This year’s knob-minees No comments yet

The 83rd annual Academy Awards are rapidly approaching and, with them, the presentation of this year’s Golden Knob Awards! Check back next Friday to find out who the winners are, but until then, here’s your list of nominees!

Best Foreign Feature

Foreign Feature nominee: PM3-WT

Presented to Cliffside’s best import from our lines of European lead crystal and marble

• M994
• PM5-BG
• M13-32
• PM3-WT
• P-3-BLACK

Best Original Piece

K544-IR nominated for Best Original Piece

Presented to the best hardware piece that is unique to the Cliffside line

• B600-VB
• 148-SS
• 149-PN
• K544-IR
• K579-AB

Best Adaptation

Scroll Suite: nominee for Best Adaptation

Presented to the Cliffside line whose adaptation best serves our customers

• Rope Suite
• Classic Suite
• Scroll Suite
• Artisan Suite
• Criss-Cross Suite

Best “Short”

The 97015 butcher block knob

Presented to the best piece in our line of “small” or “miniature” hardware

• 97015-SS
• 100-20-IR
• AZ-SM
• 72
• M25

Best Supporting Actor

Great supporting performance from BH2A-OC-BALL

Presented to the hardware piece providing the “best support”

• 3-8-OFFSET-AB
• BH2A-OC-BALL
• AHO-VB
• BH2A-NM-OA
• BH3A-PC

Best Picture

24BP is a backplate for crystal knobs.

Presented to the piece that best exemplifies the great new photography on Cliffside’s website

• 3405-BZ
• M995-AQUA
• BH2A-RA
• IBCL-SS
• 24BP-PN

Be sure to check back Friday to find out this year’s winners!

Hardware au naturale No comments yet

In an age where many designers and homeowners are looking to “go green”, Cliffside Industries has a variety of different hardware pieces that are manufactured from natural materials. These items come from renewable resources that aren’t in danger of being depleted by overproduction.

Marble knobs and pulls

Having recently devoted an entire blog entry to our marble hardware, our readers will know that we have both stock and special-order marble hardware pieces available in five standard colors: white, beige, black, green, and brown/red.

Stone knobs

Going for a natural look? The Arizona series knobs provide a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors, while the Bahia series pieces offer a more uniform shade of dark gray. Available with five base finishes (nickel, black, rust, satin nickel, and polished brass), the choice of the piece you get is truly up to you.

Wood knobs

Wooden knobs blend in perfectly when stained to match wooden cabinet doors or drawer fronts. Cliffside offers our K-519 wooden knob in two different species: maple and cherry (shown). The K-522 knob is available with three different center pin colors (sold separately) for your choice of accent within the wood.

Crystal hardware

Delicately cut by skilled European craftsmen and assembled here in the United States, Cliffside’s line of special-order crystal is timelessly elegant and always popular. Most crystal pieces are available with eight stem finishes (antique brass, old antique, polished brass, polished chrome, polished nickel, pewter, silver satin, and satin brass) and can ship to you in 7 to 10 business days.

A tip:

If you have in mind less “natural” and more “nature”… check out our new lines of novelty hardware!

Featured product line: Crystal No comments yet

Among special order products, one of the most popular is Cliffside’s line of lead crystal knobs.

M994 with a pewter stem finish

Crystal is actually “lead glass that has been hand- or machine-cut with facets. Lead oxide added to the molten glass gives lead crystal a much higher index of refraction than normal glass, and consequently much greater ’sparkle’…The presence of lead also makes the glass softer and easier to cut. Crystal can consist of up to 35% lead, at which point it has the most sparkle.” (from Wikipedia). In concurrence with our new product lines, Cliffside has added several new items that are now available for purchase.

All crystal knobs that Cliffside sells are special order and require approximately a one-week lead time, but the wait is well worth it for these elegant pieces. All knobs (unless otherwise specified) are available in any of the eight stem finishes: Antique Brass, Old Antique (oil-rubbed bronze), Pewter (new!), Polished Brass, Polished Chrome, Polished Nickel, Satin Brass, and Silver Satin. All crystal bases are made from solid brass, while the crystal itself is fashioned in Europe. The pieces themselves are assembled right here in the USA.

The square M995 in the new pink color (PC stem)

Some Cliffside pieces are available in a variety of colors, including the spherical M30 and the square M995. The M30 is available in clear, red, green, amber, alexandrite, amethyst, blue, and aqua, as is the M995, which is now additionally available in pink (new!). You can choose any stem finish to go with any of these colors as well!

One new item that we have added to our line that is currently a web-only special is the M994. This piece, which completes the M9 (M991-M995) line, features a concave face and is an elegant addition to any cabinet or vanity.

