Drawer Provence Knobs

Drawer Provence Knobs

Berenson 9960 2AP P Pull 4 Fixed Pewter French Iron Drawer Cabinet Handles    US $8.00

Berenson 9966 2AP P Knob Oval 2 7 16 Pewter French Iron Drawer Cabinet Handles    US $5.85

Berenson 9967 2AP P Knob 2 15 16 Oval Pewter French Iron Drawer Cabinet Handles    US $7.74

Berenson 9980 255 P Pull 4 Fixed Black Drawer Cabinet Handles    US $8.00

To glaze or not to glaze. Or paint. Or leave in their natural state. Ahh! Selecting kitchen cabinets. It will arguably be your most pressing design-and budget- dilemma, coming in a slight second to the drama of selecting your kitchen designer, interior designer, builder or architect for the project.

In the roughly $23.0 billion U.S. cabinetwork and countertop manufacturing industry, the inherent angst of choosing kitchen cabinets is simply the enormous cost in doing just that. For cabinets can eat up at least one quarter of your entire kitchen remodel, adding thousands-if not tens of thousands--of dollars to your overall kitchen remodeling budget faster than you can say "cherry-inset-door-with-cathedral-frame-in-painted-finish-with-chocolate-glaze." Add to that the realization that this decision holds long-term consequences-there is an almost zero chance that you will rip these boxes out before the next couple of decades have passed-and you have the perfect storm for what will surely become the $64 thousand question in your kitchen-remodelers-or-building-household. You are officially cabinet crazed.

One of the most commonly-held misconceptions about the kitchen cabinet purchase is that the lowest cost "stock" cabinet option-or even that middle-of-the-road semi-custom deal-is necessarily your best bet. This is a carefully-contrived trap into which the unsuspecting homeowner can easily become ensnared! Beware of boring materials, standard door frame styles, limited paint selections and size constraints that will-before you even realize it- zap the creativity gene right out of your right brain! For the "stock" option will practically ensure that your kitchen cabinets-which present an otherwise huge opportunity in which to raise your creativity quotient-look like every other kitchen cabinet in every other home in America. Seriously, can our nation handle one more cream-painted maple cabinet with dark mocha glaze?

Your kitchen should reflect your unique personality, carefully-developed design predilections and family history (however wacky yours might be.). Art and antique collections-hopefully gathered for their interesting provenance or sentimentality-should be proudly displayed so as to infuse this most important room with your individual stamp. You need to enlist the services of a master carpenter who will build custom cabinets so that your creativity can be unleashed-without thought or concern for those standard options commonly chosen by the masses:

Do you have unique space configurations that can be dealt with in an interesting way? Could a cabinet be built for this space that would highlight its quirkiness?

Do you enjoy open, airy spaces? Why not opt for open shelving, dramatically increasing your room's visual appeal while simultaneously reducing your overall budget?

Do you prefer cherry to particle board? Or pine to maple? Don't let the so-called experts convince you that your taste buds are less refined than theirs.

Do you adore painted finishes? Transparent-and good for the earth-milk paint? Hand-rubbed waxes to high-gloss polyurethane?

Do you dream in color? Enjoy the palette of Provence? Or prefer the decades-old tried-and-true traditional option of all-white?

Do you cook in your kitchen? Or is it your trophy room? Why not incorporate an antique table with a marble top for rolling out dough? Or a farm table on which to chop vegetables, further upping the charm factor while reducing the dollar drain of adding yet more expensive cabinets?

Look at your kitchen as you would any other room in your home: with eyes wide open. Give yourself plenty of time to let your imagination soar. And move out of the despair of being cabinet crazed and into the heights where creativity reigns supreme.

An author and artist--and financial advisor by day--Carolina Fernandez brings her creativity and design insights, along with experiences garnered through eight renovations, to her second book Country French Kitchens (Gibbs Smith, March 2008). Her writing has appeared in over one hundred published articles and stories, including her first book ROCKET MOM! Her weekly newsletter spins to readers across the globe. She has been quoted in dozens of magazines, columns, blogs and articles, and has appeared in radio and television programs across the country, including the FOX News program "Your World with Neil Cavuto." She lives in Connecticut with her husband and their four children. Please visit: http://www.countryfrenchkitchens.com where you can get kitchen and design news as well as sign up for her free weekly newsletter "gleaux." Learn how to incorporate the warmth, beauty, comfort, charm, and joie de vivre--the art of living--so many of us desire into our kitchens, our homes...and our lives!