Decorative Hardware
The devil is in the interior design and decorating details…
Designing beautiful kitchen cabinetry is a result of insightful design planning and smart functionality customized for the homeowner. This particularly applies to cabinets with the right decorative hardware - handles and pulls - that is easy to use for all abilities.
Three key criteria to consider when selecting handles for any kitchen design or decorating project are: cabinetry & hardware style, hardware finish and functionality & ergonomic design.
The right hardware will complement the colour and style of cabinetry and create a seamless look with the overall kitchen design – just as the wrong hardware can make a stronger, negative statement, ruin the overall design and be uncomfortable to use.
An eye-catching finishing detail for traditional shaker-style cabinetry is a streamlined handle with contemporary styling and in a finish that has a nod to the past, but updated with a golden brass finish from Berenson:
Golden brass and black cabinet handle
Although classic kitchen design will always endure, what’s on trend now and borrowed from the fashion world is a definite eclecticism through the influence of fashion-inspired hardware, bright colours, the use of organic materials such as stone and leather and in updated metal and textured finishes, for example, this quilted pattern handle design is borrowed from historical textile influences.
As we see in other parts of the home, the standard cool metals of chrome and nickel have taken a back seat to warm metal tones. Champagne bronze is still on trend in kitchen design with various finishes now available, ie: brushed and polished for faucets, sinks and decorative hardware:
champagne bronze knob
Not all hardware works the same for each person. Knobs and pulls with small surface diameters and narrow, thin handles can be difficult to grab and pull for people with larger hands, the aging population and for those with arthritis. It’s best to look for oversized knobs, wider circumference handles, textured surfaces and cup pulls.
various styles of cabinet handles
From Milan Furniture Fair
The world-renown interior design fair had many exhibitors showcase products that responded to the fast-paced world we live in with products based on organic and natural materials for furnishings, flooring, lighting and decorative hardware.
Some designers at the fair were inspired by the eruption of Mount Etna in November 2013, using lava rock to make stools and coffee tables in a high-gloss finish polished to the deepest shade of black. Berenson’s interpretation is a architectural design with a black nickel finish.
