It’s no secret that I love changing the hardware on my pieces to give them that extra “umph”. New drawer knobs can completely transform a piece. Getting rid of dated brass pulls for new knobs can totally update a piece. Or changing black iron knobs, to crystal can take a piece from being overly masculine, to pretty and feminine.

Check out this accent table painted in Boxwood. The whole look and style of the piece can change with a simple switch of knobs!

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Switching out knobs is generally an easy task. Literally, you unscrew one knob and screw in the new ones. But what happens if your piece has pulls?I know you’re thinking, WTF is the difference between knobs and pulls?!?!

A knob has one single screw, where as a pull has two…

Pulls can be just as easy to replace if you are lucky enough to find the identical size. The problem is that pulls come in different lengths, so finding exactly what you want, in the exact size can be challenging. I don’t even try anymore!! I just drill new holes to make my life easier! It’s quite a simple process…

Here is a step by step guide to replacing drawer pulls, with drawer knobs.

Step 1

• Remove existing hardware

Step 2

• Fill the existing screw holes with wood filler. My favourite is Elmer’s Carpenter’s Wood Filler in the squeeze tube (it doesn’t matter what color filler you get if you are painting your piece). I squeeze filler directly in the hole until it spills over. Then smooth it over with my finger. I find this filler take about 3 hours to try in my shop. But different environments cause different dry times.

Step 3

• Once the filler is dry, I use a 180 grit sandpaper to smooth it out.

Step 4

• Apply another thin layer of wood filler, let it dry and sand smooth
• I know – it’s annoying to do this process twice, but I promise you its the best way to get a a super smooth finish

Step 5

• Measure where you want your new knob to go.
• My trick is to put a piece of painters tape from the center of one hole to the center of the next. Then measure halfway across the drawer front and use a sharpie to make a small dot

Step 6

• Use your drill to drill a new hole.
• I usually use a 1/4″ drill bit

Step 7

• Paint your drawer
• Install new knob!