growelry: Thanks so much! I will pass this along to DH. :) katiee511: We certainly seem to be of one mind, aren't we? lol! I'm looking forward to seeing your finished pics, since I think you're farther ahead than I am. I still have two weeks to wait for the granite to be installed. The color I chose was actually called Calledonia Dark, which would explain why my sample was darker than yours. How is everything coming along with your kitchen? elizpiz: I certainly have no trouble with "appropriate wear" but DH thinks differently. We had the cabinets sprayed, so touch up will be tricky. I only learned about the last coat being brushed trick too late! I think by the time they show wear, he'll be OK with it. :)

Have you looked at birdcage pulls/knobs? The pulls come either as a drop pull or as a regular pull The knobs come in either oval or round shapes At MyKnobs, the Siro brand comes in Antique Iron, Antique Brass, or Matt Black. No bronze in Siro, but Tob Knobs has them in ORB. A couple of examples in Antique Iron At Kitchen Cabinet Hardware: http://www.kitchen-cabinet-hardware.com/search.php?query=birdcage Here is a link that might be useful: Siro Cabinet Hardware - Provence Collection

Rhome mentioned that we'd disagreed on this thread, so I came to look again when I saw the thread today. I will start by saying I tend to avoid drop pulls -- not for looks but because I've seen too many cabinets and furniture pieces worn over time by either the hardware or the hands grabbing the hardware. I sure don't want anything to bang the cabinet. I think you can go eithe way on oyour white cabinets, but I tend to like brown/bronze on cream or glazed whites and lighter tones for a softer contrast on a truer white. Because of the wawrm tones in your granite, it looks like you could do either. With the stainless rangetop, blue knobs and stainless fridge, those are cool tones and I'd probably go to the silver tones there. I like nickel, pewter, etc on black wood. It looks great, but if you were going to do silver tones on the white, I would go warmer and a bit heavier on the black. Also, the silver on black is a look that is more common --even seen on inexpensive funrnitue. You have turned legs on the island, suggesting that you want a furniture feel, so I'd want them to be different from the main cabinet hardware to enhance that feel. Showing that you have a copper sink there, I think I would lean that way even more. There isn't a right and a wrong here -- just different ideas. Since rhome and I have echoed each other on many threads, I wanted to see what I must have missed. I'm not sure I would pick any of these for myself, but I still think I'd go for a cool metal finish on the white and something warmer and chunkier on the black.

Shoot, I forgot to address the bail pull questions. As far as marking the cabinet, have you thought of getting the kind with a plate behind? I considered bail pulls for my baking area, but too often want to pull open a drawer by one finger or the side of my hand when my hands are messy, and bail pulls wouldn't allow it. Also, my cabinets seem to gather greasy and sometimes sticky finger prints around the pulls as it is, but I think it'd be much worse with bail pulls. They'd be more difficult to wipe down, too. I have to say, I've never had them in my kitchen, but these are the thoughts I had when considering them.