The right cabinet hardware for your home will tie your bathroom or kitchen together. With so many options, it’s critical to find something that fits your style and decor. Even different rooms or cabinet styles may require separate styles, sizes or shapes of hardware. With custom cabinetry available, the hardware that you use with the doors should be just as personalized. Finding the perfect hardware for your cabinets goes beyond what is popular in cabinet hardware. Look for options that provide your home with lasting appeal and pair well with your home’s decor.
How Do I Choose Cabinet Hardware?
First, understand that your choice of cabinet hardware can make a major change to the appearance of your kitchen, bathroom or hallway. In fact, updating the knobs or pulls used for the cabinets lets you affordably update your space. If you have well-made, solid wood cabinets like the ones from WG Wood Products, you may want to draw attention to them through your choice of cabinet hardware.
Therefore, the first decision you need to make is what you want to accomplish from your choice of hardware. Do you want the pulls or knobs to blend in with the cabinets or stand out? What about the style of the rest of the room?
Next, consider establishing a set of rules for a given space to maintain consistency throughout the room. For instance, you may want to use knobs only for cabinets in the kitchen and bar pulls for drawers. Or you may want to use knobs for all the smaller drawers in a bathroom and the cabinet doors.
Choosing hardware for your cabinets can be a fun part of upgrading your home. Creating rules of your own for choosing cabinet hardware makes the selection process simpler when it comes to styles.
Factors to Consider When Choosing Cabinet Hardware
To help you to create your design rules for selecting cabinet hardware, you need to understand the many decisions you will face during the process. Knowing the choices you need to make and deciding on them before buying hardware speeds up the process of choosing the best cabinet pulls or knobs for your home. Integrate the following factors of cabinet hardware selection to create your selection rules:
Location of the Cabinet and Room Style
The most important factor of the style of cabinet hardware that you choose is the location of the cabinets. For instance, if you have a storage cabinet in an out-of-the-way place, you may want to select a more practical knob or pull rather than something decorative. For more frequently seen locations, such as bathrooms or kitchens, decorative options are a better choice. You need to carefully choose these knobs or pulls to match other materials in the room and other cabinet pieces.
For example, if you need to choose hardware for your kitchen cabinets, consider the style of your kitchen. Look at the finish on other metal surfaces, such as the sink faucet, to find cabinet pieces to match or complement. Feel free to mix or match cabinet finishes to suit your tastes while retaining colors that pair well.
Practical Considerations for Daily Use of Cabinets
The location of the cabinets should also dictate the durability of the knobs. For example, if you choose drawer pulls for a kitchen, consider pulls that are rugged in design and don’t require regular polishing to retain their appearance.
When choosing cabinet pulls or knobs, also look at how far the cabinets open. If you have cabinets in a corner, the type of knob that you choose could stand out too far from the door and strike the perpendicular surface when you open the cabinet.
Cabinet Door Style
Finally, examine the overall lines of the rest of the room. For instance, if you need medicine cabinet hardware, look at the overall style of the cabinet and the surrounding bathroom. Curved components on cabinet doors such as eyebrow or cathedral styles may pair better with curved knobs or pulls. The softer lines give the style a traditional appearance. However, if you want a more modern look, use sharper-edged Shaker style or similar cabinet doors paired with square or other angular hardware.
Measurements for Finding the Right Size of Cabinet Hardware
Another decision that you must make regards the size of hardware for your cabinets. Choose hardware that is proportionate to the cabinet door and the space. From an aesthetic standpoint, the most proportionate size for pulls used on cabinets is one-third the total surface length when used horizontally or one-third the height when oriented vertically. However, you may want to consider other proportions to make a statement.
For instance, if you are choosing medicine cabinet hardware for a half bath, you may want to select a smaller knob instead of a large pull. The smaller hardware fits in proportion to the rest of the room and keeps the cabinet from becoming a significant focal point that can make the room seem smaller.
Similarly, if you have large cabinets in your kitchen, using small knobs may make the knobs seem overwhelmed by the door. However, this option might work if you have a more decorative cabinet door and don’t want the hardware to draw attention away from it.
Oversized pulls can work for enhancing the vertical lines in your space. Plus, they increase the illusion of height. Similarly, horizontal pulls make the drawers seem wider and the area larger. However, know that these larger pieces of hardware can weigh down doors. So, make sure that your cabinets are constructed from sturdy, solid wood to support the hardware if you want to choose this option.
Available Finishes for the Hardware
Finishes for hardware come in a wide variety to include metals, matte colors, glass and more. Some of the common types of finishes that you may find include:
- Brushed oil bronze
- Matte black
- Chrome
- Brushed nickel
- Antique pewter
- Pewter
- Clear glass
- White
- Dark bronze
- Aluminum
- Satin brass
- Rust
When choosing finishes, look at the colors in your space. If you choose to mix colors for cabinet hardware or use it to complement other hardware in your kitchen or bathroom, consider choosing a main color and an accent. Use the main color for metal doorknobs, faucets, showerheads and other fixtures while selecting an accent color for cabinet hardware. This method makes it easier to match only the cabinet hardware instead of finding knobs and pulls that perfectly match your existing fixtures.
