It's All In The Details

What is a Corbel? According to Dictionary.com a Corbel is an architecture term meaning: 1. any bracket, esp. one of brick or stone, usually of slight extent. 2. a short horizontal timber supporting a girder.
In older classical style buildings you see stone corbels a lot around the corners and under balconies.



Woodworkers and Cabinet makers have been using wood corbels for years as architectural details in the kitchen, living room, dining room, you name it. The nice thing is you can use the different items where ever you want. I've seen them under mantels for fireplaces, as corner pieces in doorways, under crown molding, under cabinets, and I know someone who uses them as bookends. The first two pictures below show a couple of corbels that we sell unfinished and the picture below shows what they would look like in a kitchen setting. Corbels come in all different styles and sizes.

We also have wood turnings that can be used on the corners of cabinets, on tables, and islands.
This:

Can be turned into this:


Appliques are a good way to add detail to a lot of different items, the example I have is for a range hood. Again, these elements are found on picture frames, armoires and furniture, directly onto a wall, kitchen cabinets, and more.

These types of products are no for everyone, but for homes with a more traditional or classical style these are a good way to make your fixtures blend in and look more like furniture that has been there forever.

Erica
“Leave the Details to Us”

Hey August, What's New?

This month has been a slower than normal month for adding new items to the site, but behind the scenes we've been diligent little worker bees with our stocked items. For those of you who have not read my initial post, THH (The Hardware Hut) is part of Spokane Hardware. We have a print catalog of all of the items that are stocked in our warehouse that we are able to give to builders to take on job sites and order their stock items from. There are a number of items that are what I call "more functional and less visual", such as roller catches for cabinets, sand paper, adhesives, padlocks, etc. Our print catalog is about 400 pages with approximately 5 items per page, we are in the process of adding those items to our website. For the time being we've got the "Print Catalog" items listed in a category with very basic descriptions and a price. Little by little, we are editing the descriptions and adding images to each item and moving them from the "print catalog" category to the category that they belong in on the rest of the site. It will take some time, but we'll get it all done eventually. I mentioned the print items in last months post, but thought I should elaborate a bit.

Since I'm on the subject of items that are stocked here, some items that have been added to Thehardwarehut.com are commercial bathroom accessories by Bradley. These are items such as the double toilet paper roll holders, or the wall mounted soap dishes, and the sanitary dispensers for the stalls. These items are all made out of stainless steel which is typical for commercial applications because of it's durability.




Another new collection is the Schaub & Company Vinci line, they've come out with cabinet knobs & pulls as well as appliance handles made out of solid bronze. The great thing about this collection is that they are made from what is typically a rustic material but the style is more modern. My personal favorite is the Polished White Bronze finish, it's very similar in color to what a polished nickel would be but not quite as mirrored and it's got slight imperfections. This collection is very linear and clean, I think square shapes are becoming pretty popular.



And the last thing I'll share for this month is a new "component" by Lewis Dolin. Lewis Dolin has had the Bar Pull series for a number of years, these pulls come in a number of different lengths and a few finish choices. He has come up with a bracket that you can add to any of his bar pulls to make a towel bar out of it. Currently, he does not have any other bath hardware such as robe hooks or toilet paper holders, but I think the towel bar is a good idea for the kitchen. I can see one of these hanging on the end of a counter or on an island and it would be a perfect match to the rest of the pulls.

Erica
“Leave the Details to Us”

Quirky Is The Word Of The Day

We all have our own quirks and silly things about us, some of the items we carry seem to fit in the "quirky" category. Now, I'm not saying they're weird or that you're weird for buying them (okay, maybe one of them is a little weird... I'll leave you to guess which one.) It's just that they don't fit the bill for being conventional.

Check out these cabinet hardware items below. Starting from the top Left is a pull by Notting Hill Hardware. They have an entire series dedicated to labeled pulls such as forks and spoons, but who ever heard of "pieces of string to short to keep?" We all have one of those junk drawers in the kitchen and what a cute way to call something "junk". The Pipe Smoking Frog by Schaub and Company is just comical. I imagine this in a study or den (or some sort of mancave.) This style frog has been around for a while, I can think of one book from childhood that has a frog who's dressed very similarly. Directly next to the frogs feet is a pewter baby face by Soko.....need I say more? OK, fine. This cherub like baby face is made from solid cast bronze and well, it wouldn't go just anywhere in ones home but I'm sure someone could find a spot for it. Perhaps Tim Burton? To the right of the baby face is a faux antler by Wilderness Treasures. These are actually pretty popular here in the Northwest, the best part about these-they're cruelty free. Wilderness Treasures has done a great job in making resin look like the real thing. The Level pull by Lewis Dolin, this is my favorite. Obviously it looks like a real level and measuring tape, and the cool thing is the measurements are correct and the level works. The not so cool thing is that you've got to have level cabinets or anyone can tell. Again, the right place for these and they'd actually be useful. I'd like to have one of these in my craft room. I wouldn't have to search for my ruler ever again.



