Cast your mind back and think of how many times you have scoured online sites looking for that different piece of furniture – the one to really finish off or kick start the makeover of that space in your house that has been crying out for attention … and maybe a little love.  I’m tipping that now you are on our website, reading this blog – probably a few! 

It all starts well; great, I’ll jump online and find the perfect piece – can’t wait for it already, so exciting!  The search starts.  You can’t put your finger on exactly what you are looking for, but you’ll know it when you see it. 

What you do know, is that you want to love it, you want it to be different, you don’t want just another piece of furniture – you want it to make a statement, maybe even be a conversation starter – hey, that would be a bonus!  

Suddenly, wait, what’s this you think excitedly to yourself, as you peer bug-eyed at the screen…you are stopped dead in your tracks by THE perfect piece!

Oh, wow, yes, I love it!  Your heart rate steps up a notch or two, you quickly flick through the photos (too excited to go slow at this stage).  This might be the one, no this IS the one I have been looking so long for! 

Hey, hang on … something isn’t quite right here, so you back track through the photos, in go slow mode now … what is it?  Then you see it.  Oh what?? The dreaded missing handle syndrome … even worse maybe missing not one but two OR a couple missing and one broken one OR the broken knob/s OR the handles or knobs are not all the same (need I go on?)   Arrrrgggghhhhh!

Here is where your thought process can take a few quick turns and dives in a very short time; you might say to yourself, well, it’s not such a big ideal, it can’t be that hard to find some matching ones, surely?  Or maybe I can just buy a whole new set and replace them all? 

Well, we can tell you from experience, it isn’t that easy (but that niggling little voice in your head has already told you that though I’m guessing).  Listen to that little voice, it is really hard, I’ll go as far as to say, it’s nearly impossible to get perfect matches to existing handles and knobs – handles and knobs that were made 30, 50, 100 years ago are just not around – if they are, to find the exact same one is about as easy as finding a needle in a haystack. 

The other option is to remove all existing handles, replacing them with a whole different matching set.  Easier to a point, but what a nightmare to work out the ones that will suit the piece (but you have already bought it if you are living the nightmare – worse still, you are now at a point of no return).

If you are cluey and have a bit of an idea of the style and era that will suit your beloved piece of furniture – you can end up with an awesome result … nothing better than complimentary handles that match the era of the piece. 

Unfortunately, as I am sure you have seen, there are some really bad choices – handles that look like pimples on a pumpkin … worse still, sometimes they not only don’t match the style or era, they clash.  It can be a bone-jarring thing to behold.

My point is that you can have a beautiful piece of furniture, but the humble handle that we take for granted at times, really does either make it a beautiful piece as a whole or a shadow of what it once was … worse still it can make it unattractive … sadly, we have seen so many pieces ruined in this way.

Handles and knobs are not just things that are there as functional appendages – they are as important as the design and materials used and should not only compliment but in fact complete the piece. 

When you are shopping for ‘the one’, keep in mind the not so humble handles and knobs – they really do make or break the aesthetics of furniture. 

There is nothing more satisfying than getting it right.  The oooh’s and aaah’s when friends pop in followed on with comments like, “wow, love your styling”!  is even more satisfying.  But the most satisfying of all is sitting back admiring the piece you know you will love for a long time to come.