Schaub

Schaub & Company makes decorative cabinet hardware: knobs, pulls and appliance pulls for kitchens and baths, in a range that runs from farmhouse brass to knurled Italian bars, sandcast bronze and knobs set with mother of pearl. Hardware is the one part of a cabinet a hand touches every time a door opens, and it is what makes a set of cabinets look finished instead of standard issue. With one maker covering every style, the pulls get matched to the room instead of settled for, and that is the reason to choose Schaub.

Schaub & Company was founded in 1998 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, by Bob and Marcia Schaub, a husband-and-wife team who had spent years in the cabinet hardware business before starting their own. It built its name on service, quality and designs nobody else had, released its inlaid Symphony line in 2006 and partnered with ASSA ABLOY in 2010. Every piece is assembled to order in a Southern California facility the company shares with its sister brand, EMTEK.

Start with the holes, not the catalog

A pull’s size is the distance between its two screw holes, center to center, and it is the first number to settle. On new cabinets, drill for whatever pull you like. On cabinets that are getting refaced or just re-dressed, which is most of the kitchen work in the older bungalows and ranch houses around Kalispell and Missoula, the new pull has to match the old holes or the doors get filled and redrilled. Measure the old spacing before you fall for a collection, because a pull that is a quarter inch off will not go on. Knobs take one hole and dodge the problem entirely.

That is why Menlo Park is the collection to know. Its pulls come in 3-1/2, 5, 10 and 12 inch sizes, in arched-base and stepped-base styles and seven finishes, so one look carries from a drawer front to a pantry door. For old holes that match nothing, Lumiere Transitional has pulls whose center-to-center spacing adjusts with an Allen wrench: an acrylic bar held in a flared, stepped base, in six finishes, with 12-inch appliance pulls to match. A longer pull also reads better on a wide drawer, so put the 10 or 12 inch on the pot drawers and the 3-1/2 or 5 on the doors.

Traditional kitchens: Avenue, Menlo Park and Heathrow

For a farmhouse or classic kitchen, start with Avenue. It draws on English country and farmhouse design, so it sits right on painted shaker doors without looking like a costume. Menlo Park is the workhorse, for the size run above. Heathrow is solid brass with soft facets, and solid brass is the metal to pay for when a pull is going to be grabbed with wet hands twenty times a day, because it does not pit the way a plated pot-metal pull does. It is the dressier choice for a traditional bath vanity.

In between: NOHO

When one person in the house wants modern and the other wants warm, NOHO is the collection built for that kitchen, a transitional line that sits between contemporary and traditional. Empire and Northport are two more of Schaub’s transitional collections for the same kind of room.

Modern kitchens: Monza, Urbano, Pub House and the knurled bars

Knurling is the detail on modern kitchens right now, and it does a real job: wet or greasy fingers do not slide off it. Monza, made in Italy, is a round bar pull with diamond knurling in four finishes, including Matte Green and Magenta for a kitchen that wants color in the hardware. Urbano, made in Brazil, is a rectangular bar with flat knurling in five finishes, contemporary with an industrial edge, a match for flat-slab doors and concrete counters. Pub House is a solid brass bar, knurled or smooth, with an optional disc base. Quadrato, designed and made in Italy, is a rectangular knurled bar in the same spirit. For a smooth modern look, Suave has cup pulls, bar pulls and knobs with clean lines, and Cafe has a soft oval, pill-shaped profile. Sabre and Baker are solid brass edge pulls, in three sizes and six finishes, for doors that want no visible hardware at all.

Sandcast bronze: Vinci, Stradella and Turno

These lines put contemporary shapes in old-world metal, and in a Montana kitchen built of timber, reclaimed wood and river rock, sandcast bronze is the hardware that looks like it belongs there. Sandcasting leaves a little texture in the surface, so no two pulls are quite alike, which is the point on a rough-sawn door. Vinci is made in Italy of sandcast bronze and runs up to a 12-inch appliance pull. Stradella edge pulls are Italian sandcast bronze with a texture drawn from the striations of the Italian Alps, a rustic modern look that sits well on reclaimed doors. Turno is Italian bronze too, in four bronze finishes, with cabinet pulls, an appliance pull and a knob.

Glass, crystal and Symphony inlays

Symphony is the showpiece end of the line, knobs and pulls set with precious inlays such as Mother of Pearl and Tiger Penshell. Fused Glass knobs and pulls are variegated white and clear glass, and City Lights brings faceted crystal shapes in a modern cut. Put the showpiece knobs on the doors people see, and use a plainer pull in the same finish on the heavy drawers, where a hand loaded with a stockpot wants something to grab.

