Now that 2015 is in full swing, most of us are looking for a fresh new start. Renovations are common place around the start of a new year as new home decor trends start to surface. With that being said, here are some top trends in home hardware for this year.
Brass has made a big comeback, recently. Sticking with a more European but, rustic look.
RK International is one brand among many following suit with this growing trend recently, by introducing their new line of Valencia Bronze pulls and knobs. Bronze has also become prominent in both bathrooms and kitchens as well, from faucets to accent pieces.
Another growing trend is a “worn” or “distressed” look with home hardware pieces.
Again, RK International released a brand new product line of appliance pulls comprised of Worn Nickel.
Most of us are used to seeing brushed, polished or satin finishes so, this is a refreshing look for those of you who want to really stray away from the typical finishes.
Brass
Brass has made its own come back as well. Although many still prefer a more polished brass look, the growing trend seems to be a more rustic or, antique brass finish.
Two-Toned
Appliance pulls with two tones also seems to be gaining popularity as well.
The two contrasting finishes can really be the right hardware piece to make a room or kitchen have that “wow” factor.
When it comes to accenting home furniture with cabinet hardware, you don’t always have to go with the bold and colorful styles and finishes. This is especially true for those of you who have a large sized room with a need for multiple pulls or handles for your furniture. Choosing the right finish and style is imperative for decorating your furniture, without overwhelming a space. If you have light colored furniture, you may want to stick with a lighter finish for your cabinet hardware as well. Polished Nickel, or other nickel finishes tend to be light and blend well with lighter colored furniture. Some people enjoy the contrast between light furniture and darker colored knob or handles. The only problem is that the focus tends to go directly toward the darker colored objects which, takes away from the room’s ambiance on a whole.
If you have darker colored furniture, having a finish that’s not too light but does have a slight contrast works well. Perhaps using a brushed pewter finish or an antique brass finish would work nicely together.
A recent customer of ours submitted a review of a few cabinet pulls they had purchased for their walk-in closet.
The customer raved about cabinet pulls they chose and how each one seemingly disappeared into the space, which is precisely what they were aiming for, to avoid their space looking like a series of ladders.
With the right cabinet pull choices you can truly transform a space into something that doesn’t take away from the other aspects of the room.
Courtesy of Twincitiesremodeler.comCourtesy of Twincitiesremodeler.com
We have all seen those extravagant bedrooms for children, whether it be on Pinterest or other home-decor blog sites. They are literally what dreams are made of. Pictured above, is a pirate-themed bedroom. As you can see from the pictures, the creator of this fabulous bedroom utilized faux brick, for the sides underneath the draw-bridge. The pirate ship itself is made of stained wood, as is the draw-bridge. The ceiling was painted in mural-like fashion, while the walls have sea-life decals.
For us common folk, this bedroom seems impossible to create, right? Well, what if I told you that you could achieve a more affordable, under-water themed bedroom? Even though a pirate ship is seemingly impossible to incorporate into your child’s bedroom, it doesn’t mean you can’t try to get as close to an underwater fantasy world as possible.
Let’s start off with the basics. The first step you would need to take is painting over the bedroom walls. The blue pictured above is a nice color to go with or, you could go with a different hue, based off of what you think would best fits your child’s bedroom.
Next, we have the wall decals. After doing a little research of my own, I came across a handful of websites that carry a multitude of wall decals. First on my list, is AllPosters.com. They carry quite a few marine decals, specifically geared towards children’s bedrooms. I’ve used them in the past for many things therefore, I’m a big fan. All orders come in a timely fashion and are packaged nicely as well. The only downside is that, their marine decals are a little more flat with a cartoon look and feel. If your child is out of that Sponge-Bob phase, I would suggest venturing onto the next site on my list.
WallDecorshops.com has many wall decals to choose from. Sticking with our subject, they have really great marine life decals, all highly-detailed. Depending on what you are specifically looking for, this site has a good variety of die-cut adhesive decals. I would also like to warn you that, walldecorshops.com get a little pricey. I’m not sure if I would necessarily pay $40.00-$100.00 for a dolphin’s face, unless of course it sang me the Flipper theme song.
Which brings me to my third site on the list. WallStickerOutlet.com, is one of the better sources for this specific theme. The wall decals on this site are a pretty close match to those pictured above in the pirate room. The best part is the price of the decals featured onWallStickerOutlet.com With each order you receive 4 sheets of 10×18 inch decals. Not only that but, shipping is free for those in the U.S.
