Get a Handle On Your Home With Vintage Drawer Pulls
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Moving into an apartment, even a nice one, means adjusting to a certain lackluster sense of decor. The walls are a bland shade of white, if not yellowing already, the molding has been chipped, and the drawers are a MDF board covered with wood veneer. (And these are the good apartments for many people.) That’s all to say that it’s up to the homeowner to make the adjustments to have a better sense of style. One of the easiest things to do though, which can be very cost effective, is to swap in vintage drawer pulls. The little knobs and handles that open your cabinets and closets throughout the apartment will be the added boost in the smallest of ways.
Luckily, people are spoiled for options when it comes to these, and they’re all pretty cheap. You can get simple matte black ones on Amazon or at Walmart, but where’s the fun in that. If you’re not in the position to have a home filled with worldly antiques, buying some vintage drawer pulls on Etsy and Chairish are easy ways to put some zing into your interior design.
This is also an easy way to not have to swap out entire cabinets. Sure, renters aren’t going to do this anyway because of security deposits (or having to ditch them once the rest goes up too much). Even those who are in their starter home they’ve bought though can look at these as options to draw attention away from blemishes in the cabinets without having to resurface or repaint the whole thing.
The most critical point though is to measure them all out evenly. Users REALLY don’t want to guess this before putting the drawer pulls on because one millimeter off and you’re not getting that security deposit back. The first thing to buy should be an installation template.
Rejuvenation Cabinet Hardware Installation Template
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Line up any of your drawer pulls to this bracket to make sure that they’ll be aligned perfectly when you’re done.
As for vintage options, there’s so many online already.
Chairish Antique Brass Drawer Pulls (Set of 6)
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These 1950s style pulls add a bit of a traditional look to your apartment, which in pre-war buildings could complement certain wood paneling or exposed brick in low-light homes.
Etsy Unique Oval Shape Handmade Camel Horn Drawer Pull
For a colorful collection, these pulls bring a nice bit of color and pattern into a style. They’re great for kitchens with white counters and lots of light.
Etsy William Morris Glass Cabochon Cabinet Knob
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Knob pulls can be a view into a little world. Use them on the bureau in a living room full of plants, or for rooms with a darker green color.
Chairish Brass Lucite Drawer Pull
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This would be great for a bathroom cabinet under the sink, or for a kitchen with lots of white and gloss in it. The lucite and gold reflects that lighter, airy feeling back into the room.
Etsy Mermaid Sea Siren Brass Knob
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This might read like it’s a better fit for a beach house, but try working these onto a bureau in your bedroom, or as the replacement pulls on a desk drawer, and they work just as well.
Chairish Antique Faceted Glass Drawer Pulls (Set of 10)
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These are true antique handles that bring a lot of that vintage, old world view to a room. If the apartment is already in a very old building, these can feel like they’re from the original tenants.
Etsy Creative Brass Handle
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Use these guys for that set of french doors built to separate the bedroom from the living room for apartments that used to be tenement homes. They’re a modern way to still bring some human form into the space and some flash of brass for a little shine.
Etsy Pull Brass Door Handle – Hand
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This is a bit bolder than the average antique glass knob, so buyer beware. For those looking to have a really memorable side door though, try drilling one of these onto the door.
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