DIY Mid Century Drawer Pulls

Findin the perfert fit

You may remember my Ikea Malm dressers that I added overlays to not too long ago, well they have received another upgrade…DIY Mid Century Drawer Pulls for a fraction of the cost of reproduction or vintage

I recently traveled over 5,000 miles back to the U.S. for a visit. This trip was also much like going to town for supplies. I find there are many items that I regularly used at home I cannot find or that are very expensive here in Germany. So as you can guess on the very top of my list was a trip to Lowe’s for drawer pulls. Don’t judge me, even when living in the US I made just about a daily trip to Lowe’s so now I am having a bit of withdrawal.

I tried to find some pulls that would work here in Germany. Even brought some pulls home from Ikea to test them out, but no luck. The main problem is the price. For a very basic knob, you might spend 6-7€ which is almost $10 per knob. I only spent $60 on the dresser so $30 worth of very plain knobs was hard to swallow. Plus, I wanted something a little more retro than a basic knob.

Vintage Knob Inspiration

I did a little research and found these drawer pulls on a dresser at Furnish Me Vintage (a great source for Mid Century furniture by the way) and began my quest. I searched the internet for vintage pulls or reproduction pulls or even back plates that I could use with a new pull but I was discouraged. The backplates were either very small or very expensive. I found a 3″ back plate on eBay for $10 each and that didn’t even include the knob.

DIY Knob

Fast forward a few months and I am at Lowe’s my home improvement Meca. When I am at Lowe’s I am usually looking for something that does not exist. I check all departments for something that might suit my needs, this was no exception. I hunted through hardware, and electrical until I hit the jackpot when I got to plumbing! This is what I went home with.

Parts

1. Plumbing Chrome Flange 3/8″ $1.63

The plumbing flange was the most important find in creating a Deco-looking knob. Much cheaper than purchasing an actual back plate. These come in several sizes so you want to make sure you choose one that’s opening is smaller than the base of your knob.

2. 1-3/8″ Chrome and White Round’ Cabinet Knob $1.32

The knob was easy to find, Lowe’s had a wide selection. I just had to make sure I found one that matched the chrome on the flange I was using as a back plate. I chose the white porcelain to match my white O’verlays. My knob came with a short and long screw but if yours only comes with a short screw you may have to buy longer ones to accommodate the thickness of your drawer plus the thickness of the flange.

3. Washer

The washer is important to keep your knob screw centered and at the same height as the top of the flange. This can be done in all sorts or ways. A stack or traditional washers will work or you can look for a specialty plastic washer that has some depth to it. What I used is actually a nail on furniture skid but it worked perfectly. What will work for one flange might not work for another so check out all the hardware and see what works best for yours.

The next steps are pretty basic to any drawer pull install. Drill a hole centered top to bottom and left to right. Add your back plate and screw on the knob.

The Results

For only $4 per knob, you end up with a DIY Mid Century drawer pull for a fraction of the cost of reproduction or vintage looking. I think the results are pretty amazing and the new pull had lots of impact.

If you want to learn more about the white overlays I installed in a previous steps check out my post on installing O’verlays.

Here is a look at the progress from the beginning to end.