Anthro inspired hardware diy

I was casually scrolling through Anthropologie's selection of hardware online looking for ideas for my new dresser when I stumbled upon these bone and brass beauties. I loved the shape and the mix of materials but I didn't really want to spend near $150 on knobs no matter how pretty when that's significantly more than the whole dresser cost! But the image of these knobs kept rolling around in my head. So, naturally, I went to the hardware store, because I figured, if I could make something similar/inspired by the original Anthro ones, the solution would be at the hardware store.

After some experimenting I came up with a plan. I used stainless eyebolts, various sized nuts, wooden dowels and air drying clay. Along with paint of course.

First I cut the dowels down and sanded the ends.

Then I covered them in the thinnest possible layer of clay. There was a bit of trial and error on this step, as the dowels we significantly smaller than the eye bolts so they needed something to fit them to the space, but of course not so much that they then wouldn't fit at all.

After the dowels were coated (and I'd made sure they fit) I added a bit of texture. This varied from piece to piece but I definitely liked it better than the smooth flat surface. It also made wooden dowels look a bit more natural.

Then I let everything dry overnight.

After that it was just paint and glue. I sprayed the eye bolts and nuts gold, and when they were dry I added the dowels, which I painted with high gloss white. Of course the pretty new hardware couldn't go onto the plain naked pine dresser, so I did something crazy and obsessive with paint (sneak peek below) to make a more interesting home for my new creations. More on that later. For now I'm just super excited that I was able to create a replacement for a mere $1 a piece, much more reasonable!