How to Replace Interior Door Knobs

installing interior door knobs

Door knobs can make or break the look of a room. No matter how much great cabinet hardware you have or what kind of paint is on your walls, an ugly outdated door knob can ruin the whole look. While removing and installing all new interior door knobs can seem like a daunting task to someone who hasn’t done it before, it’s actually a pretty straightforward process that you can do yourself.

 

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Brass Cabinet Hardware: Our Most Popular Items

A kitchen with Lewis Dolin Brass Bar Pulls.
A kitchen with Lewis Dolin Bar Pulls. Photo of Jessie Epley’s home by Cyn Kain Photography.

In recent years brass cabinet hardware has become increasingly popular. We at MyKnobs.com have seen some of the most popular home decor and lifestyle bloggers picking up pieces to redo everything from dressers to kitchen cabinets. Here are some of our most popular products, although you can find more brass cabinet hardware on our site.

Lewis Dolin Brass Cabinet Hardware Bar Pulls

The pulls from this collection, particularly the brass ones, have been incredibly popular lately. Popular bloggers have featured the homes in their homes lately, making it especially hard to keep these in stock! It’s understandable why these pieces are so well loved though. Sleek, elegant and sturdy, these pulls fit nearly every home’s decor. We especially love how they look against white cabinets, adding a pop of color and interest to your cabinets.

Colonial Bronze Pull 3″ ( 76mm ) Centers

These pulls in matte satin brass are a bit more subtle than the Lewis Dolin pulls but still very striking. These pulls come in a matte satin brass finish and are hand-finished to perfection.

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5 DIY Things You Can Do With Old Cabinet Knobs

If you’ve recently replaced your cabinet hardware, you’ve probably got a lot of old cabinet hardware laying around. You don’t have to just throw it out, there are plenty of things you can do with it. If your cabinet knobs are attractive and still work properly, you can use these old knobs for a myriad of different home improvement projects. For the crafty types, here are a five things you can do with your old cabinet knobs rather than throwing them out.

old cabinet knob hooks
Use old cabinet knobs to display jewelry. Photo from Cupcakes and Cashmere

1. Use them as jewelry hangers. Install them in a row on a plank or attach them directly to a wall. To do this, screw a hanger bolt into the cabinet knob. You can then screw that directly into the wall. Hang necklaces, purses or even clothing items from the knobs. This is a quick and easy DIY project that has a lot of impact for a room. If the knobs don’t match your decor, paint them a color that will work for the room.

old cabinet knobs tray feet
Add feet to a tray. Picture from Martha Stewart Living

2. Add knob feet to a simple wooden tray. If you need to, replace the screws in the knobs with longer ones. Then you just have to simply screw the knobs into the bottom of the tray. You can paint over the surface of the tray if you don’t like the look of the exposed bolts. The tray can be used as a serving tray for an elegant breakfast in bed, or it can be placed on a table and hold candles, a flower vase or other decorative items.

3. Use them as towel hangers in the bathroom. If you don’t want a traditional towel bar or towel hooks, using cabinet knobs is a pretty glamorous way to hang up your towels. Place them on the way as you would for the jewelry hangers in step 1.

4. Screw old cabinet knobs into the lids of cleaned out pickle or spaghetti sauce jar lids. You can decorate the jars anyway you see fit and store hair accessories, snacks, pet treats, or anything else that will fit. This is a nice little decorative piece that will look lovely on your counters.

5. Hang wire shelving units from them for more wall storage. To do this you’ll have to attach a #8-32 hanger screw to the knob and screw it into a stud. Likely these shelves will be holding some weight, so don’t just place it anywhere on the wall. This is a great idea for a shower area that doesn’t have any shelves, or for a kitchen to store spices.

Creating the Perfect Home Office

Home office design by http://www.dwellingsbydevore.com
Home office design by http://www.dwellingsbydevore.com

Most of us dream for a home office, whether it’s to work at home comfortably or just give your kids a place to do homework. A home office can provide a quiet and distraction-free work zone. Most of us, however, aren’t lucky enough to have a full room to dedicate to an office, or don’t have the money to fully furnish the perfect office. You don’t need a massive room or lots of money to create an office space for your family. Here are a few tips on how to set that up.

The first step is to simply find an area to set up your office in. This can be anywhere: in your living room, a nook under the stairs, in a wide hallway, even in the baby’s nursery. Ideally you just want a room with enough wall space in order to set up a desk. This should also be an area that is relatively distraction-free. Any room with a TV or where people spend a lot of time walking in and out probably won’t work. Experts typically discourage setting up an office in a bedroom as well since bedrooms should be reserved for relaxation.

