We never thought to challenge the notion that a cabinet door should only have a single handle until we laid eyes on Elizabeth Baudouin and Natalie Shirinian’s kitchen, featured in The New York Times Style Magazine this month. Each of the kitchen cabinet doors in the NES Creative founders’ Los Angeles bungalow features not one but two simple, round knobs—and makes us never want to go back to the norm.
It took a couple of attempts to get to this inspiring end result. Elizabeth and Natalie first replaced the cabinets’ original pulls with simple black ones, but quickly realized they wanted to change course. “Once installed, I didn’t think they looked exciting, plus they’re in so many kitchens,” Natalie explains. “So I figured, let’s change it up and do something different.” She had always liked the idea of a modern space with Shaker-style details—why not attempt that here by adding raw wood hardware to the contemporary kitchen cabinets?
However, given the cabinetry’s stark white color and straightforward silhouette, Natalie knew single knobs, even in a contrasting material, wouldn’t make enough of a statement. “I wanted something to make the cabinets pop and get your attention,” says Natalie. “Multiple knobs seemed like the best choice.” The decision was made even easier due to the fact that there were already two holes drilled into each of the doors for the previous pulls.
For the knobs themselves, Natalie chose ones on the larger side to ensure the design wouldn’t look too busy. (She found theirs on eBay, but Build also sells similar natural wood knobs in a variety of sizes, above. The only thing left to do convince Elizabeth that this was the way to go. “I was on board from the beginning,” Natalie says. “Elizabeth was a bit nervous as she doesn’t like the feeling of raw wood. However, we compromised at the end and went for it.” Aren’t you so glad they did?
