When you’re working on your next home improvement project, the hinges you choose to decorate your cabinets and doors don’t have to be the same, old, boring type that came with your house. Instead, look at what’s out there and find hinges that are functional and maybe even add a little fun and flair to your home.

By nature hinges are functional. Their job is to make sure we can get in and out of rooms and cabinets. Without them we would be back to large hunks of wood or stone that we have to put in front of a doorway to close it and then push out of the way when we need to get in. But some hinges do more than just allow doors to open and close. Some help you out while they’re at it.

Spring hinges are great if you need to keep a cabinet door closed when you’re not using it. When you’re rushing around getting in and out of cabinets or going in and out of doors, you may not remember to shut all those doors. While this is usually ok, if you have pets, the pantry could be a goldmine, waiting to happen, for them. If you have little ones, the chemical cabinets and shelves are a disaster waiting to happen. So, how to you double-check yourself for shutting those important doors? Have the door do it for you. Doors with spring hinges automatically pull themselves closed when you let go of the door. Spring hinges can either be purchased as whole hinge set, or as an adapter set can be installed with your current hinges.

Adjustable doorstops can also be added to door hinges to keep the door from slamming into your wall. There is nothing more frustrating than having to do a complete wall repair because a door was thrown open and the knob punctured the plasterboard. The same is true in the kitchen where an ill-conceived door shove can dent, ding or otherwise damage cabinetry or appliances. Before you balk at the idea of an ugly doorstop on the back of your beautiful door, take a breath. Many of the doorstops that attach directly to the hinges are made of matching metal and even decorative touches that make it look more like part of a decorative hinge than a functional piece.

If you have ever had your fingers crunched in a door, you will appreciate these next inventions – door hinge guards. Too many children end up in tears because their fingers were where they weren’t supposed to be when a door was shut. But someone, likely a parent of one of these children, invented a fitting that is placed on the door and encloses the gap between the two sides of the door.

If you are really tying to set a theme in a room and dress it up as much as possible, you should look into tips for your hinges. With hinge tips instead of those flat circles at the end of the hinges pin, there will be balls, decorative spires, or whatever other design you would like.

Author Jennifer Akre is an owner of different online niche stores that specialize in providing online consumers with not only useful and eye-catching products, but valuable information as well on how to nicely decorate and furnish your space, whether it be in your home or out on your deck or patio. There are many tips that are helpful for creating a space that others will envy and here she offers buying advice when purchasing lavish cabinet hinges, sturdy door hinges, and stylish hinges.