Since then, my tastes have changed as have my kitchen plans. Many months ago, I became fascinated with the Restoration Hardware Aubrey pull, which still has clean lines but is less modern. With my cabs and hood in now, I decided on the Aubrey for the more vintagey, "classic" feel. I picked one up in a recent scouting road trip to the big city to make the quality was right and was prepared to order with either the current RH sale or the one coming in November. BUT, I showed DH the Aubrey, and he doesn't like it. He said it looks like we ran out of money, went to HD, and bought the cheapest pulls we could find. Argh.

Don't you think the Aubrey pull would look good in my kitchen? (Marble goes in Thursday!!)

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The Princetonian only comes in brushed nickel, not polished.

The Aubrey comes in brushed or polished nickel. I much prefer the polished nickel in my room. I've never liked brushed finishes very well, but I did buy this pull in both the brushed and polished to be sure what would look best. Polished.

So, I prefer the Aubrey also for the fact that it comes in polished nickel.

DH thinks the exposed screws make it look cheap, saying it looks like a work bench/garage pull. Maybe its a gender thing as I've never hung out much with the tools in the garage.

He has a point. RH originally made it's name by upgrading real basics and quite a bit for them.

I bet the Stanley doesn't come in polished nickel or an 8" length. I'd like both. :)

As to the Rejuv pull, I really like that one also. Very pretty IRL. But it only comes in 5" lengths. I have several very wide drawers at and over over 30" that need a longer pull than that. Unfortunately, I don't like the look of two smaller pulls on one drawer. Too busy for me.

They wore well and looked brand new after 13 years. They are a design classic that it seems hard to go wrong with. They have, it seems to be a similar, classic/retro to your range hood. If you want to accentuate that vibe, I think they are a good choice.

I prefer pulls that screw in from the back because of physics. The resistance is on the back of the drawer front with the screw in metal-to-metal contact with the pull itself, instead of on a relatively shallow wood screw in the face of the drawer.

There are a bazillion pulls out there, you will find the right ones that both you and your DH can agree on.

Ephram

From Drop Box

Bistro

From Drop Box

Looking at pictures online of the RH pulls I just selected, I don't particularly care for either, but in person, really liked the heft and look of both. Fingers crossed. I have the RH Mason pull in one of our bathrooms, which I have really liked over the years (due to size and simplicity).

Mason:

From Drop Box

Like so many decisions we agonize over, as soon as the decision is made, we move on. It goes in, you don't really think about it again.

Have you tried sticking the Aubrey onto your cabinet drawers to see how it feels/looks? I think if it's solid and you like the way it looks -- you've found your choice. I, personally, like the way it looks. Good luck!

Bali Hook:

I used these Cliffside b622. I liked the vintage feel of the exposed screws, but a bit more streamlined shape, and they screw in from the back (the "exposed screws" are decorative.)

I think these are available in 3", 8", and 12" center to center measurements, but remember that is screw-to-screw location and the overall length of the pull is much longer.

I originally bought the 12" for fridge handles and the 8" for our dishwasher, but the 12" looked gigantic so we used the 8" for the fridge and then I picked the the Schaub 745 6" (maybe another good option for you?) for our dishwasher and trash pullouts. (I used RH Gilmore cup pulls for all the drawers, but replaced the accompanying screws with steel flatheads that worked/looked better.)

I will sing the praises of The Hardware Hut any chance I get--we ordered all our kitchen and bath hardware from them, multiple orders/exchanges, awesome customer service ( I even dealt with the same guy each time.)

If you search here, you can find these in kateskouros kitchen. (I know she also used a mix of hardware styles/brands, but I definitely recognized these in some spots)

I thought the rounded lines of these bar pulls went nicely with the RH Gilmore cups pulls I'd already picked and still coordinated with the Cliffside pulls I wanted to use for the appliances.

However, if you love them that's what matters!

Here's examples of what I mean, linked. The Aubrey is higher quality, but the style is too close for my taste.

I used the polished nickel Aubrey in my last kitchen on the dishwasher drawers and trash pull out. They are pretty substantial and I really liked them. This time around, though, I am using the Schaub ones that Little Smokie linked. They have a large size that I'm using on our paneled fridge and the others for dish drawers and trash again. And I'm using my trusty Gilmore pulls again-still love them this go round!

Here's some pics of Aubrey in action. They don't read cheap to me at all. Also check out Redroze's kitchen. She used Aubrey.

For the Love of a House

My old kitchen

Good luck-you're in the home stretch!

Of course, I have them too...so I'm biased.

I have held the Bakes pull in my hand and it is really heavy and nice but much pricier than the RH stuff. The hardware is manufactured by the same company that makes the Peacock hardware so you know it is well done.

The Aubreys feel fabulous to hold. They are weighty, solid, well-made, and don't look cheap. Even DH agrees on that.

