Mid-Century Modern Cabinet Hardware

62 Pulls & Knobs: Rediscovering the Beauty of MCM Design

It’s funny that the deeper you go down a rabbit hole, the deeper you CAN go down that hole. You don’t know what you don’t know, until you start learning about it, and realize there is so much more to that subject than you ever thought.

You can apply that to pretty much anything, but today we are applying it to cabinet hardware.

Hardware is such a tiny detail of any kitchen design or renovation that it can easily become an afterthought. Like you are so close to the finish line that you just want to be done already, so you head to Home Depot and grab some hardware, to make it easy and not let yourself overthink yet another decision. I get that. I totally did that, but on Amazon instead of at Home Depot.

I absolutely did not go down the hardware rabbit hole at that time. There was no time or energy for enthusiastic hardware exploration. Then I decided to write this round-up and dove down it head first. The categories, the finishes, the history…way more time and energy was put into writing this post than choosing my own hardware.

When I found all my MCM kitchen inspiration pictures, I looked at them as a whole and didn’t pay particular attention to the hardware.

But I did for this post.

For example, this stunner of a kitchen features simple black wire pulls. These are super cheap (always a bonus), and don’t distract from all the awesomeness going on around them, and still give a retro nod.

Wooden cape pulls look seamless on these beautiful wooden cabinets. This kitchen would look very different with blinging cabinet jewelry, and I’m not about it. This was the perfect choice.

And this modern retro kitchen has gold half-moon pulls.

This is what came up when I Amazon searched “mid-century cabinet hardware” during my build, and is the style in my mid-century kitchen.

All the examples above have the same hardware throughout the kitchen, but you can also mix and match styles to create a custom look. (images from Rejuvenation)

Also worth mentioning – whether you are updating a kitchen or starting from scratch, don’t feel as if you have to match the finish on your hardware to the other metals in the space. I like to keep the finishes matching within a specific category, but mix and match the categories. For example – if you have chrome plumbing fixtures, choose black cabinet hardware and brass lighting fixtures. Or, if you have gold plumbing fixtures, choose nickel hardware and black lighting. You get the idea.

Hopefully at least one of those options stood out to you as “the one”. I’d love to hear your favorite in the comments below! I may have chosen the black half-moon pulls for my kitchen, but I got a flutter in my design-loving heart when I came across #9 in the “other” category, the wood bead retro hardware.