Quirky doesn't stop in the kitchen, Anne at Home makes some cute hooks that are shaped like cowboy boots. They've even added an extra quirky twist, the boots come as a front half and as a back half like they're growing right out of the wall. The next time you're in a Levi's store, take a look around-you might see some of these.



Moving on to the outside of the house, some people don't like to get as eccentric outside of their home but just in case you're one of them, there's still some pretty fun stuff for the exterior. House Art has come out with some house numbers that come in colors like Miami Mango and Key Lime, they probably wouldn't be so funky in Miami but in Denver they might. Still, in the right setting they're pretty darn cool.



Also, for the outside of your house there's a palm tree door pull from First Impressions (hey, this wouldn't be bad with the colored numbers!) It comes in a frosted white acrylic, but First Impressions can do custom colors too. The Gecko doorbell button by Waterwood Hardware, they've paid great attention to detail and making this critter look pretty realistic. And, I bet you no one else on your block would have the steer head door knocker by JVJ.



Hardware is definitely not boring, and with any one of these pieces you can express your personality. Have fun with the things in your life, be creative, be quirky! Sometimes, it's just a lot easier to go with the flow rather than keep up with the Jones'.

Erica
“Leave the Details to Us”

It Doesn't Take A Hunt To Find A Treasure!

I'd like to take the opportunity to introduce you to Richard Fulton from Authentic Craftsmanship. Mr. Fulton is a patron of The Hardware Hut and he makes some outstanding Treasure Chests.



Over the past eight years, I've met some neat people and heard interesting stories as to what our hardware is being used on. No one stands out as much as Mr. Fulton and his amazing chests. Each one is crafted by hand with the utmost attention to detail. He sands each piece by hand, starting with 100 grit and working up to 300 grit, after the sanding, six coats of polyurethane are applied (again by hand) and sanded with 400 grit in between coats. I can't imagine how much time is involved in just the sanding process alone.





Mr. Fulton is not just a Treasure Chest maker; he's a craftsman, and artisan. Just by looking at his pictures you can tell each piece is made with great care and pride. Every chest is even numbered, dated, and documented so that they will not be duplicated. These chests are crafted to last a lifetime; whether it's holding your life's memories, or storage for your children's keepsakes, or a chest for your family heirlooms. Every one of us has "our story" just as every one of his chests has its own story.




Authentic Craftmanship uses the NSD-20 by Sugatsune for his chests. You can see the soft close motion in his video.

Erica
“Leave the Details to Us”

Spelled Like Beyerle-Sounds Like By-Er-Lee

Many people call it Barn Door Hardware, some people call it Pocket Door Hardware, it's actually called Sliding Door Track. To be a little more technical, you could call it Exposed Sliding Door Track. The track is the type that is mounted on the wall so that the door slides over the opening to close it. Very much like what you see on a barn door. Most people like these because they have a modern, industrial look. These would fit nicely in an urban chic loft or even a rustic place with modern accents.

This is a line by Beyerle that we started carrying earlier this year and it's really exciting stuff. Mostly because over the years, I've gotten a lot of requests for it and we've not had a source to get it. When you look at the track on our website, it seems a bit intimidating but it's really pretty simple. I know, there are a lot of dimensions and a lot of information to process but it just needs to be broken down. We show the most common sizes and scenarios on our website in packaged sets.

The first thing you will need to determine is what type of door that will be used, will it be glass or wood.



The next thing you will need to do is pick out the style of trolley (bracket). Your options are:
Objekt


Unotec


Flatec I


Flatec II


Tritec


Duetec


Next you will need to know what your opening width is. The opening width is basically how wide the doorway that you walk through will be. For example; if you have a 36in. wide opening you will want the 82 11/16in. rail length.

There are a few other things that may or may not come into play, but as long as you have the answer to the three points above you've practically got it ordered.

We've got a small display in our showroom and I've been able to try it a few times and check it out. These things are really cool! They're very durable and they roll really smoothly on the track (you can't hear a thing when the door moves.) Go have a look, and if you've got any questions you can always give us a call. 1-800-708-6649.

Erica
“Leave the Details to Us”