The problem here is that I don't much care for anything else in my price range. I'm very picky. I don't like the proportions of most pulls, and I don't like knobs. I like clean, simple lines.

I do LOVE the Horton Brasses Bakes pull that Remodelfla posted. I also entered that HB contest hoping to win and buy those exact pulls. Out of my price range.

I also have looked at the Cliffside pull that Littlesmokie linked. The Schaubs that LS also linked were on my list for a while until I found the price. Again, both are out of my price range.

OldBat--Funny you mention the RH Ephram. He likes those. I don't. I like really clean lines and to me, IRL, those looked kind of squatty because the part that meets the cab is so tiny. They are really pretty though.

I showed DH the Bistro pull, which I like well enough to live with. He said it looked "too fancy."

So here's the problem. I like VERY few pulls, especially in the less than $20 each price range. DH doesn't like the one I like. This has been our cycle for about 20 years. I like something for the home. He doesn't and says let's keep looking. BUT he never goes to look!! Then we end up with no art on the walls, cheap light fixtures, and other crap because we can't agree. He's been letting me choose just about everything along the way here in our reno so CHOICES have actually been made. Now we're slipping back to the old pattern. Sorry for the vent...

I do understand what your husband is saying, the bases of the Aubrey are pronounced and the screws do show. (Even so, I like the finished kitchen pix we all just saw.)

Has he seen the Aubrey in person, or just on a website? Our carpenter took a smaller door back off the cabinets so I could lay it on the counter or table and put my samples on it. This allowed me to get a good visual without having to tape my handles onto the door.

There are so many hardware options out there, you may need to keep looking.

Your vent sounds like some of ours....sometimes I think I have made no progress but I look back to our first house when he didn't want walls anything but white and I laugh.

We also had the bistro pulls on our list, dh thought they looked too plain, so went with Hanson pulls. They are beautiful, receive lots of compliments and very good quality...sure they'll last YEARS.
I think any of the choices will look good with your cabinets. :-)

As suggested earlier, show him the pictures of the hardware installed. If he still doesn't like them, offer to go hardware shopping with him (and the kids) and see if he thinks the hardware 'suddenly' looks much better. (LOL)

Seriously, you want a kitchen you'll both love, so try to find a compromise that works for both of you :)

Good luck. You have fabulous taste so I bet whatever you end up with will make your kitchen YOURS.

~Jenn

Palimpsest has a point about the direction of the screws. A few of the cup pulls I liked appeared to have screw heads on the front, but the front was faked and they really attached from the back side... But that doesn't seem to be the case with your choice. That would be a huge consideration for me.

My dh also nixed any choice that looked like it screwed in from the front, whether it actually did or not.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg062048491342.html

Couldn't find any pictures of the Bistro pull in action. I think jlynn17 has these but links to photos have been deleted.

My RH pulls are due in tomorrow. I can stick on cabs with doublesided tape, if you'd like to see them in action?

Sorry, but I do not like the exposed screws and some of the other pictures posted I find more attractive. But you have to buy what you both love and I am only giving you my honest opinion since you asked for it.

I like the Bistro Pull. Maybe you can find some kitchens with the other pulls you like to show your husband so he can see how it could work.

The Aubrey is much more ordinary. How ordinary are you? How ordinary is this kitchen?

How much do you like the Princetonian as something in your hand to feel? Does it work well? If so, I'd do it. Will always make the kitchen more special.

i also used polished nickle RH handles and am very satisfied with the finish - really snazzes up the place! one word of caution - the screws that come with them are terrible, so make sure to have GC swap out with ones that will actually screw into the wood. I ended up having to approve a change order to remedy this problem, hope to save you a bit of $$$.

I don't care for the Aubrey pull in your space though, especially after seeing the pictures of it installed. It may feel great, but yeah, your kitchen has a pretty simplicity to it, and the Aubrey has the simplicity all right but not, IMO, the prettiness of your other choices. I think it's the exposed screws. Besides, they will catch every speck of dust and look cruddy real fast. The Bistro would be my choice, I wonder why your DH thinks the Bistro too fancy? Can he give you any specific feedback?

I'm sorry I'm not much help, but hopefully you will find a fabulous choice that you and your DH both love! I can't wait to see it!

Katieob--I showed DH the pics and more from the FLH blog. He said they looked too farmhouse that time. Your kitchen is one that turned my head towards the Aubrey.

Sabjimata--If only the HB Bakes weren't so expensive. LOVE them.

Lavender--I do think taking him to look at hardware would help. Only the Lowes in town has more than a few pulls to show. I think a trip is in order.

Mom2tykel--I had looked at the Amerock Highland Ridge a long time ago. It was on my short list until my drawers ended up so wide. The largest the HR comes in is less than 7", which I think is too short for my 38" drawers. Still, I may order one just to see. DH did say he liked those.

