Love It or Hate It: Mid-Century Kitchen Hardware

This post was originally published on DIY Network’s blog Made + Remade in February 2014.

In the time since I put on my game face and vowed to give my kitchen a much-needed cosmetic facelift, I’ve done a lot of research relating to designing and decorating mid-century kitchens.

One thing is clear: You guys either love, or completely hate mid-century hardware.

The round silver knobs in our kitchen make a big statement. A big, shiny statement. A statement so big that you can check to see if you have something stuck in your teeth while you cook. And though they might not be the style I would gravitate to if not for our home’s style, I can really appreciate how they fit in here, so I have no intent to replace the 41 of them during this kitchen makeover. (But I will have to remove all 41 of them tediously using a flathead screwdriver! 41! Did I mention there are 41?)

Kitchen cabinet knobs, pulls and handles are available in so many styles, but it would seem that mid-century originals are hard to come by these days, and maybe that’s why I’ve been contacted by a series of interested buyers who assume I might be taking them off and tossing them to the curb. For those of you who are following along this kitchen makeover and do like the knob style that I’m working with, Rejuvenation offers a cool chrome dish-style knob ($8/each), and I was excited to find that Ace Hardware also offers a very similar look for less ($3/each).

Next up, wall painting! (I’ll be getting to the cabinets this springtime, but if you’re looking for tips on painting kitchen cabinets sooner, refer to this cabinet painting tutorial on DIY Network.)

Here’s the question for you: Would you reuse your original mid-century hardware, or would you want to replace it with a modern style?