Octagonal Knobs

The appeal of octagonal knobs

An octagonal knob trades a fully round face for eight flat facets (or six, on the hexagon pieces grouped in with this category), catching light in distinct planes rather than along one smooth curve. Anne at Home's Asian Octagonal knob leans ornamental, cast in pewter and finished with a warm brass edge, while Cal Crystal swaps metal for faceted crystal on a satin nickel base, which puts two very different materials and moods under the same general shape. Century Hardware adds a third option, a plainer zinc octagon knob that sits nearer a neutral, traditional shape than either of the more decorative choices.

Matching the octagonal look to a kitchen

The ornamental, Asian-influenced octagonal knob suits an eclectic or transitional kitchen, somewhere between the plainer Century Hardware zinc octagon and the more formal crystal hexagon pieces. Cal Crystal's faceted knobs lean Victorian or glam, common on furniture-style vanities and glass-front china cabinets rather than everyday kitchen drawers, where the sparkle catches best under direct light rather than in a dim hallway. Century Hardware's plain zinc version sits in between, a neutral option for anyone who wants the eight-sided shape without either the ornamental or the formal-crystal statement, and it's the easiest of the three to mix into a kitchen that already has other simple, unfussy hardware.

Scale and handling to keep in mind

Anne at Home's Asian Octagonal comes in two sizes, roughly 1 1/4 and 2 inches, and Cal Crystal's hexagon knobs run 1-1/8 and 1-1/2 inches — take an actual drawer-face measurement instead of assuming a scale that worked elsewhere in the kitchen will carry over. Crystal knobs also call for a gentler touch during install than cast metal, since a hard strike can chip a facet edge, and it's worth holding the satin nickel base up against the room's existing hardware finish before settling on a full set.