The quintessential guide to classic interior design, elegant entertaining & a genteel lifestyle.
(formerly Mummy's Monday Manners)
Brass fox knobs and snaffle-bit door pulls enhance the Butler’s Pantry cabinets at my home, Fox Hall. They reflect my beloved theme of foxes and horses!
Think twice when purchasing knobs and pulls for your cabinet doors and drawers! While pretty earrings can complement an elegant outfit for a sought-after “tailored composition,” decorative knobs and pulls can be the “darling detail” for your cabinets, and serve to create a well-appointed decorative touch. Whether the interior space is grand or petite, formal or informal, what you choose to adorn your cabinets with is worthy of your time and attention. Cabinets can be prime real estate to feature a touch of your personality into a room.
The knob design, and finish you choose, can either be a theme-inspired element, a whimsical element or simply a quiet enhancement to a cabinet, while intrinsically contributing to the overall design of a room. I adore looking at one’s choice of hardware, as it can transform a space to become uniquely individual!
Drawer knobs and pulls are available to purchase from a myriad of places. While I have many “to the trade” options available as a designer, there are, now more than ever, many sources readily available and easily accessible via the internet. Even Etsy offers some darling options! Finding just the right style, size, design, and color of “jewelry for your cabinets” can be captivating, amusing, and joyful, once you commence the search with a theme in mind.
There is a whimsical Chinoiserie theme at Petite Fox II, our newest abode in Palm Beach! The dining room features a bespoke pagoda. And, for the kitchen, I chose wallpaper with pink & blue Chinese dragons and foo dogs. As I searched for the cabinet hardware, I discovered brass “dragon” pull handles on Etsy, of all places. I was intrigued, so I ordered a sample. That was it! Soon, they clung to the upper cabinet doors in our kitchen. Because of their spine, pointy tail, and pokey-sharp tongue, these dragons tend to “bite” if you lean against or brush past them. So, I chose a different style pull, with a lower profile, to dress the lower cabinets.
Grandmillennial Tip:
The finish you choose for your cabinet jewelry should be all the same- either brass, nichol, chrome, etc. This is applicable to the hinges too if they are visible.
The “egg” shape pull is the most classic shape of all. I have brass egg shape knobs throughout my kitchen (on the doors and drawers) at Fox Hall, c.1803.
These handsome glass egg-shaped faucet handles at the WATERWORKS showroom in Bostoncaptured my attention for a guest bathroom for a client. I would recommend carrying out the same egg shape and finish for the cabinet hardware too. The glass adds a touch of glamour. Do you agree?
While drawer pulls are traditionally centered, a second pull (side by side) may be used if the drawer is over 20” wide, depending on the size of the pull. Or, just use one pull, but longer in size than the ones on the smaller drawers.
A knob can be placed on the leading edge anywhere from 1” from the far bottom corner of the cabinet door, up several inches from the corner, or even in the absolute center of the door. Experiment with various placements before actually drilling the hole to attach them!
Consider using two different designs of knobs for cabinets in the same room. While each has a distinctive design and shape, they should strive to be complementary in theme and have the same finish.
My daughter, Caroline, discovered four orange enamel knobs with brass fox heads at an Anthropologie store. Even though they were discontinued, she knew that somehow I would find a way to use just four of them! And I did… on the glass doors in another section of the Butler’s Pantry at Fox Hall.
XX
Holly
P.S. Please be a dear…share this with a friend and inspire them to subscribe! Also, take a peek at the "LOVELY GIVEAWAY" below and view our splendid sponsors too! 💓
GIVEAWAY!
Last week I featured the very talented Mara Sfara. She has been gracious enough to offer this lovely painting exclusively to my SLL subscribers and social media followers! The painting, Three Great White Egrets, is oil on linen and valued at $4,200. Click the button below to enter! We will be choosing our winner at random on Valentine's Day, 2/14/22. The winner will be announced shortly thereafter, once confirmed. Best of luck!
Please meet our sponsors!
Scully & Scully is the oldest, most renowned, and most elegant boutique business on Park Avenue. Stepping into the store you feel like Royalty, and justifiably so! Scully & Scully has had a clientele of royalty, first ladies, and international stars since its very beginning in 1934.
Have you ever wanted a dress or blouse that is easy to wear and extremely flattering, while also being timelessly chic? Jude Connally Zimmerman, the brilliance behind the Jude Connally collection of dresses, empowers women to feel their best from the outside in. She has a talent for style, color, and pattern… and incorporating pink! Jude is exceptionally gracious and her following is too. How delightful to choose a dress, slip it on, and feel put together without any effort! She combines textile innovations in activewear with ready-to-wear design and style, so the fabric travels exceptionally well. I truly adore wearing her designs any time of day, and in any season!
Have you ever wanted a dress or blouse that is easy to wear and extremely flattering, while also being timelessly chic? Jude Connally Zimmerman, the brilliance behind the Jude Connally collection of dresses, empowers women to feel their best from the outside in. She has a talent for style, color, and pattern… and incorporating pink! Jude is exceptionally gracious and her following is too. How delightful to choose a dress, slip it on, and feel put together without any effort! She combines textile innovations in activewear with ready-to-wear design and style, so the fabric travels exceptionally well. I truly adore wearing her designs any time of day, and in any season!
Jude Maguire is passionate about relaxed elegance! She has created a collection of patterns and colors, which all tie in together, for both wallpaper and linens. Her company, Main and Market, offers locally sourced clay-coated wallpaper, sustainable hand-woven sisal grasscloth wall coverings, and bio-degradable paper weaves, along with textiles that are all Belgian linen and Irish linen, all of which are printed in New England.
When I receive NYSD in my inbox, perusing through it is always such a treat. Finding out what is going on in splendid venues, seeing friends, colleagues and clientele, learning about what is happening in New York City and Palm Beach, complemented with delicious writing and party photographs, is a moment to indulge in, and savor!
Holly's Emmy Award Winning TV Series
Holly Holden is an interior designer specializing in classic design internationally since 1989. She is an author, speaker, host and producer of an Emmy nominated public television series!