Blfenton--I have a Lee Valley catalog from a couple of years ago. I'll have him look through it tonight.

Rhome--Aubrey reads elegant to me also. And vintage, retro. I, too, think the Princetonian will look dated in several years. This is my forever kitchen so I want my choices to last.

OldBat--Yes! Could you please take some pics of yours!! That would be great! Thank you.

Capegirl--I figured that I'm not the only one engaged in that "pattern" with their DH!

Lynn, Kaismom, Florantha, Burnsie, Babushka, and Natalie--Thank you for your feeedback.

I've been looking all over again at cab hardware websites all day. (In between taking care of the kids and making scratch cinnamon roles!)

Here's are my priorities:

1. Polished nickel
2. Must have a size in the 8" range for my 38" drawers
3. Must be about $10 per pull
4. Simple, simple lines

I think I'm going to have to compromise somewhere if DH really, really puts his foot down. #3 and #4 cannot be compromised at all.

I found a few more I like today that I remember seeing more than a year ago, but either they aren't polished or they aren't long enough.

I really like this one by Rusticware, but it's only in satin nickel.

I also like the Amerock Westerly, which is close to long enough, but only comes in satin nickel.

The Amerock Highland in polished nickel I mentioned earlier. The length is close enough to 8" that it might look OK. The shape is bordering on way too much for me. I like the simpler shape of the first one above better.

I think I'll try to order a sample of the Highland Ridge today.

Pick something nice that you and your husband can both live with, don't spend a ton of money... and be done with it. When was the last time you walked into someone's kitchen (or looked at someone's kitchen here on GW) and honestly gave their pulls a second look... unless you are in TKO mode??

As far as hubby thinking your choice looks cheap, well, I can't help, but it's really pretty funny if you think about
it.

I'm sure you'll reach a good compromise, and like Mercy said, they'll probably all look good after you've had them in a while, so long as you don't go really nutty.

The Aubrey is a clean, classic look.

It's very easy, it seems to me, to cross the line between elegant (if unadorned) and pretentious.

Most important (to me,anyway), the pull should be functional and feel good in the fingertips. After all, it's a drawer pull. The simple elegance of your original choice is bound to be both comfortable to the touch, and very nice looking.

Good luck (but I'd recommend telling your DH that you have the ball on this one).

RH's Bistro pull has always been a favorite of mine. What ever you choose it'll be great in the long run!

It's like editing a paper. It's really annoying, often, when someone marks the whole thing up; implies it's wanting and you were also for having created something so mark-up-able. But then together you create a second version that's so much better; you couldn't have gotten there without that first marked-up version. It's part of the process and not extraneous at all. Just a process.

I like that Highland too. It's clean and shiny like your kitchen. It feels in sync with it. What's dh say?

I too have been frustrated with my DH regarding all the decision making. I've found having us sit side-by-side with our laptops (yeah I know that wasn't the romantic vision you may have had when you were dating) we go to various websites and show the other what we like (and don't). My DH usually agree on things we like and it's difficult, it must be that much harder if your styles differ.

Hang in there, your kitchen is coming along beautifully!

The Ephram is in polished chrome:

I'd be happy with either. The Bistro is a little heftier and I think goes well with the CC, so that's what I think we're going with.

Wolfgang hit the nail on the head about what appeals about the Aubrey--the uniform thinness (not thickness since I do like the thin handle) across the lull and it seems honest. Great word!

If I could find a thin pull in my price range that didn't fatten and taper, I'd go for it.

Segbrown--I showed DH your kitchen (one of my all-time faves, btw) and it clicked for him. He sees why I like it now. For some reason, other pics didn't do it for him. I don't see you too often anymore, but your timing was great for me! Thank you!

Old bat--(it feels weird to call you that as it could seem insulting, but you picked the name so I guess I'm ok. :) ) Thank you for mocking up, photographing, and posting the pics! Both pulls look great on your cabs. That would be a tough choice for me. Did you decide on the Bistro then? When DH gets back from his trip this week, I'll show him. Thanks again!

UPDATE: DH liked the Highland Ridge so I ordered a sample. It'll be here at the same time he gets back. Now that he's more open to the Aubrey, I think he'll go with whatever I decide. At least we will have tried a couple he likes first before we make the final decision. And if we don't use the Highland for the kitchen, we could use it for the built-ins in the master.

I'll let you know what we decide this weekend. Thanks for letting me vent and for helping me through this!

Oh, and my marble goes in Friday! It was supposed to be tomorrow but they needed an extra day. I'm so curious how it'll look after seeing the marble in slab form for so many months.

Just to close the loop on this thread, I chose the RH Aubrey pulls in polished nickel and now have them installed. I will try to post some pictures after Christmas.

Thank you again to everyone for the help with another decision!

No need to reply to this thread.

Thanks!