Antique brass hooded cup pull on a blue-grey green painted in-frame kitchen drawer
Kitchen & pantry · Cabinet hardware

Antique brass for a period kitchen

Hooded cup pulls on the drawers, reeded ball knobs on the doors and a matching knob on the kitchen door: small pieces that make painted cabinetry look properly finished.

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The look
Fittings
Antique brass
Cabinetry & doors
Blue-grey green
Surfaces
Oak worktopTerracotta tile
Accents
Chalk whiteStoneware cream

A Victorian farmhouse kitchen with in-frame cabinetry painted a soft blue-grey green, solid oak worktops, a Belfast sink and a cream range. Old terracotta tiles run through to a walk-in pantry, and antique brass ties together every drawer, cupboard and the door from the hall.

Up close
Victorian farmhouse kitchen with blue-grey green in-frame units, oak worktops, a Belfast sink, a cream range cooker, copper pans on oak shelves and a terracotta tiled floor Close-up of an antique brass reeded ball cupboard knob on a painted kitchen cabinet door Belfast sink set in an oak worktop above painted base cabinets with an antique brass cup pull and reeded knobs Painted kitchen dresser with small spice drawers and cupboard doors fitted with antique brass anvil knobs, blue and white plates on the shelf Walk-in pantry with tall painted doors open on shelves of glass jars, preserves and stoneware, each door with an antique brass reeded knob Antique brass beehive knob on a reeded latch plate on a blue-grey green kitchen door, with the larder unit and terracotta floor beyond
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Antique brass for painted cabinetry

Tall blue-grey green in-frame larder unit with antique brass reeded ball knobs on the doors, hooded cup pulls on three drawers and brass cabinet hinges, on a terracotta floor 4 3 1 2
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Good to know

Choosing kitchen hardware

EraGeorgian to Victorian kitchens
Trend statusRising: painted in-frame kitchens with warm metal
Inspired byCountry house sculleries and walk-in pantries
SuitsIn-frame and Shaker kitchens, pantries, utility rooms and dressers

Cup pulls and knobs together

The traditional pattern is simple: a hooded cup pull on every drawer and a knob on every door. Cup pulls are easy to grip from above or below, which suits deep pan drawers, while knobs keep the cupboard doors plain and uncluttered. Using both in one finish is what makes a run of cabinetry look like a single piece of furniture.

Size by the door, not the room

Small doors and drawers look best with 32mm knobs; tall larder and pantry doors need something a little bigger, like a 38mm knob, so the hardware doesn't look lost. On wide drawers, two cup pulls spaced towards each end make heavy drawers easier to open evenly.

Why antique brass

Antique brass has a darker, aged tone with brown in the recesses, so it looks settled against heritage paint colours and oak rather than brand new. It also hides fingerprints well, which matters on hardware that gets used dozens of times a day. Matching the kitchen door knob to the cabinet hardware makes the room read as one scheme.

Before you drill

Check the screw length

Measure your door and drawer thickness; in-frame fronts are often thicker than modern slab doors, so you may need longer bolts than those supplied.

Make a template

Cut a card template for the cup pull holes and use it on every drawer, so the pulls line up perfectly along the run.

Knob position

Fit knobs on wall cupboards near the bottom corner and on base cupboards near the top corner, about 50 to 70mm in from the edges.

Cabinet hinges show

On in-frame doors the hinge knuckles are visible, so antique brass cabinet hinges keep the finish consistent.