The knobs and pulls you choose for your kitchen’s cabinets are important. Like jewelry, they’ll add an important finishing touch, giving your space a cohesive feel and adding an extra element of style. When choosing your cabinet hardware, you’ll want to consider factors like size, shape and style, but you also need to consider the finish. Here are a few trendy hardware finishes that may work well in your new or renovated kitchen:

Polished chrome is one of the most popular finishes for cabinet hardware, and it’s also often found on faucets and other plumbing fixtures. So, if your faucets are polished chrome, hardware in the same finish would coordinate nicely. Polished chrome is shiny and silver, similar in appearance to stainless steel, and is often used with lighter wood cabinets in more contemporary kitchen designs. But it has a major pitfall: It smudges easily.

Brushed nickel is also silver, but it has more of a matte finish, which is useful for hiding fingerprints and smudges. If you have children or entertain frequently, brushed nickel may be a better option. This finish has an elegant appearance that’s incredibly versatile – people use it for kitchens in every design style from modern to industrial.

Oil-rubbed bronze is quickly increasing in popularity for its interesting dark, textured appearance. Oil-rubbed bronze hardware looks beautiful on cabinets  made of a variety of wood species, but it’s most often used on medium or dark woods. Because the finish has such a rustic appearance, many designers use of it in kitchens with country, vintage or Tuscan design styles.

Other finishes. You may have seen some stunning wood pulls, a shiny brass Gaudi-inspired hook or some fabulously elegant glass knobs while doing your kitchen redesign homework. If you found sometime you simply must have (we're partial to a little whimsy here and there), then why not integrate one or two special pieces? There are no rules.You don’t have to match the finishes of every metallic fixture in your kitchen, but when choosing cabinet hardware, faucets, lighting fixtures and anything else made of metal, it’s a good idea to consider whether they will complement one another. Ask us, we're here to help you!