Daily we encounter and use items that become so normal, so automatic that we don’t even realize they exist. Hinges make our lives so much easier on so many levels, and yet are almost invisible in their efficiency.
In existence for thousands of years, hinges have come a long way to finally reach their status of today. Early versions involved large boulders and pivots, later evolving into wooden planks and animal hide. Regardless of how humble their beginnings may have been, getting through life without them today would definitely be much more difficult.
Consider your daily activity. You get out of bed in the morning and head for the bathroom door, which is suspended on hinges. You open the door of the medicine cabinet (hinged) and take out your pillbox (hinged). Reaching for the vanity cabinet, you open the hinged door to take a towel for your shower, the door of which is most likely hinged. Already, in just those few moments, you have relied on the invisible hinges several times to accomplish your morning tasks.
Hinges come in many various forms, depending upon their designated use. Cabinet hinges and those on a door will be the main types that the ordinary person would encounter in their normal home life, but even narrowing the uses down to these two basic functions involves many different hinge types.
A hinge, in itself, is a work of simplicity; simply a joint that connects two objects; easy to understand, easy to install and easy to use. While many types of hinges are hidden, just as many are openly functional, and can actually be decorative.
Adding personality and an ornamental value to your cabinet doors, decorative hinges are available in different finishes that will complement your cabinetry. Black, gold, silver, and pewter finishes can serve to accent the color of your cabinet woods, as well as drawer pulls and cabinet handles or knobs. A variety of sizes are also available.
If you enjoy refinishing old or antique furniture pieces, you might want to consider adding the extra feature of decorative hinges. Purchasing these pieces with a distressed finish can keep the antique quality of the furniture piece while adding the beauty of hinge design not available years ago.
Even small accessory items in your home can wear a new face with decorative hinges. Take a jewelry box or armoire for example, that may have been passed down from generation to generation, and now reposes on your bureau. Those small pieces of hardware may be becoming stiff and rusty, making the lid more difficult to open. Simply by replacing the old, tired hinges with new decorative hinges will ensure the piece will be in the best condition possible to hand down to future generations, with your own personal added touch.
So look around as you go about your daily tasks for those seemingly unimportant hinges that make your everyday steps so much easier. And while you’re at it, take a look at where you can update and add extra decorative touches with new decorative hinges.