How to get hooked on decorative details . . .
Knobs, handles and hooks add a flourish to any home, says
WE TAKE hooks and knobs for granted, but we shouldn’t. These are the hard workers of the home, the unsung heroes helping to keep detritus under control in halls, bootrooms and bedrooms.
Choose the right ones and they’ll add the final flourish to a scheme. They’re like the buttons on a jacket and now that we are all revamping our homes on increasingly tight budgets, knobs and hooks have become prized accessories. In short, they are the quick, simple tricks to revive a piece of furniture or space.
‘Changing a handle or two is the easiest way to update a room,’ says Chloe Alberry, who has been running her trinket-filled decorative hardware shop of the same name on West London’s Portobello Road since 2003.
‘you needn’t spend a fortune on a new kitchen, because simply switching the cupboard knobs to make them more personal, or appropriate to the items that are stacked within a drawer, will give a space character,’ she says.
On the lookout for something fun to brighten her otherwise drab, rented basement flat 19 years ago, Alberry — a former fine art student who designs more than 80 per cent of her stock — realised there was a dearth of fun, fanciful, themed knobs.
She seized on the opportunity and began collecting from markets, jumble sales and grand house sales with her husband, with whom she started the business. Today, her shop celebrates her artistic flair and love of variety.
Stocking everything from wooden beehive knobs to pebble pulls, porcelain Art Deco handles, multicoloured dinosaurs and fairies for children’s bedrooms, as well as burgundy cricket balls and brass leaves, Alberry proves handles needn’t be boring.
NOWADAyS,
it isn’t so difficult to find quirky pieces on the High Street. There are budget buys in Homebase and B&Q, while Zara Home sells themed ceramic knobs. Sass & Belle has the popular gold pineapple drawer knob, £ 4, while Graham & Green’s brass elephant trunks and dog snouts on white ceramic backgrounds, £4.95, will add an element of fun.
Of course, you can splash out on something more luxurious. Haute Deco has been providing upmarket ironmongery for decades. The founder, Marie-Véronique Swannell, set up the company after finding that smart contemporary handles were few and far between.
‘We set off from the start aiming to create a collection of haute couture doorknobs — hence our name. Increasingly we see what we do as jewellery for the home,’ says Swannell, whose knobs are all handmade in the UK.
Haute Deco offers unique showstoppers, including the bronze statement handles of the Mademoiselle range which pay homage to Coco Chanel. They reference the bouclé fabric made famous by the French fashion house (from £275, hautedeco.com).
Hooks, too, needn’t be ordinary. Butchers’ hooks, designed for hanging meat, are the trendy larder staple, used for storing aprons and tea towels. They can also be used for pots and pans, and even bunting.
Willow & Stone sells hooks in the form of cast iron whale tails, £ 8.50, others shaped as elegant herons, £6.50, and even hotel- style valet hangers — perfect for jackets, £25, willowandstone.co.uk.
Bowley & Jackson offers dark brown cast metal hand-forged sheep heads, £ 5.95, horseshoes, £ 4.95 and, cleverly, the tops from hooked poles which would have once closed sash windows, £9, bowleyand jackson.co.uk.
Chloe Alberry’s bestseller is her brass Opera Hook, £46, inspired by an antique picked up from an old London opera house.
Reanimating a home on a budget and when short on ideas can be difficult, but with such jolly ornaments, anyone has the tools to refresh and update.
‘ Handles are the one element of architectural detailing which people come into contact with daily,’ says Swannell.
It’s time to get the screwdriver out. Who knew that ironmongery could be so smart?