Courtesy of MyKnobs.com
So now we have our wall colors down and our decals to really bring the pirate/nautical theme to life. What’s next? Well, since we can’t build a pirate ship, we are going to have to improvise here. Rather than throwing out your child’s perfectly good furniture, why not accent it? MyKnobs.com has a variety of knobs and handles for doors, dressers, knight stands, etc. You name it- they supply it. What I like about their website, is how they give the consumer the option to choose a category by theme. This cut the time down for me and enabled me to find what I was looking for rather quickly. I will say, I am actually a bit surprised that most of the other websites that manufacture specialty home hardware/decor items, lack this feature on their websites. Anyway, getting back to accenting our furniture– I found a wide variety of specialty cabinet hardware to accent the room. There’s a nautical category which carries knobs that range from pewter to antique brass, brushed chrome and many other finishes. The price range can vary, usually from $3.00- $15.00 per knob.
Next comes the switch plates. Opting for a more decorative switch plate is honestly, a great way to spruce up a room and add a nice accent to your theme. I’m going to go ahead and group switch plates and lamps into the same category. SwitchPlateGallery.com has some really cute switch plates to match the nautical theme. They’re relatively cheap, ranging anywhere from $3.00-$5.00 on their site.
So now we venture on to lighting. The complexity of what you are looking for will certainly impact the pricing range. Unfortunately, lighting in general isn’t cheap. Whether we are talking about floor lamps, desk lamps or chandeliers, they are all going to cost you a decent amount of money but, that doesn’t mean you have to break the bank in order to achieve your end goal. I stumbled upon a site called Bellacor.com They have really beautiful lighting fixtures. Relating to our theme, they do have some pretty cool coral lamps, comprised of resin material. The website’s price has it listed at $127.46, which is actually on sale right now for the upcoming holiday.
Courtesy of Switchplategallery.comCourtesy of Bellacor.com
Another accent you can add to your child’s bedroom is a bedspread, throw cover, or a duvet. Of course every child would love to have a race car bed or something resembling a pirate ship, we all were there once. Unfortunately, specialty beds like that can really run up the bill of redecorating a room. What I did for a tropical themed kids room, was research specialty comforters and bedspreads. I ended up finding a retailer that shipped directly from Hawaii. The bedspread was really affordable and was also reversible! Houzz.com, had a really cute duvet cover. It’s a little pricey but, it’s worth it for the amount of money you save in total for renovating your child’s bedroom. I also came across many others, ranging from the hyper-realistic to a more flatter, vector-themed style. When choosing a bedspread it’s all about personal taste, comfort and also, affordability.
Courtesy of Walmart.com, LandofNod.com and Houzz.com
Adding all of these accent pieces to your child’s bedroom will really transform the space tremendously. If you find decorations that fit the theme you are going for, then by all means, add it to your room.
Caring for decorative hardware should provide our customers with years of beauty. Most modern day finishes should last a lifetime with the proper care and maintenance. However, keep in mind all hardware surfaces are “stain resistant,” not “stain proof.” The sooner stains and grease receive attention the easier they are to remove. Stains can set over time if they are allowed to settle penetrate into the surface of protective coating.
Do’s
Dry surfaces immediately with a soft, lint-free cotton cloth.
Use a soft, lint-free cotton cloth dampened with a mild detergent or soap, and warm water.
Keep sharp items, such as knives, away from hardware. Dropping a knife and having it hit your hardware can cause scratches and dings.
Use care when opening drawers and cabinets using a pull or knob. Most decorative hardware just requires you to place your fingertips behind the hardware and pull. You should not have to grab the pull and yank on it. Not only does tugging on the pull cause unnecessary strain, but the oils from your hands can damage the hardware over time. While it sounds a bit silly, caring for decorative hardware requires you to keep
Towel bars, clothes hooks, and even bathroom shelves are available in various sizes, materials and degrees of sturdiness. The choice of visual appeal is wide. But, unfortunately, visual appeal is not the only consideration when purchasing hardware for the bathroom.
While a dainty rack to hold a lace guest towel can look lovely near the sink, the reality is that sooner or later it will be expected to support the weight of wet towels and even a heavy bag of personal bath products. Even if the rack survives the weight, it’s possible that the wall that is supporting it won’t Going Here.
