Choose The Right Sized Hardware For Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen hardware for cabinets offers more than just access to your utensils, equipment and ingredients. When chosen thoughtfully, with design, usability and sizing in mind, your hardware can create a thread of sophistication and finalise your culinary space. And since the kitchen is the heart of the home, why not put in the extra effort to get it in tip-top condition? 🏠
Our ALVA Collection is the perfect fit for these retro kitchen cabinets 🍊
In our go-to guide, we’re showing you how to choose kitchen cabinet handles and kitchen cabinet knobs in the right sizes to help your environment work better for you. We’ll first look at the key differences between handles and knobs and share our favourite Plank products, available in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colours to align with your interior décor. Then we’ll move onto kitchen cabinet hardware sizing ideas, helping you find a stylishly practical solution that’s easy on the eye and sturdy to the touch.
Let us remind you that there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to your kitchen hardware. You’re the boss of this project and you have the final say. We’re simply here to give you helpful guidelines so you can dial up your creativity and make your dream kitchen a reality 👊Kitchen Cabinet Hardware: Knobs, Pulls Or Both?
First up, you need to work out what type of hardware you’re kitting your kitchen out with – knobs, pulls, or a mixture of cabinet pulls and knobs. Keep reading to discover how our kitchen cabinet handles and knobs can be used individually, and mixed and matched, to polish off your kitchen and impress your guests 👏Knobs
Kitchen cabinet knobs tend to be small in size, which immediately give them a more subtle appearance than pulls. If you want all eyes to be drawn to your sophisticated cabinetry or colourful backsplash, go for cabinet knobs that align with your décor, but don’t distract from your overall look.Types of cabinet knobs:
Knurled
Featuring straight, angled or crossed lines that are machine cut into the metal, knurled cabinet knobs add a touch of texture to your kitchen. Sharp and study, you can rely on these knobs for an enhanced grip and high-quality finish 🖐 For classic, straight lines, check out our Grooved Collection. If you're after angular, nature-inspired lines, our SWIRLED Collection will suit you best. To go all out with crossed texture, shop our Knurled Collection.One of our most popular contemporary knobs is our SWIFT Swirled Knob, featuring a delicate swirled texture that perfectly complements minimalist kitchens and modern farmhouse interiors alike. Our SWIFT knob combines a round shape and functional feel to give you quick and easy access to your kitchen cabinets. Plus, it’s available in a variety of premium finishes to suit your tastes – Brass, Black, Stainless Steel and Antique Brass 🤎
Shapes
As we touched on above, shapely kitchen knobs are a simple way to bring some personality to your kitchen. Whether you’re looking to revive your old cabinet units or add some intrigue to your space, our modern industrial knobs will work a treat. If the name of the game is to keep your smooth-faced cupboards looking smart and understated, our PLANE Knob or the more organic, PEBBLE Knob will make a welcome addition.Or for something more standout, our Colour Pop Knobs feature a classic design upgraded with striking, trend-inspired colours. Curious to see more? We also offer a wide range of contemporary shapes.
Pulls
Why choose a pull over a knob? 🤔 For starters, pulls can be a bit easier to grab onto, making them a great choice for people with weak or arthritic hands. With pulls, your hands also have less contact with your cabinets, which helps to keep their surfaces clean 🧼 Types of cabinet pulls:
Bar pulls
As the name suggests, bar pulls are typically characterised by having a long bar for a handle which is attached by one or two points to the cabinet. It's one of the most common types of pull on the market and works well on most styles of cabinet door, from Shaker to something more contemporary. Tooled from Aluminium, our WATT T-Bar in Black is a simple and elegant style that’s oh-so smooth to touch. For something that's built for larger shaker-style kitchen, check out our HUDSON Handle. For a playful ergonomic experience, cast your attention towards our trend-inspired SQUIGGLE Handle 👀
Cup pulls
Cup pulls are half circles that attach to a cabinet and are opened by reaching underneath and pulling out. This traditional style works particularly well with farmhouse or Shaker style kitchen units, but will do the job for any culinary space that requires a refresh. Our hardy HESTON Cup Pull Handle is bold and resilient, easy to get to grips with and designed to stand the test of time. We recommend using this hardware on your cutlery drawers or cabinets that pull straight out.
