Host Cindy Piccoli offers tips on changing the look of furniture and rooms with the addition of inexpensive hardware.
- A simple change of knobs can give a new look to an old piece of furniture. If the wood is old-looking, but you don't want to paint it, add brightly colored knobs to freshen the appearance.
- Knobs decorated with florals or other designs can be chosen to coordinate with a room's wallpaper.
- Plain wooden knobs can be used as they are or painted to match fabric in a room.
- Wood finishes can be distressed and highlighted with decorative metal knobs or pulls.
- Paint over old finishes, using either oil- or water-based paint, and add gold drawer pulls shaped like branches or leaves. If you want to replace two drawer knobs with a single, expensive one, remove the old knobs and fill in the two holes with wood putty before painting the piece. Then, after painting, you can drill a single hole for the new hardware.
- For a psychedelic sixties look, paint furniture in bright colors and add clear glass ball-shaped knobs.
- A piece made of attractive wood can be made more upscale with the addition of traditional hardware. If some of the hardware already on the furniture is usable and appealing to you, knobs and other items can be purchased to coordinate with them for an upscale look.
- If you remove an old piece of hardware and can't find replacements that match up to the holes where the original was attached, try screwing a knob into each hole for a different effect.
- In a bathroom, white or wood-grain fixtures trimmed in gold or silver give a clean, fresh look.
