The Story Behind Our Greek Key Hardware

The Need For Greek Key Hardware

I designed our Greek key hardware out of necessity, no, really. I wanted solid, polished brass and substantial Greek key hardware, and it just didn’t exist.

Over the past eight years, I’ve bought thousands and thousands of dollars of hardware. I’ve spent countless hours scouring Etsy corners to the jungles of Amazon.

Why the obsession with hardware?

I am glad you asked. Because, in my world, hardware is the jewelry for furniture and cabinets. It elevates the space or a piece of furniture to a whole new level.

Let me show you. Here is a super traditional dresser, painted in hot pink, but the hardware….the hardware makes it so feminine, so beautiful that it’s a head-turner.

Here, I took a traditional sideboard with original hardware to another level by adding glossy lacquer and shiny brass Greek key hardware.

Vintage Inspiration

Painting and selling thousands of pieces of vintage furniture over the last decade means I have come across thousands of cool hardware designs.

This Landstrom Greek key hardware makes my heart pop out of my eyes. It’s chunky, so it has a major visual impact.

When you see this kind of hardware day in and day out, your hardware standards become too high to be met.

Seeing great quality turned me into a hardware snob. Price matters, but for my clients, quality justifies the cost. Let’s dive into the pursuit of finding top-notch hardware that speaks volumes in craftsmanship and durability.

It’s hard to find hardware that even remotely resembles the kind that used to be on furniture back in the 50’s and 60’s. I have scoured the internet for years to find something even close!

For years, I have been looking for Greek key hardware. Beautiful, heavy, chunky, shiny brass Greek key hardware, only to realize that it didn’t exist.

What you find on the internet is this —

Mass-produced, flimsy aluminum with the overdone brushed brass finish.

Oh, I have bought it to try and let me tell you. It’s light and matte, and it’s not chunky. It’s basically exactly the opposite of everything that I wanted.

The Greek key is a popular design element in Hollywood Regency & even traditional furniture. It’s combined flawlessly in this traditional Thomasville dresser and in this glamorous chair.

Vintage powerhouse design houses like Mastercraft and Design Institute of America loved and practically overused the motif.

I personally love the geometric stepped shape.

If you are looking for a product and you can’t find it, that means there are many people out there looking for the same thing and can’t find it.

Or that’s what us entrepreneurs think. Besides, you don’t know you want something until you see it.

So, I started sketching hardware designs that had been in my head for years. What else can you do when you can’t sleep at night because your head is bubbling with ideas?

These are some of my 2 AM sketches.

Ideas are great, but bringing a sketch to life needs 3D modeling, hundreds of back-and-forth emails, at least 5-6 tweaks, and months of production time.

3D Model

Laser cut brass —

After cutting the metal, it needs to be pressed to make it flat.

Then polishing. Ah polished brass

Starting from the idea stage, moving on to its production, and ultimately to a finished piece of furniture.

I am picky & I know good hardware without even seeing it. I can hold it in my hands, with a blindfold, and tell you what I think of its quality.

Luckily, you don’t have to close your eyes if you buy my hardware.

It’s beautiful, solid brass, shiny and pretty.

And here it is on furniture for your inspiration. Just keep in mind that you can totally, absolutely use beautiful chunky hardware on your built-ins, powder room vanity and many other places.

You can shop my entire Greek key collection here – https://theresplendentcrow.com/collections/athens-handles