Best Tips for Using Vintage (and vintage inspired) Hardware

Get great tips and tricks for using vintage hardware on your upcycled furniture makeovers!

Vintage Hardware can turn a ho-hum piece into a work of art! Whether it’s a piece of furniture you’re giving a makeover, or an accessory that could use a little boost, adding extra character with some time-worn hardware adds that extra special touch. I love when I can dig into my hoard collection and put some final, junky vintage bling on a piece! To get your ideas flowing, here are Best Tips for Using Vintage (and vintage inspired) Hardware.

I’m joining my Thrifty Chicks friends today with this “Vintage Hardware” theme! I can’t wait to see what these creative ladies have come up with for this awesome theme! All the links to their posts will be at the bottom;)

Yes, I usually create an item for these challenges, but I just love using vintage hardware so much, I wanted to take this opportunity to inspire you to be inventive when you’re creating! I even whipped up a free, little downloadable, printable cheat sheet to keep close by when you’re refreshing and repurposing! More on that later…

When I’ve spent hours refreshing a piece, the reward at the end is to be able to come up with some creative hardware combos! It’s what sets a handcrafted, hand-refreshed piece apart from it’s store-bought competition. Adding different hardware can also bring individuality to a plain-jane store bought piece. Guess I just like to switch things up, because I hardly ever put the same hardware back on a piece…at least not in the same configuration!

To get your junky juices flowing, here are my 5 creative tips for using vintage hardware (and a sneak peak at some of my stash;0)

Best Tips for Using Vintage (and vintage inspired) Hardware

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To Find Great Vintage Hardware, Think Like a Scavenger!

Be a scavenger for vintage hardware everywhere you go! Look at tired, old furniture for it’s handles and knobs if the whole piece can’t be saved. Also see potential from old suitcases and trunks, old boxes, and anything that is 5 inches or smaller! Scrounge basements, garages and sheds for any interesting piece you could turn into a knob, a handle, or a special feature. I carry a screwdriver in my car (and other tools) and have been known to take 20 minutes prying some paint-crusted clamshell hinges off a roadside piece of junk. Do what you have to do to rescue these valuable bits of character!

Question the Unwritten Rules in your Head, and Go Ahead and Separate

Years ago I spotted some green glass knobs on a dorky piece of cupboard sitting at the curb. Hubs was in the car with me and I told him we needed to stop and get the hardware off the piece. He told me I had to take the whole piece and couldn’t just take the knobs!

What? Is there a verse in a junk bible that says that? If someone’s put it on the curb, they want it gone. What do they care if I just want the knobs? Someone else may like the piece and think the hardware is ugly.

Get the unwritten rules out of your head when it comes to junk and hardware.

Yes, I know the marriage vows say “let no one separate”, but that rule does not ring true for vintage hardware! Just because that pull ring came with that pretty back piece doesn’t mean they need to stay together for the next 50 years. Their breakup can be orchestrated by you!

I took a pretty, little oval medallion and married it up to a simple white oval knob, contrasting their shapes. They make a beautiful couple on a family piece I refreshed for our bedroom {“Refreshing a Family Heirloom”}.

Any piece of hardware that has a hole can be turned into a feature. Even if it doesn’t have a hole, you can use your drill!

Which brings me to my next point:

When It Comes to Using Vintage Hardware, Re-imagine Everything

Take that little piece of whatever and hold it sideways, hold it upside down. Forget that it’s usually on a moveable piece. You don’t need to use it for it’s intended purpose. The sky’s the limit!

My favorite quote is from Ralph Waldo Emerson:

“In art, the hand can never execute anything higher than the heart can inspire.”

Your amazing vintage hardware combination begins in your imagination! Hold different things together, set them on your refreshed piece and think about it for awhile. Are you using different textures together? Do the shapes harmonize? How about the scale?

Old window latches make great, mini handles. Cool old hinges look more like a pull when you look at them with a different orientation. Latches don’t have to be on a flat surface, they can be on horizontal doors, too!

To Make a Bigger Statement, Add a Foundation Piece to Hardware

Knobs and handles look extra special and important when you back them with something, especially in a contrasting material. Door plates, old hinges, sections of rulers, I’ve even used vintage baking molds and a bike pedal! It just sets off the functional piece with some junky bling.

Bonus tip: It’s also a great way to disguise the “witness marks” of any previous hardware holes.

Here are some of my favorite foundational backers for knobs and handles:

Our dining room buffet got treated to some great layers in it’s refresh {“My Masterpiece Buffet”}. I used a combination of sentimental hardware from the home I grew up in and combined it with old clock faces, old hinges, and even some purchased pulls. This piece is totally unique to our home, which I love!

And just so you don’t think I’m a total vintage purist:

Combine New Hardware with Vintage for a Fresh Look

There is some beautiful, interesting hardware available on the market right now! And just like when you’re decorating your home, it’s important to have a good balance of new with the old. I love picking up a pretty new knob and placing it on a vintage backing. Or putting a combination of old and new hardware on a piece, like I did on my daughter’s refreshed dresser recently {“Dresser Makeover with a Checklist Printable”}. My mom could not believe it was the same dresser that had been in a dark corner of our cabin for years!

Pretty, new hardware like this can be found at big box retailers or on-line very readily. There’s often coupons that make them extra affordable.

I love the character of vintage hardware so much, sometimes I will just add it to an accessory for a little extra junky bling, like I did on my “Toolbox Half, Re-purposed”.

Bonus tip: Use old screws when you’re attaching vintage hardware! Find some rusty, old screws-even if they don’t match-to add character.

How to Clean Vintage Hardware Pieces

I love vintage hardware with chippy paint all over it, but if you want to get that caked old paint off, use the crock-pot method. Pop the old metal hardware in a few inches of H20 and set the crockpot on high for a couple hours. The hot water will melt the paint off, and then you can scrub it up with some steel wool. Warning-don’t use that crockpot for any food after! Ever. (And my family thought I was making a good supper;)

Last Great Tip for Using Vintage Hardware:

I treat my vintage metal hardware to a spray of THIS to bring out the beautiful patina and seal in any rust or chipped paint. You’ll be amazed at how much prettier it looks with a sealer coat!

Become a Lora B Insider for FREE resources!

If you’d like a FREE downloadable/printable cheat sheet with these “5 Creative Tips for Using Vintage Hardware”, you can grab it in my Resource Library! By becoming a Lora B Insider, you’ll get access to tons of refreshing & repurposing tips, pretty seasonal printables, and decorating/styling ideas. I’ll send you the password today!

If you’re already a subscriber, see my weekly email for the password, if you’ve forgotten;)

I hope your repurposing/refreshing juices are flowing with ideas to update your furniture and accessories! I’d love to hear how you plan on using these Best Tips for Using Vintage (and vintage inspired) Hardware! Now to see all the rest of the Thrifty Chicks  hardware inspiration.

Pin, Share, and Enjoy the Rest of the Inspiration!

Thrifty Chicks Vintage Hardware Challenge

Sharing at these lovely parties:

Talk of the Town

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To Grandma’s House We Go

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Feathered Nest Friday

Thursday Favorite Things

Farmhouse Friday

DIY Salvaged Junk Projects