Comparing Kirsh Wrought Iron Drapery Hardware vs. Custom

We recently installed Kirsh Wrought Iron Drapery Hardware at one of our projects after years of only using custom made wrought iron.

So how did it compare and were we happy?

Is this drapery hardware something you should consider for your home improvement project?

Our answer is a resounding YES!

We were so pleased with the product, we decided to spotlight it.

Here’s what we liked best about Kirsh’s Wrought Iron Drapery Hardware:

1)  The quality.   The pieces look hand-made and old world.  The wrought iron is heavy like our custom product.

2) The selection of designs and finishes.  You can pick from many more finial designs if you purchase from a custom wrought iron fabricator but Kirsh has a nice selection of finials.  Some are shown here.   You can see the entire product line online at Kirsh.

3.  The availability.  Custom work can take 3 or more weeks.  Kirsh has product stocked and ready to ship.  We were able to find it locally but there’s a great selection available through online stores.

4.  The price.  We did not have to pay more for what looked like a custom product.

When To Use Wrought Iron Drapery Hardware

It’s always more interesting to mix materials in a room.  So access your space.  How much wood do you have already?  How much glass?  How much metal or stone?

If you already have a lot of wood in the room that you’re hanging draperies in, consider using metal for your drapery hardware.

You’ll need to tailor the look of the wrought iron to the overall look of your space.  The best way to do this is with your finial and finish selections.

If you want to stay more casual, consider a very simple ball finial.  If you want a more formal look, choose a more intricately designed finial.

Obviously, a gold finish is more dressy and will make more of a statement.  A blackened or brown finish can look more traditional and more casual.

In general, wrought iron works best in traditional or transitional spaces.

If you have a very contemporary home, you may be better off choosing  polished, clean-lined, metal drapery hardware.

We think it’s a good idea to take advantage of magazines and websites like Houzz and Pinterest to find different looks you like.  If you end up loving wrought iron, we think you should definitely look into Kirsh Wrought Iron Drapery Hardware.

Q:   I have an off-white living room sofa, brown and taupe pillows, taupe walls, and bronze color drapes. How can I add color to my room and still keep it looking contemporary?

Neutral Living Room With Few Accessories

A:   You can add a lot of personality and interest to your room with some new, colorful accessories.  Check out our after photos below.

We swapped out neutral accessories for bold, sculptural shapes in bright yellow and green.  The room was dark so we added lighting.

In this case, we kept the lighting neutral with a mercury glass finish and taupe shades because it blends so well with the yellow and green tones.  The combination of colors is very fresh and contemporary.

Neutral Living Room With Bold, Sculptural Accessories In Yellow & Green

Look at the before and after photos above to see how new accessories can finish off a room.

We found these accessories at some wonderful retail stores.    Here’s where you can shop this look.

Room Service (stores in LA, Newport Beach, and San Francisco) for bright yellow & green vases

The Gazebo (store in San Gabriel, California) for green ceramic box & votive holder

Marshall’s (stores in most states) for table lamps

Home Goods (stores in most states) for green ginger jar

In honor of Valentine’s Day, we think you should show some love to your home with new cabinet hardware.  After all, knobs and pulls are the jewelry on your furniture and cabinets.

New hardware handles can completely transform the look of any piece.

See our picks of the best new knobs and pulls from Mother of Pearl, Sun Valley Bronze, Soko Studio, Jeffrey Alexander, Alno, Anthropologie, Rocky Mountain Hardware, and RK International.

Think about changing out the knobs or pull handles on a new dresser, nightstands, or your kitchen cabinets. You’ll be delighted with the fresh new look.

An app so fun, you’ll become addicted to it?  So fun, you’re kids will want to play too?  That’s our experience with Home Design 3D by Live Cad for iPad and iPhone.

Create a room to your specific dimensions and add furniture, fixtures, colors, textures, and materials.  Click  3D for a better perspective of what the room will be like.  Change materials and colors.   Adjust the dimensions of the furniture or built-ins.  You can even upload photos.

At $6 for iPad and less for iPhone, this home design app won’t break your budget.  We think you’ll save a lot of money by making changes on your app, before you start your project.

Visualizing new furniture, new paint colors, or a remodeled kitchen or bathroom is tough.   Have you ever picked out something that did not work when you got it home?

Continue the discussion and connect with others on the askDECOR Facebook page.

We talked about our project transforming an old apartment building into a beautiful sorority several months ago.  Now we have before and after photos that show our dramatic improvements.

We concentrated on upgrading the surfaces to completely change the appearance of the interior rooms.  Here are three changes we made to the building’s surfaces that yielded huge results.

1.  We removed the old carpeting/linoleum and installed engineered hardwood floors.

2.  We opened up the entry and framed out the entry and hallway walls with beadboard.

3.  We gave the dining room charm and personality with a custom coffered ceiling and drop pendant lighting.

Now enjoy our dramatic before and after photos!  You can click on any of the pictures to see it in a larger screen.  The first set of photos show the difference made with engineered hardwood floors and the beadboard walls in the hallway.

This second grouping of photos shows how we opened up the entry and framed it with beadboard.

The dining area was dramatically improved with coffered ceilings, pendant lighting, and engineered hardwood flooring.

Upgrading to better flooring is something that can dramatically improve most homes.  Do you have flooring that you’d like to change?  Go to our Facebook page and take our poll on your favorite flooring.  While you’re there, we hope you’ll click the  “like” button.  We ask our readers to continue the conversation from our blog on our Facebook page.