Bathroom shelves often accumulate cosmetics, hair styling equipment, and even books and magazines in addition to the decorative candles and figurines that were visualized when the bathroom was designed.
Not all hardware is made the same and sometimes the hardware that comes with the cabinets that are in your home are odd sized. This can mean that there is an issue when replacing the existing odd size holes with other hardware. How do you make the new hardware fit the cabinets when the holes are too large or too small for your new hardware? There are a few things that you can do to get your new cabinet pulls and hinges to fit without having to get new cabinets entirely.
Large Holes – When the holes are larger than the screws for the new hardware you can do one of two things. You can either purchase inserts to make the holes smaller and allow them to be able to fit the new screws, or you can fill them with putty and drill new holes. Many people prefer to use the inserts because they are easier to use. It also keeps the cabinets from having too many holes. Drilling new holes can offer a tighter fit for the new hardware so that can be a positive for that method.
Many think that replacing hinges is easy. While this can be true in most cases, there can be some instances when replacing a hinge becomes a major chore. There are many variables that need to be taken into consideration when discussing replacing hinges. Calling a contractor is not necessary as there are only a few screws to remove. The following are some of the aspects that need to be taken into account as well as some DIY tips for replacing hinges:
What Hinges are Being Replaced? – If you are changing the hinges on a door, you may find it very difficult to do without help. You should have someone there to help you switch them out. Doors can be very heavy and can cause injury if they fall and there is no one there to hold the door in place. Cabinets can be replaced with one person but it is easier if there are two.
Match the Existing Hinge to the New One – This is one of the best tips to replacing hinges. If you match the hinges perfectly, you do not have to worry about fit. This can save a great deal of time. When the new hinges are a different size then you have to drill new holes and plug the old ones up. That can be time consuming but it is not always possible to get hinges that match perfectly if the existing ones are very old.
Anytime you want to purchase something, you may just jump in your car and head to the closest discount store to get the best price. You think that this is the way to save the most money. The problem with this is that while there are some savings, you may be giving up quality. Also, there are other ways to shop to get a better price. Shopping online can offer many benefits to the shopper as opposed to the big store discount chains.
Quality – Even if you save money, you can give up quality. How much of a savings is there when the product breaks or is damaged because it was not made to withstand the test of time? You end up having to buy the item again to replace the one that is no longer functional. Instead, spend the same amount online and get a better product that does last much longer because the quality is better.
As summer is coming to an end, you begin to realize that your summer renovation and home improvement projects haven’t been finished or haven’t even been started. No need to worry, these quick and easy tips will make it seem as if you spent your whole summer remodeling.
When it comes to a quick kitchen spruce up, I’m not looking to start replacing or painting cabinetry. The easiest way to make your kitchen look brand new is to start with the details. Updating details like hardware, lighting, accessories and your paint job will surely give your kitchen a face lift, while saving a buck!
1. Let’s see what you have to work with. Take a look at the elements of the space that can’t change. Typically these would be your countertops, cabinetry and appliances. See if you can notice a theme or design style that is already there. Look for details in the shapes and colors of your space. Since we are not going to be changing these elements, we need to make everything work as cohesively as possible. Do you have knotted, rustic cabinets; reminiscent of an old world villa? Do you have sleek modern countertops with a bold color screaming contemporary bistro? The bones of your kitchen are there, it’s up to you to decide what to dress it up with.
<a href="http://www you can look here.myknobs.com/ssempire.html”>If you have spent time and money in choosing the cabinets in your home, or if you are looking to renovate or redesign the cabinets in your home, then you may already know that cabinet resurfacing is a great way to do this and save money while you’re at it. However, there is one aspect of cabinet resurfacing that sometimes goes overlooked. The cabinet hardware is a vital part of the renovation that is sometimes not given the proper attention.
Cabinet hardware has an important function of allowing the cabinet drawers and doors to be easily opened and closed. However, there is also an aesthetic appeal to cabinet hardware. People choose the hardware in order to match the existing décor of the room or to help to create a new design of décor in the space.
If you have spent time and money in choosing the cabinets in your home, or if you are looking to renovate or redesign the cabinets in your home, then you may already know that cabinet resurfacing is a great way to do this and save money while you’re at it. However, there is one aspect of cabinet resurfacing that sometimes goes overlooked. The cabinet hardware is a vital part of the renovation that is sometimes not given the proper attention.