One day I looked at my kitchen cabinets and noticed something that bothered me.
The cabinets still looked solid and attractive, but the stain on the edges of the doors and drawers (the ones that I used the most) had started to fade.
I realized, because I never picked out a drawer pull for the doors and drawers in my kitchen, the finish on my cabinets was starting to show wear.
It was time to do something about it.
Rather than damaging my cabinets any longer, I headed off to my neighborhood home improvement store to find the perfect drawer pull.
Even though I was making a small purchase relative to everything I put into my house, I knew I would be spending a few hundred dollars when I finally selected the drawer pull for my kitchen.
I have traditional cabinets, with decorative rope trim and crown molding on the top of the wall cabinets.
But my design sense drew me to something a little unusual.
My kitchen has a transitional-style backsplash-subway tiles with a coordinating stone and garnet mosaic border-and granite countertops in earth tones and black accents.
I knew I was looking for a drawer pull that was a knob with a single post, rather than a handle with two posts.
This choice meant I would have fewer holes to drill and fewer opportunities to make a drilling mistake.
To keep my costs down, I was looking for an in-stock drawer pull, not a special order.
I stood in front of the wall of bins filled with knobs and handles, and I realized my decision would not be difficult.
Don't get me wrong-I had plenty of options.
But because I considered them ahead of time, I was able to zero in on several possibilities.
I wanted a drawer pull with a traditional finish, one that would blend in well with the cherry stain of my cabinets.
I ended up selecting a round pewter and black enamel drawer pull; the face of the knob was decorated with a finely-engraved sunburst design.
The pewter finish was traditional, the design on the surface made it a little decorative, and the enamel picked up the black in my granite countertops.
Best of all, my selection was reasonably priced, and the store had the 38 knobs I needed in stock.
I was ready for my small-scale home improvement project.
Before I left the home-improvement store, I made another smart purchase-a template for installing drawer pulls.
Using a template made placing the hole for the drawer pull easy.
I found that the best place to install the drawer pull was not in the exact center of the drawer face.
It looked better installed just a bit above the center line.
When I got the hardware home, I still hesitated when it was time to put the drill to my kitchen cabinets.
I didn't want to mess up the doors and drawers.
A few rules of thumb helped avoid this from happening.
To make the proper size hole, make sure you use a drill bit that makes a hole just a little smaller than the bolt provided with the drawer pull.
This way, the bolt will screw in snugly and keep the drawer pull from spinning after it's been installed.
Placing a piece of painter's tape over the spot where I placed the hole helped avoid splintering the finish when I drilled.
Whenever I look at my cabinets, I'm satisfied that I was able to handle this mini-kitchen redo competently and with style.
Now, it's time to take on the bathrooms...
The cabinets still looked solid and attractive, but the stain on the edges of the doors and drawers (the ones that I used the most) had started to fade.
I realized, because I never picked out a drawer pull for the doors and drawers in my kitchen, the finish on my cabinets was starting to show wear.
It was time to do something about it.
Rather than damaging my cabinets any longer, I headed off to my neighborhood home improvement store to find the perfect drawer pull.
Even though I was making a small purchase relative to everything I put into my house, I knew I would be spending a few hundred dollars when I finally selected the drawer pull for my kitchen.
I have traditional cabinets, with decorative rope trim and crown molding on the top of the wall cabinets.
But my design sense drew me to something a little unusual.
My kitchen has a transitional-style backsplash-subway tiles with a coordinating stone and garnet mosaic border-and granite countertops in earth tones and black accents.
I knew I was looking for a drawer pull that was a knob with a single post, rather than a handle with two posts.
This choice meant I would have fewer holes to drill and fewer opportunities to make a drilling mistake.
To keep my costs down, I was looking for an in-stock drawer pull, not a special order.
I stood in front of the wall of bins filled with knobs and handles, and I realized my decision would not be difficult.
Don't get me wrong-I had plenty of options.
But because I considered them ahead of time, I was able to zero in on several possibilities.
I wanted a drawer pull with a traditional finish, one that would blend in well with the cherry stain of my cabinets.
I ended up selecting a round pewter and black enamel drawer pull; the face of the knob was decorated with a finely-engraved sunburst design.
The pewter finish was traditional, the design on the surface made it a little decorative, and the enamel picked up the black in my granite countertops.
Best of all, my selection was reasonably priced, and the store had the 38 knobs I needed in stock.
I was ready for my small-scale home improvement project.
Before I left the home-improvement store, I made another smart purchase-a template for installing drawer pulls.
Using a template made placing the hole for the drawer pull easy.
I found that the best place to install the drawer pull was not in the exact center of the drawer face.
It looked better installed just a bit above the center line.
When I got the hardware home, I still hesitated when it was time to put the drill to my kitchen cabinets.
I didn't want to mess up the doors and drawers.
A few rules of thumb helped avoid this from happening.
To make the proper size hole, make sure you use a drill bit that makes a hole just a little smaller than the bolt provided with the drawer pull.
This way, the bolt will screw in snugly and keep the drawer pull from spinning after it's been installed.
Placing a piece of painter's tape over the spot where I placed the hole helped avoid splintering the finish when I drilled.
Whenever I look at my cabinets, I'm satisfied that I was able to handle this mini-kitchen redo competently and with style.
Now, it's time to take on the bathrooms...
Source...