Picking a finish

Decide first whether the finish should stay as it came or change with use. Bronze Patina is a living finish that ages to show the bronze underneath, and Unlacquered Brass is a made-to-order finish that darkens where hands touch it; both are chosen for that change, and neither carries a finish warranty. On a lodge or cabin kitchen those two look right from the first winter on, because they wear the way the wood around them does. For a finish that holds its look, the Lifetime finishes such as Polished Brass and Polished Nickel, or Stainless Steel with its five-year finish warranty, are the ones to pick. Wipe any Schaub finish with a damp cloth, mild dish soap and warm water, and keep harsh cleaners and waxes off it, because they take the finish and the warranty with them.

A finish on a screen and a finish under your kitchen lights are two different things, so look at one knob in the finish, next to the counter and the faucet, before the whole kitchen’s worth goes on the doors.

Schaub collections at a glance

Collection	Look	Metal or material	Made in	Sizes and pieces
Avenue	English country and farmhouse	Brass finishes		Knobs and pulls for painted traditional doors
Menlo Park	Traditional, arched or stepped base	Seven finishes		3-1/2, 5, 10 and 12 in pulls
Heathrow	Softly faceted traditional	Solid brass		Knobs and pulls
NOHO	Transitional			Knobs and pulls
Lumiere Transitional	Acrylic bar in a stepped base	Acrylic with metal bases, six finishes		Adjustable center-to-center pulls, 12 in appliance pulls
Monza	Round bar, diamond knurling	Four finishes incl. Matte Green and Magenta	Italy	Bar pulls
Urbano	Rectangular bar, flat knurling	Five finishes	Brazil	Several styles and sizes
Pub House	Knurled or smooth bar	Solid brass		Bar pulls, optional disc base
Sabre and Baker	Edge pulls	Solid brass, six finishes		Three sizes
Vinci	Contemporary in bronze	Sandcast bronze	Italy	Pulls up to a 12 in appliance pull
Stradella	Alpine-textured edge pull	Sandcast bronze	Italy	Edge pulls
Turno	Rustic modern	Bronze, four finishes	Italy	Pulls, appliance pull, knob
Symphony	Inlaid showpiece	Mother of Pearl, Tiger Penshell inlays		Knobs and pulls

Why Schaub

The metal is the difference you feel in the hand: solid brass in Heathrow, Pub House, Sabre and Baker, sandcast Italian bronze in Vinci, Stradella and Turno, and Lifetime finishes that hold their shine. A single Schaub look comes in enough sizes to go from a knob on a spice drawer to a 12-inch appliance pull on the refrigerator, so the whole kitchen wears one family of hardware in one finish, and that is what makes new or refaced cabinets look finished.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Schaub good cabinet hardware?

Yes. Schaub is a specialist in decorative cabinet hardware, with pieces made in Italy and Brazil, solid brass and sandcast bronze lines, and inlaid Symphony knobs, and every piece is assembled to order in its Southern California facility. The company has been making cabinet hardware since 1998 and partnered with ASSA ABLOY, the door hardware group, in 2010.

How do I know what size Schaub pull to buy?

Measure center to center between the two screw holes on the door or drawer, and buy that size. Menlo Park comes in 3-1/2, 5, 10 and 12 inch, and Lumiere pulls adjust to odd spacing with an Allen wrench. If the doors are new and undrilled, pick the size by the drawer: a longer pull on a wide drawer, a shorter one or a knob on a door.

What is the difference between Polished Brass Lifetime and Unlacquered Brass?

Polished Brass Lifetime (US3) is a standard finish meant to stay bright. Unlacquered Brass (US3NL) is a custom, made-to-order finish that is meant to darken and change with use, and it carries no finish warranty. For brass that stays the way it looked on day one, choose the Lifetime finish.

Does Schaub make appliance pulls?

Yes. Several collections include appliance pulls, among them Vinci’s 12-inch pull, Lumiere’s 12-inch pull and Turno, so the refrigerator and the dishwasher panel can wear the same hardware as the cabinets.

Does Schaub make bath hardware?

Yes. Along with cabinet knobs and pulls, Schaub makes bath hardware, so the vanity pulls and the bath pieces can come in the same finish and the room looks planned instead of pieced together.