-rubbed bronze or brushed pewter colors. But I'm wondering if we need to get stainless steel door handles to match the appliances or not? And if so.... does brushed nickel or weathered nickel look just like stainless steel or should get the actual "stainless steel" handles??? Clueless Here!!

Can you give us pictures of the cabinets, counters, etc? Even if you have not yet completed them, maybe there are online pictures of what your kitchen will look like. Then, we can see what handles would look best with your kitchen. Plus, I know I speak for many of us here...we LOVE to see pictures!

 

[bjscheel]

I think my knotty alder cupboards might be similar to your hickory. My appliances are not stainless steel, but more of a brushed gray that looks similar to it. Here is how my new kitchen looks with oil rubbed bronze handles. I personally love the knobs and handles.

 

[moopdog]

Thanks all. I feel confident in getting the color I actually prefer (bronze), now. I really like the term "matchy matchy"....it made me laugh and I think it sums up what I DON'T want. I just needed the support of others since my DH has no desire to give input!! LOL. Thanks again & loved the pix by the way.