Flair and Function

Decorative hardware can make a strong statement, or be quietly understated while complementing the overall look of a space. And today's vast array of hardware choices creates a
nearly limitless number of design possibilities. As a result, consumers are actively seeking knobs and pulls that reflect their personal taste, according to manufacturers recently interviewed by Kitchen & Bath Design News.

In response to consumers' growing appetite for choice, manufacturers are offering decorative knobs and pulls in myriad shapes and sizes, and in many different materials. The demand for personalization has also given way to a surge of new materials, including glass and stone, creating a strong demand for hand-crafted knobs and pulls, say manufacturers.

They’re also seeing a move toward substituting matching cabinetry pulls for standard-issue refrigerator pulls. Simultaneously, stainless steel appliances continue to drive interest in metal finish hardware.

On the functional side, hardware choices are accommodating the growing need for task-specific storage as consumers demand multiple work centers.

These “nuts and bolts” that hold a beautiful design together are truly the hardest working parts in the space – and they just keep getting better.

As a result, slides are closing more slowly, extending farther and carrying more weight as drawers are becoming the choice among consumers for dish, pot and pan storage. Hinges continue to work hard, but stay behind the scenes, while other interior fittings are becoming more prominent and stylish in response to demand for the inside of the cabinets to be as pretty as the outside.

PERSONAL EXPRESSIONS
In terms of decorative hardware, personalization remains a key factor in determining the style, finish and size that’s chosen, maintain manufacturers.

“I see the number of well-informed clients with specific design goals growing every day,” states Dan Kennard, president/director of design, Fusion Hardware Group, Inc., in Norcross, GA. “They’re shopping for high-quality products with designs that make visual sense.”

And, most often, consumers are seeking simple, stylish, well-designed pieces. “We continually hear from kitchen and bath designers the term ‘simple, yet elegant’ when describing cabinet hardware. Yet, that term covers so much, and has different meanings,” shares Bob Schaub, owner/president of Schaub & Co., in Grand Rapids, MI.

As a result, Schaub says many of his firm’s new products have “significant details within the piece, allowing for two-tone finishes – namely relieved surfaces on raised scrolls, or relieved surfaces on inlaid scrolls.” “Very high-end designers are seeking the unusual with the deeply sculptured look,” note Harvey and Corinne Weinberg, co-owners of North River Mint, in New York, NY.

“The trend is ‘versatility’ products that create conversation. These products make a statement, but still permit the kitchen or bath cabinetry to remain center stage,” offers Donna Flack, category manager of decorative cabinet hardware and wall plates, Liberty Hardware Mfg. Corp., in Winston-Salem, NC.

“We also see sleek, contemporary hardware, parts with smooth lines that blend in and make the furniture stand out and look good. Consumers – and furniture makers – are more aware of having integrated furniture in which the components all coordinate and look good; no one component stands out,” asserts Doug Mockett, owner of Doug Mockett & Co. in Manhattan Beach, CA.

Mockett further reports seeing “more and more people doing, or re-doing, their homes with modern appliances and, therefore with modern cabinetry and accessories for the cabinetry, such as drawer pulls and towel racks/holders.”

Michael O’Mara, product manager/decorative hardware for Amerock, a div. of Newell Rubbermaid, in Columbia, MD concurs: “Wood-clad refrigerators and dishwashers have led to the growing presence of appliance pull hardware, [and] as the cabinet sales grow fastest in dark to medium-dark stains, this will continue to impact consumers’ hardware finish choices. And as the popularity of larger, taller cabinets increases, you’ll see more matching, proportionally scaled hardware choices for them.”