...the only fine architectural hardware blog...


custom shower door handle | polished nickel

Posted on 30th May, by gbettenhausen in Recent Projects. No Comments

This shower door pull was fabricated using a salvage crystal knob.  Wood screws were dummied in the rosette and the internal mounting hardware is all stainless steel.  We have several shower door pulls as well as the ability to manufacture custom pulls.


custom towel bar | polished nickel

Posted on 29th May, by gbettenhausen in Recent Projects. No Comments

These towel bars were fabricated out of brass and finished in polished nickel.  They incorporate the design from our ames appliance pull shown on our website http://www.wilmettehardware.com/cabinet/pulls/ames_pull.php.


satin antique nickel harmon hinge

Posted on 27th May, by gbettenhausen in Recent Projects. No Comments

This harmon hinge was finished in satin antique nickel.  We can provide harmon hinges for 1 3/4″, 2″, 2 1/4″ doors with integrated ball stops.  The hinges also have roller bearings which allow for an extremely smooth operation.


antique nickel | flush pulls

Posted on 25th May, by gbettenhausen in Recent Projects. No Comments

These pocket doors have custom tudor flush pulls installed on them.  This flush pull is fabricated from the same rosette specification on one of our tudor door knobs.  Often we can add to a suite of hardware by using existing molds or drawings.


iron railing | tudor hardware

Posted on 22nd May, by gbettenhausen in Recent Projects. No Comments

I guess it is tudor week – this railing was cleaned and waxed in the field by our craftsman.  The hardware in this apartment was also all restored as well and replicated for additional openings.  Let us know how we can help you on your next project.


tudor push plate | dual action door

Posted on 20th May, by gbettenhausen in Recent Projects. No Comments

Here is a great shot of our tudor push plate used on a door to a butler’s pantry.  We have a fabulous selection of new and old push plates (remember if you find an old push plate we can finish it to work with your hardware).


open house | wilmette

Posted on 18th May, by gbettenhausen in Recent Projects. No Comments

Here is a photo of an open house we had here at our shop in Wilmette.  Let us know if your firm would like to tour/visit our shop.  We always love showing people our craft and the gears of motion here in Wilmette.


2 years of blogging | the first finishing/hardware blog

Posted on 18th May, by gbettenhausen in Recent Projects. No Comments

Thanks for following our blog!  We have been amazed to see how many visitors and questions we have had on this project over the past 2 years.

We have been around since the 1930′s and our blog and websites show our commitment to quality and excellence.

www.albarwilmette.com | general restoration & finishing website

www.wilmettehardware.com | fine architectural hardware

www.allenandbaron.com | our newest website & blog


butler pantry hardware | antique nickel

Posted on 15th May, by gbettenhausen in Recent Projects. No Comments

This pantry was re-outfitted with existing and new cabinet hardware.  The pulls and hinges here were re-finished in an antique nickel to coordinate with the balance of the custom hardware in the apartment.


custom german silver sink

Posted on 13th May, by gbettenhausen in Recent Projects. No Comments

This photo is of a custom german silver sink we fabricated.  Notice the custom hand hammered towel bar on the cabinet below too!


french entry door

Posted on 12th May, by gbettenhausen in Recent Projects. No Comments

Here is a photo of a century old entry in the south of france taken by my brother who is living in france right now.  Looks like this will be a great inspiration piece for an appliance pull.


adler lever & rosette | un-lacquered brass

Posted on 11th May, by gbettenhausen in Recent Projects. No Comments

This lever set provides a sense of simple elegance virtually unavailable from production hardware today.  Note the scale of the rosette and proportion of the lever on the narrow stile of the door.  We have narrow back-set locks available – and as this one is shown here they can be built the traditional way (upside down).




a few of our latest projects...

We are dedicated to hand-crafted quality and want to show it off. Click on full-blog to see an archive of our abilities.