This is the first blog post in regards to our kitchen remodel! We have been in the process of updating our kitchen for the last several weeks. The hardware was one of the final pieces of the puzzle. I wanted to share because I had a difficult time choosing our exact hardware. Here’s how to pair brass hardware with warm white cabinets. All details are below!
Why Brass Hardware?
I decided to go with brass hardware because we had black hardware before. Basically, I wanted a change. The look of brass hardware with warm white cabinets speaks to me when I see it in Pinterest images. We have dark hardwood floors and I think the mixture of the white, brass, and wood feels really chic and warm and rich. Once we settled on doing brass, we had to decide which kind of brass! Yes, there are a lot of different brass finishes. I took a deep dive into Pinterest and Instagram. Photos are definitely helpful but not fool proof! It took ordering three different sets to find the right finish! Keep ordering and looking until you get what you want!
Knobs vs. Pulls
Our kitchen is a decent size. Even with removing three large cabinets, we still needed a lot of hardware! We had a mixture of knobs and cup pulls in the kitchen before. I thought it was a good mix. We decided to keep knobs on all the doors. For the drawers, we chose a mix of sizes of pulls (4″, 6″, 8″) depending on the drawer size. The pantry doors have 12″ pulls. I definitely recommend going long/large on the pantry doors! It really makes them pop!
Brass Hardware
After sending back one set of hardware because it was too yellow-ish, we ordered from another company. Those arrived and we decided they looked cheap. The quality of that finish felt kind of lightweight and not really what we wanted. In order to not settle, I returned those and ordered another set in a different finish. Those arrived and were perfect! Heavy, expensive looking, and the perfect aged brass we were looking for.
- Pulls: Restoration Hardware, Grafton Pull, Aged Brass
- Knobs: Restoration Hardware, Duluth Knob, Aged Brass
Mix It Up!
We have mostly warm white cabinets. Our island, as seen above, is painted black. The aged brass finish looks so good against the black too! We do have a polished chrome kitchen faucet and stainless steel appliances. I am 100% into mixing metals. It adds dimension and interest and keeps things from feeling matchy matchy. The pulls and knobs actually do not even go together either. One is a Grafton and one is Duluth. Because they have the same aged brass finish, you’d never know they don’t “match”! Don’t be afraid to mix things up!
Knob Placement
When the contractors asked me where I wanted the knobs to be set, I panicked! Ha! I had not thought about it. Some knobs are placed 2″ down from the top. I prefer the look of the knob being centered on the shaker style cabinet. They told me this is a personal preference and I have seen them both ways all over Pinterest. The contractors agreed with the placement I liked the best so we went for it! Love!
Things to Consider When Deciding on Brass Hardware
- Can you return if you don’t like? We ordered from Rejuvenation and Restoration Hardware and we were able to return both.
- Consider ordering a few different finishes if ordering online. I’m such a visual person that I really need to feel it, touch it, see it in the space. This required patience!!
- You might thing about looking at a local hardware shop that has options to choose from instead of ordering online. I went down this road and didn’t find anything I liked. But places like this have TONS to choose from!
- Be sure to measure our your sizes! Many places that have less inexpensive hardware do not offer different sized pulls. Because we wanted a mix of pull length, it cost more than if we went with one standard size.
- Do your research! Look at all the photos! Be inspired! I scoured photos on Pinterest and Instagram. Googled everything I could. We ordered three times before getting it right!
- Not all hardware is created equal! We ordered two different finishes from RH and they both felt very different. One was lightweight and cheap feeling. Once was heavy and beautiful. See and touch and feel first!
I hope this is helpful if you are looking for how to pair brass hardware with warm white cabinets. Hardware adds some jewelry to the space and really finishes it off. Brass hardware can feel both elegant and casual at the same time, which is what I love about it! XO