Four down, four to go ..

[Christopher Charles]

Hello Derek,

I'll add to the echoes-- looking fantastic, all of your early design efforts are coming together nicely. I can imagine that the hardware choice is keeping you up at night... I'm also attracted to contemporary design, but Matthew makes an interesting point for sure given the intended contents... A challenging challenge!

[Derek Cohen]

Thanks Matthew and Christopher.

The handles are a sensitive area - my wife is totally over discussing them! She, in fact, does not want handles, believing that this would spoil the line. I point out that the drawers must have handles since a recess (as a handle, such as that which Brian made on his cabinet) would be visible and alter the line even more than a sympathetic handle (Brian was able to hide his drawers behind doors). then she would prefer the handles to be the same wood as the drawers, to blend in. The problem here is that the drawer fronts have quite wild grain, and handles will not match the surrounding wood, and this would likely jar to the eye. Consequently, one comes down to using plain, unfigured Jarrah for the handles. That is one option. Alternately - my choice - I'd prefer them to be dark (black).

If a metal was used, it would have to be the same as the hinges, which will be polished brass. They would not work. I have considered antique brass on the fronts, but cannot find something similar for hinges. Glass or China handles are definitely out.

A sympathetic handle shape was just one part of the headache!

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Patrick Walsh]

I prefer the Bruso.

[Mel Fulks]

It's an unusual piece and so ...not much guidance from tradition to be had. The type of drawer graduation used makes the pull choice more difficult,too. You mentioned you favor black for the color : I propose a single tapered black piece of wood
back beveled and sawn into pieces. From just a couple of feet back the pulls would look like one tapered piece of ebony.

[Jim Koepke]

Here goes with some wild imagination…

Could there be springs at the back of the drawers so pushing in the drawer and then releasing would have the effect of pushing the drawer out enough to then use the sides of the drawer to pull it out?

Maybe rare earth magnets imbedded in the front of the drawer and then a single handle to attach to the magnet to pull out a drawer.

Motorized remote control?

jtk

[Brian Holcombe]

Derek,

I think your wife is on the money, the grain may not match but Jarrah handles would be quite suitable. I think bronze contemporary handles sell the cabinet a bit short.

Cheers
Brian

[Christopher Charles]

I agree it would be a shame to break up the beautiful grain patterning. How about relatively long, thin pulls that were dark/black like those on box 35 here:

http://www.mekwoodworks.com/52-boxes.html

Might even be able to put them at the bottom of each face, though that might be too unbalanced.

I'm sure you'll land on the brilliant solution.

[Derek Cohen]

Here goes with some wild imagination…

Could there be springs at the back of the drawers so pushing in the drawer and then releasing would have the effect of pushing the drawer out enough to then use the sides of the drawer to pull it out?

Maybe rare earth magnets imbedded in the front of the drawer and then a single handle to attach to the magnet to pull out a drawer.

Motorized remote control?

jtk

Not so wild, Jim. That was my plan right at the start. I went so far as to research this and have a box of them ...

"The drawers will also open with push stoppers to keep the front clean and handle-free.", I wrote in the opening post.

The problem is that these catches, although well made, cannot be relied upon to last indefinitely. The realisation of this forced us to look at handles.

Mel and Christopher propose a "I propose a single tapered black piece of wood back beveled and sawn into pieces."

I have built handles similar to this in the past. They are fine for small boxes, but lack the grip to pull out what may become a heavy drawer (when filled with all that lingerie! ).

Brian, I agree that bronze may sell it short. Jarrah is better. If I was to use a metal handle, my choice would actually be stainless steel! Very modern and dramatic. However I doubt I could fly that past my wife. After all, this is a process that demonstrates pleasing the customer while still satisfying one's own aesthetic.

Regards from Perth

Derek