I’m not mad that we didn’t like the cabinet hardware choices at the design center. There are a million options out there, and it’s kind of fun to shop for hardware—gives me something to do while I anxiously wait for our house to be done (or should I say started?).
I’ve been looking everywhere for the perfect midcentury style cabinet hardware for our new kitchen. Today, I’m sharing my favorite places to shop for modern hardware along with a roundup of my favorite knobs and drawer pulls.
Even if you’re not building or remodeling, you should consider changing out your kitchen cabinet hardware. It’s one of the easiest and most affordable kitchen makeovers. Shiny new hardware can make a big difference, fast.
We didn’t choose hardware with the design center because 1) they had less than a dozen choices, and 2) you could only choose knobs OR pulls, not a mix. Because of that second point, I didn’t even want to take their hardware and change it out later because the holes might not match the hardware I’d choose…especially if drawers have a hole in the center for knobs or doors have two holes for pulls.
I want a mix of knobs and drawer pulls—knobs on doors and pulls on drawers. Because of the number of knobs (31) and pulls (19) we need (yes, 50 total!), finding enough matching vintage MCM knobs is highly unlikely. So, I’m looking for new hardware with that MCM style. Hopefully, I can find something I love AND can afford.
I’m not sure why, but I’ve become mildly obsessed with polished nickel hardware. I love that it’s the warmest of the silver finishes. I think it will add a nice glimmer to the kitchen. So, you’ll notice most of my favorites shown below are polished nickel, but they all come in other finishes too.
Where To Shop
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I had the best luck finding midcentury modern cabinet hardware at these online stores:
- Wayfair – I love their filtering options, where you can select your preferred metal finish and style
- CB2 – has an awesome affordable collection of knobs and pulls
- Rejuvenation – all of their hardware is dreamy
- Schoolhouse – also dreamy and they have coordinating knobs and pulls for easy mix and match
- Build.com – lots of different brands in one place
Midcentury Cabinet Knobs
To find midcentury style knobs, I looked for tapered knobs (think cone-shape like #3) and cylindrical knobs like #12 and #14.
I also found a few knobs that have that retro dish shape like #7. #6 and #8 are an updated, sleeker version of the classic dish shape.
The faceted knobs are another fun option to consider, but I found that hexagon knobs need to be dimensional on the face of the knob (like #11), otherwise with a flat face they look like a bolt.
- Luxe Polished Nickel Knob
- Peg Cabinet Knob
- Taper Knobs
- Domestic Bliss Knob
- Nouveau II Rocks Knob
- Mid-Century Knob
- Harvey Knob
- Saturn Cabinet Knob
- Spectrum Knob
- Blake Cabinet Knob
- Faceted Ory Knob
- Lines Satin Nickel Knob
- Bowman Cabinet Knob
- Brass Finger Pull (value 25-pack)
Midcentury Drawer Pulls
My favorite cabinet hardware trend right now is edge pulls (also called finger pulls). They attach on the top edge of the drawer or door. I think the ones that screw in from the back are the best. (No drilling through the face of the cabinet.) I’m obsessed with #1 and wondering if I can go with the smaller size to keep it affordable (since I need 19 drawer pulls).
Bar pulls are what most people think of for modern drawer pulls, and I think they’re a little overdone or expected now.
I still want to bring a touch of walnut into the kitchen…maybe with #15 which still has a bit of polished nickel? Just not sure how the wood will hold up over time.
I also found a few nice arch pulls. #18 has a super cool profile. #20 isn’t right for a drawer pull, but a pair would look fabulous on cabinet doors (filing this one away as an idea for a bathroom vanity).
- Manzanita Drawer Pull
- Europa Finger Pull
- Prescott Drawer Lip Pull
- Crestview Finger Pull
- Mercer Collection Finger Pull
- Miseno Finger Pull
- Strasbourg Bar Pull
- Edgecliff Pull
- Brushed Nickel MCM Pull
- Hex Polished Nickel Handles
- Sommerville Drawer Pull
- Blake Drawer Pull
- Aris Wood Cabinet Pull
- Ellis Wood Cabinet Pull
- Sleek Walnut Bar Pull
- West Slope Wood Drawer Pull
- Manzoni Walnut Arch Pull
- Advantage Plus Arch Pull
- Trellis Arch Pull
- Roundabout Arch Pulls
Which knobs and pulls are your favorites? Do you have edge pulls, and if so, do you love them or hate them? Anything I should be aware of since I’m really leaning toward the edge pulls for the drawers?
I’m in the same boat! I also checked out the choices on Amazon and at Seconds & Surplus (Lewisville, TX off of 121). Thanks for posting this to show all of us that there are awesome choices (sometimes even beter ones) out there that won’t break your bank and still achieve your decoration goals.
Ana, Thanks for the tip about Seconds and Surplus – we might need it for other stuff for the house.
I haven’t shopped specifically for MCM, but one of my favorite places to shop for hardware is Dlawlesshardware.com. Also, I like bale pulls on my drawers because they lay flat. All storage below the counters in my home are drawers, it makes me crazy when my clothes and pockets get caught on the hardware as I’m walking past. I’d advice you to pay attention to the edges. What will they feel like if you bump them? Will they catch on clothing? My second choice would be one that faded back into the drawer, such as 14, 16, 17 and 18.
Hi Jackie
I have all bar pulls on my cabinets and drawers very like #8.
The best advice I had when selecting bar pulls is get the streamlined designs like #7, #8, #9, #13 & #14 and designs with a lip or extension at the edge as in #10, #11 & #15. This type are more likely to to catch clothing etc on the edges.
Also those with a cut out section like #2 & #14 mean you have a limited area to get your hand around. Much easier when you can ‘grab’ the bar in any place. Don’t know if edge pulls would fall into this category too.
Enjoying the ‘journey’ with you, we had our house in Australia built for us 19 years ago. It’s an exciting but very demanding process.
Caroline, Good point about clothes catching on the ends that stick out. I was afraid of that with the sharper corners of some of the edge pulls too.
For the knobs, I definitely put my vote in for #4. Not only to I like it best aesthetically, but it’s called the “Domestic Bliss” knob. Love that! For the pulls, I do like the walnut ones with the nickel accents, but if you’re sold on the edge pulls, I vote for #3 or #6.
Colleen, #4 is such a cool shape. I really like that one too!
Hi Jackie, it’s been a lot of fun following along on your house build! Your style and color choices are great, can’t wait to see the end result. I found your website and videos last October when we started building our own home, and we chose to decline the hardware option with our builder as well. They were going to put the same knob (no pulls were offered) on every door and drawer in every room of the house where we have cabinetry. We also loved the selection at Rejuvenation and build.com for our hardware. I really like #10 for the knobs and #12 for the drawer pulls, and polished nickel is such a beautiful finish!
Genie, I love those too (especially the knob). It’d be an easy combo, since they’re designed to coordinate. You don’t think it’d be too many hex shapes in the room with the backsplash tile?
Fun project! I don’t know much about mcm design, so no opinion on choices – other than pay attention to the “feel” of the pull/knob when being used. For example, I like the back of knobs to be solid instead of hollow, etc. for comfort. Do you know if there are certain finishes that are easier to maintain, clean, spot-free, etc.? I’m changing out hardware in our master bathroom, and want to choose based on form & function!
I agree, Tonia. I definitely don’t want hollow handles. For spot-free hardware, you’ll want to look for a “brushed finish”, like brushed nickel or some stainless steel options. You’d want to avoid polished finishes, which will need to be cleaned often to keep that shiny look.
I think it’s because of the shine and the smaller size–I like #2 for knobs and #6 for pulls.