Knobby Needs!

There are times when you really don't want to paint an entire piece of furniture - either it's an heirloom or you only need it temporarily in a space, or maybe it's a serviceable but not a high quality piece and wouldn't take the paint very well.  Painting or changing out the knobs and even the feet can give a piece a whole new look and you can even change them with the seasons if you like!  When the piece is ready for it's next adventure, just switch them out again and it has a whole new look! 

Here's how to start.  Find something in the room that will inspire you.  In this example, it was these adorable little pictures hanging in this little girls room.

I love the little details in each of the petals and the colors are so sweet.  It could be a bedspread pattern that you love, or just a basic theme of sports or ballet, whatever you like.

I decided to use wooden flowers as a back plate and the knobs as the center of the flower.  If you go to your local craft store, Michaels or AC Moore or Hobby Lobby, they will almost always have an aisle of unfinished wooden pieces in all kinds of shapes that you can use as a back plate.  They cost a dollar or two so they are very inexpensive.  You will want to prime it and drill a little hole for the screw before you paint it.  You may also need to get a slightly longer screw from the hardware store to accomodate the added width of the  back plate.  If you look closely, you will notice that all of my designs in the photo above are very simple, polka dots and little swirls.  The insects are fairly easy to paint, but if you don't want to do that, you can buy miniatures and just glue them on (keeping in mind the age of the child of course, they could be pulled off and present a choking hazard if your child is too young).

Here are the knobs placed on top of the back plates, and also  the dresser with the knobs installed.  Isn't it cute?  As the little girl grows, the knobs can be changed out for something else and the furniture hasn't changed a bit.

Below are some examples of using fabric to inspire the design.  If you aren't comfortable painting it freehand you can always copy the fabric onto paper and use carbon (or transfer) paper to transfer the design onto the knob.  Your craft store should have that as well. 

And a little "foot"note...if your furniture has feet that can unscrew, why not paint those as well?

And here is how the furniture looks after...



This one was a bit more than just the knobs and feet, but even without painting the back and the handpainting up top, there would have been a difference!



Now I realize all of these examples are for girls, but for boys you can do a sports theme with soccer balls and baseballs, or trucks and cars, or forget getting too fancy and just paint the knobs the colors of the room!  Seal them when you are done painting and always hang onto the old hardware, especially if it's a family piece.  These are alot of fun to do and you can even get the kids involved to paint their own.  Just throw on the classic DVD Bedknobs and Broomsticks and have a ball!