There are a few “must have” items you’ll need for a home office, no matter where it is:

  • A table or desk
  • Good lighting that’s not too hard on the eyes
  • Some sort of organization areas: a desk with drawers,  a bookcase, shelving, etc.
  • Comfortable seating (but not too comfortable — you don’t want to take a nap in your chair!)
  • A filing system

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10 Things You Can Clean in 10 Minutes or Less

10 Things You Can Clean in 10 Minutes or LessCleaning can be a huge drain on your time. Sometimes there are so many things to do it seems like you only make a dent in what needs to be done. Instead of spending your weekend cleaning, try doing one of these fast clean-ups whenever you have some spare time.

1. Clean up mail, magazines and catalogs. Everyone keeps old mail hanging around the house too long. Spend 10 minutes going through the papers on the kitchen counter and seeing what you should hold onto and what can be tossed. If you have to keep something, put it in a safe place rather than on a table or counter.

2. Make the beds. My mom used to tell me, “if you make your bed your room instantly looks 10 times cleaner.” It’s true! Making a bed has a major impact, even if the rest of the room is too messy to tackle at the moment.

3. Vacuum a room. Vacuuming the carpet takes no time at all and instantly makes a room look so much cleaner. You might need to spend a few minutes picking things up off the floor before you start, but if you’re short on time just place them in a pile in a corner until you can clean up more.

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7 Easy Steps to Clean Your Cabinet Hardware

cabhardwarecleanIt’s easy for cabinet hardware, particularly in the kitchen, to get grimy really fast. With grease splatter from cooking, touching them with dirty hands and spills that happen in the kitchen, it can only take a couple of months before your cabinet hardware needs cleaning. Here are a few tips to help you clean your cabinet hardware.

  1. Remove the hardware from your cabinets and drawers before you begin. Sometimes cleaning solutions can damage the cabinets themselves, so you won’t want to replace them until they’re clean and dry. You should just need a screwdriver for this.
  2. Fill a bowl with hot, soapy water. Dish soap should suffice.
  3. Place cabinet hardware in the water and let it sit for at least half an hour. You want the hardware to be completely submerged in the water, so you may have to do this in batches.
  4. While your hardware is soaking, clean the area on the cabinets that the hardware normally covers. It would be silly to replace the hardware onto a dirty surface. Use an appropriate cleaner and scrub the built-up grime off the cabinets.
  5. Take a clean soft toothbrush and scrub the hardware to remove any gunk. Make sure to scrub the backs as well, as grease can often run down there.
  6. Rinse clean hardware in cool water. Dry with paper towels.
  7. If you are using metal knobs, use a metal polish to finish the job. This will help disguise any scratches on the hardware and prevent tarnish from forming.

9 Ways to Decorate a Girl's Room for Cheap

9 Ways to Decorate a Girl's Room for Cheap -- myknobsblog.com
Image from COD Newsroom

Decorating your child’s room is a fun experience for both parents and children. However, seeing some of the costs of some of the items can be mind-boggling. Thankfully it’s easy to decorate a girl’s room inexpensively and without too much effort.

  1. Use what you already have. Chances are you aren’t going to want to gut the whole room in order to redecorate. There are going to be many elements that you can likely repurpose and reuse. If you have an older child who has items they don’t need anymore, try adapting them into your other child’s room.
  2. Change the bedding. The bed is generally the focal point of a bedroom, so changing out the bedding can make a big splash in terms of turning a room around. Add a bed skirt, change a duvet cover or even just get a couple of new pillow cases.
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10 Myths about Chandeliers

ChandeliersChandeliers are more often than not thought of as a luxury, reserved for the wealthy and used only in large homes and upscale venues. However, these are misconceptions that we will unravel along with other false ideas in the following ten myths about chandeliers.

1. Chandeliers are too expensive. Chandeliers today are available in a wide variety of styles, shapes and sizes, including the popular mini-chandelier. There is certainly one for every taste and budget.

2. Chandeliers are antiquated. The concept of chandeliers certainly came from times long past, when hanging candles from a frame attached to the ceiling provided an excellent means of illumination as well as reducing the fire hazard of candlesticks that could be knocked over. However, nowadays chandeliers range in material and design from every prominent style period and region throughout history. Traditional, crystal and Tuscan chandeliers add class in any setting, whereas modern, contemporary and eclectic varieties will appeal to most every other taste.

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Where to Mount Cabinet Door Handles

Amerock Cabinet HardwareA simple way to change the look of existing cabinets and drawers is to add decorative knobs and handles. With the wide assortment of materials, designs and sizes available, it is an easy task to find the appropriate hardware that not only adds functionality to the storage area, but will add complement the décor of the room and reflect personal style. Often the proper choice of hardware can be used to pull several elements together to give the impression of a professionally decorated room.

Choosing the right knobs and handles is not the only area where personal style is displayed. Determining the placement can also be a big part not only of functionality, but of design.

You can mount cabinet hardware either horizontally or vertically. Some people choose to install a handle or pull horizontally on drawers and place the same hardware fixture vertically on the cabinet.

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