Lip pulls
Lip pulls are modern cabinet handles that are screwed into the side, top, or back of a cabinet door with a thin piece of metal that wraps around to the front of the door. An essential feature in minimalist kitchens, lip pulls subtly tuck into your kitchen cabinets and drawers, adding a soft, premium accent to your chosen storage units.That’s exactly the case with our FOLD Collection, where our FOLD Long Edge Pull tuck inside cabinetry, whilst our proud, FOLD D-shape Front Mounted Pull makes a statement, sat a top cabinetry. JUDD Edge Pull is a more subtle, yet equally stylish option. Now available in Brass, Aged Brass and Black, you're bound to find a finish that complements your kitchen scheme.Ring pulls
Ring pulls are exactly what they sound like – ring-shaped hardware to securely hook your fingers through. Inspired by industrial details seen in machinery components, our Ring Pull Collection makes light work of accessing small drawers and cabinet doors around your home.With a dynamic profile that marries smooth lines with defined edges, KING is confident in character and tactility. The smaller, yet equally proud sibling of KING, our KNIGHT Ring Pulls are perfect for drawer fronts and smaller cabinets. Looking for a smooth, curved alternative, with a more whimsical feel? Have a browse of our LINTON Loop Ring Pull ➰
Appliance pulls
Appliance pulls (for built-in appliance cabinetry) are a long T-Bar or D-Bar handle that's connected to a cabinet at two points, one on either end. Available in a variety of sizes, some of these pulls are 340mm long, while the majority are 420mm or longer. They can be used when appliances have cabinet panels in place of the typical appliance front.A fine example is our KEPLER Heavyweight Knurled Handle, the weightier version of our bestselling T-bar handle from the same range. An even larger option, is our ROEBUCK Closet Bar, perfect for modern kitchen pantry doors or space-saving kitchen larder doors 💪
Our KEPLER Heavyweight Handle pulls its weight in Sharn’s kitchen 💪
Knobs On Uppers, Pulls On Lowers
Get the best of both worlds in your kitchen by using a mixture of knobs and pulls. They can be perfectly teamed to achieve a sophisticated cooking space – and one you’ll be operating with ease 🧑🍳 One option is to put knobs on all of your upper cabinets and pulls on all lower cabinets. Think about it – you tend to put the heavier, clunkier kitchen utensils such as pots and pans within easy reach and closer to the ground. It makes sense to have more grip on those drawers and cabinets by using pulls. Knobs On Doors, Pulls On Drawers
Alternatively, you could put knobs on all doors and pulls on all drawers, regardless of how high or low they are. At the end of the day, there aren’t any strict rules for you to follow. It all comes down to personal preference and what will give you the best use of your space.Sizes
So, you know whether you’re having knobs, pulls or a mixture of both in your kitchen, as well as where they’re going to go. Now you need to ask yourself – what size hardware do I choose?Knob Sizes
Again, what size knobs for kitchen cabinets you choose is about what works best for you. If you want your hardware to be understated and blend in with your kitchen, you may want to size down. On the other hand, if you want to highlight those finer details and have hardware with a more oversized appearance, choose something larger like our super-sized Closet Bars.What's great about our knobs is that you can find their exact dimensions on our website. We include the diameter, projection, base diameter and screw thread, so you can make the most informed buying decision possible. We’ve also illustrated product dimension spec sheets to help you visualise the knobs on your cabinets.Pull Sizes
What size cabinet pulls you choose is a slightly trickier one, since there are so many different options to choose from. Many DIY enthusiasts will pick one size and use it through all their cabinetry for a sleek and cohesive look. While there’s no right or wrong size to choose, we recommend you go for pulls that have at least a 76mm – 96mm centre to centre (the distance between the screw holes). Not only does this make for an aesthetically pleasing finish on the majority of cabinets, it’s still large enough for you to grip comfortably too. Another excellent choice is 128mm pulls 🙌 This slightly longer length offers a more modern look, while still being small enough to fit onto narrow drawers. If you choose to use smaller pulls throughout, we highly recommend using two pulls on wide drawers so they’re easy to open. Alternatively, you can use a single pull that’s longer in length which makes for a cleaner appearance and easier operation. A good rule of thumb is to use a pull that’s roughly one third of the length of the drawer.A useful tip? Mark masking tape with the full diameter listed for the hardware. Then, place this tape against your kitchen cabinets. This will help you gauge how the given size will look on your kitchen cabinetry. You can even take a look on our Project Inspiration page, to see how large your chose hardware looks on other kitchen cabinets 💡Now you know how to create sense of harmony by dressing your kitchen cabinets with correctly-sized handles and knobs ✅ We’d love to know which products you go for and what your finished kitchen looks like, so keep us posted on your progress by tagging @plankhardware and #PlankProjects 🛠
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