The beauty in nature No comments yet

M13-32-SS, lead crystal with a silver satin stem

Natural materials, such as brass, crystal, stainless steel, bronze, iron, pewter, stone and marble are very popular. These are being integrated in all areas of the home, especially kitchens and baths. In fact, they are often mixed and matched throughout so that it remains interesting to the eye.

There are many brass and stainless steel materials in the kitchen and we are seeing a lot of crystal in master suites. Natural brass, stainless steel and crystal are the most popular and tend to be the main materials that are used.

T565-30-BNA, a contemporary knob made from stainless steel

Stainless steel

Stainless steel is found throughout the housing industry: on dishwashers, refrigerators, sinks, ovens, microwaves, coffee makers, blenders, towel bars, and even plumbing and electrical fixtures. Crystal has really made a comeback, as well, and it has become a focal point of the master bath.

Neutral finishes

Many designers find that it’s best to stay neutral when it comes to finish. Color palettes today lean toward neutral elements to create a timeless appeal and a high-end environment. We’re seeing an increased desire for silver and gray finishes and natural earth tones.

BH3NA-OA; the old antique finish is a rich brown color

Soothing, cool colors and rich materials are in demand often highlighted by mixtures of color and texture, such as stainless steel appliances with gray hardware, or darker cabinets mixed with dark chocolate brown hardware. The gray and natural materials and the very clean, simple classic lines are more enduring.

Overall, it is definitely more of a natural look, with grays, tans, and browns, and with hardware accessories giving an accented flair to the design.

Cabinet jewelry

For the finishing touches of kitchen and master bath remodels, designers should strive to find the ideal hardware finish. Full suites of products, particularly in cabinet hardware, are offered, which should give designers confidence that those finishes and styles are going to be compatible and consistent.

IBCL-PN shows the polished nickel finish

Nickel is a very popular finish throughout the home-building and design industries, both brushed and polished; oil-rubbed bronze is a popular look, as are bright or brushed chrome finishes. We see similar trends in hardware; the most popular finish is satin silver followed by oil-rubbed bronze, but antique finishes are still very popular. Typically, these finishes are chosen from the same color family, and blend with the appliances and cabinetry.

There are now hand-forged hardware pieces, as well as ones adorned with real crystal. The appearance of these items supports the fact that consumers want unique details that will set their space apart from others. It all comes down to details.

Cliffside offers several different marble options, including this S-3-BEIGE.

Hardware is also a key component to giving any space a completed look. There are a variety of hardware options available to enhance a  kitchen and master bath remodel. Hardware is extremely important. The hardware is meant to look like jewelry on the cabinetry, not match it. It’s key that the hardware be beautiful; and everything else has to follow suit. People also prefer natural materials, such as solid brass and stainless steel, and natural looks, like marble, crystal, and stone, whenever possible.

Overall, consumers and dealers are looking for their kitchen and master bath designs to mimic the look and feel of the spa retreat, and these traditional or contemporary spaces are taking on a cleaner, uncluttered, more elegant look.

The bitter taste of poor quality lingers far longer than the initial sweetness of a cheap price. No comments yet

Raw brass on the new ball-tip hinges, coming soon

High quality hardware has a reputation for fine workmanship and how well it maintains a finish. These materials, used in making many of our products, have a natural finish that often forms its own natural protective coating that prevents tarnish, oxidation and corrosion and is up to 3 times as durable as plated economy hardware. High quality hardware is strong and flexible, very versatile, has a significantly longer lifespan than products made of economy materials and has lower maintenance costs. Often double the weight of comparably sized economy hardware, high quality hardware is solid, quite dense, and sturdy. The average retail sales price premium for all of these advantages averages only 20%.

Brass is a metal alloy used in making many of our high-quality products. Many of our pieces are classified as solid brass, meaning that they are not hollow and are composed entirely of brass, making them quite dense, and very durable. The brass used to manufacture Cliffside’s solid brass hardware consists of approximately 60% copper, 37% zinc, and 3% other trace metals. (See also “What’s the difference between solid brass and die cast?”)

A bronze cup pull

Bronze is a metal alloy produced by blending copper and tin. It can contain between 2% and 20% tin. It is a sturdy, durable metal and is much harder than brass. The resonance of bronze makes it ideal. Bronze has a natural patina that forms on it turning the bronze a dark, dull color and provides a protective layer preventing oxidation below the surface of the bronze. Most bronze is coated with a thin layer of lacquer to protect the metal and the patina. Bronze looks its best when it is minimally treated. Read more »