Despite similarities in names, manufacturers may not create exact matches for hardware. For instance, a dark bronze from one brand may not be the same color as the same shade from another brand. Whether you decide on one finish for several pulls or knobs, get all those pieces from the same maker.
Knobs vs. Pulls
One of the biggest decisions for cabinet hardware is whether to choose knobs or pulls. Knobs are simple and only need one screw hole to install onto a door or drawer. Their smaller size makes them a better fit for square-shaped doors. They also cost less than pulls.
Pulls, however, give you a greater variety of options. In fact, you can find several types of pulls that you can choose from when purchasing hardware. Pulls can come in some of the following styles:
- Appliance pulls: These long bars work best with large drawers and resemble the bars on oven doors.
- Arch pulls: Arched pulls slope down to their contact points with the surface.
- Bar pulls: These simple bars sit atop two supports that require two screws for installation.
- Cup pulls: These hardware options provide a cup-shaped opening to insert the hands into for pulling open the door or drawer.
- Drop-Handle pulls: These pulls have hinges on the edges of the handle to allow the pull to fall back down after use. They work best for drawers.
- Ring pulls: Ring pulls use a single screw and a backplate for installation. They have a ring for pulling instead of a bar.
For pulls that need two holes, the center-to-center distance refers to how far the supports are from each other. This distance is much shorter than the overall length of the pull and indicates where you need to insert holes for the pull’s screws.
Personal Preference for Comfort
What type of handles do you want to use for your comfort? Do you like the feel of knobs, or are they too small to grip? Some people may require pulls to get a better grip on cabinets or drawers to open them. If you need an option that allows you to open a larger drawer with one hand, a pull works better than a knob.
Also, think about how easy it is to get your hand around the pull or knob and how comfortable the hardware is. If possible, find a source that provides samples or try out different pull types and knobs at your local hardware store to narrow down the options to those you prefer. Many pulls and knobs come in various sizes that may feel more comfortable in different-sized hands.
Remember that your personal preference for comfort and use of the cabinet hardware is not an optional consideration. After all, you will be using these cabinets daily and the hardware you choose should make it easier to open and close the doors.
Total Cost of the Project
The overall cost for the project depends on many factors.
First, count the number of pulls or knobs that you need for your project. The more you need, the greater the total cost. Plus, don’t forget that some drawers or doors may need more than one piece of hardware. For instance, longer drawers may require two shorter pulls or knobs instead of one long pull. Therefore, always count the individual pieces of hardware you need and not just the number of cabinets and drawers that you have.
The finishes you select for your pulls or knobs also impact the price. Some finishes, such as matte colors, may cost less. Also, don’t forget to purchase all products with the same finish from the same seller to ensure a uniform appearance.
The choice of knobs or pulls likewise impacts your project’s price. If you want to keep the overall costs lower, knobs provide you with a more economical option. However, if you need pulls for some drawers, you can combine them with knobs to keep the total price down. Using all pulls costs more than a room with only knobs on the cabinets.
Lastly, the individual price of each knob or pull affects the overall price. To get the best look and ensure longevity, you may want to avoid the cheapest hardware. While it may cost less initially, it may not look good after months or years of use, which means that you will spend more money to replace the hardware sooner. Invest in your cabinet hardware while thinking about the overall impact it will have on the space now and into the future.
Should All Cabinet Hardware Match?
Whether all your cabinet hardware matches is up to you. However, if you want a uniform appearance, be sure to purchase all the hardware together. Even if parts are described with the same finish, they may not match perfectly with other sellers’ components.
Some people choose to mix and match their hardware. Options include combining matte black with bright metallic finishes such as gold or brass. If you want all metallic finishes for the knobs and pulls, don’t use two warm or two cold metals together. For instance, copper, brass and gold are warm metals and do not mix well together. However, you can choose one of these warm metal finishes to combine with one cold metal finish of pewter, nickel or chrome.
Whether you choose to mix and match or have the same finish for all your hardware, make sure the style that you choose fits your budget, tastes and design goals. And, of course, you want pulls or knobs that fit your cabinets and their locations.
Use Your Unique Cabinet Hardware With Your Customized Cabinets From WG Wood Products
The best way to showcase your new hardware is to install the knobs or pulls on quality cabinets. At WG Wood Products, we produce all our products from solid wood, never particle board or medium-density fiberboard (MDF). Plus, all construction occurs in the United States. We customize cabinets to your specifications and ship them at no additional cost. Find out how affordable, high-quality, solid-wood cabinets can be for your home by requesting a quote. If you have questions about our cabinets, our storage solutions or anything else, contact us online.
