Your choice of kitchen cabinet handles can make or break the finished look of a kitchen refurb – or instantly elevate the look of existing kitchen units, if you’re looking for one of the best low-cost, high-impact kitchen ideas to reinvigorate the space.
Pull handles and knobs are the jewels in a kitchen’s crown, and as with actual jewels there’s a delightful variety of styles, sizes, materials and price points to choose between.
“When someone walks into your kitchen the first thing that makes an impact is the layout, but it’s the fine details that people end up focusing on, and the cabinet handles or knobs are a part of that,” says Mark Jones, Owner of The Handle Studio.
Read on for an expert-led walkthrough of the factors that really count when choosing handles for kitchen cabinets.
The Handle Studio is a retailer of handles and knobs for kitchens, bedrooms, studies and other spaces, based in Wrexham and delivering UK-wide. Owner, Mark Jones, launched the business while working as a joiner in 2005. The company’s website offers extensive guidance on handle selection.
Style and design
Most kitchen handles are either pull handles or knob handles. A pull handle is any handle which you hook your fingers behind to pull a door open, while a knob handle is grasped and pulled instead.
Pulls are generally considered easier to grip, and they’re better suited than knobs for use on heavy drawers that take some force to open. The designs available vary widely, from cup pulls and profile pulls to D-shaped pull handles.
Knobs are typically less expensive, and they tend to make a quieter addition to the appearance of kitchen units. They are the classic choice for cabinet doors.
Many homeowners use both pulls and knobs in their kitchen – for example, with pulls on drawers and lower cabinets, and knobs on upper cabinet drawers.
To round off your traditonal or shaker kitchen ideas, you might choose cup pulls or classic, round knobs in an antique finish such as oil-rubbed bronze. Meanwhile, in a modern or minimalist kitchen, simple bar-style pull handles in chrome, stainless steel or matte black – or a push-to-open handleless system – will often prove to be a good match.
T-bar pull handles are among the simplest and most versatile kitchen cabinet handles you can get.
Materials and finish
There can’t be many items in the kitchen that you’ll touch as often as your cabinet handles. With this in mind, the materials and finish of these furnishings will greatly affect your daily experience of the space.
The most common kitchen cabinet handle materials include:
- Stainless steel: an extremely durable options which is easy to clean, rust-resistant and commonly used in modern kitchens
- Brass or bronze: brass (a mixture of copper and tin) and bronze (copper mixed with zinc) are both well suited to a traditional or transitional kitchen design. Depending on your preference, you can either treat them to preserve their original finish, or leave them untreated so that they will develop a patina.
- Organic materials: handles made with plant or animal derived materials such as wood or leather can add warmth and texture to a kitchen design. However, they may require regular treatments (such as oiling or waxing, depending on the specific material) in order to preserve their condition, and they can be prone to discolouration.
“If you’re going for a look that’s somewhere in-between modern and traditional, you could go for a finish like polished chrome, matt chrome, matt nickel or polished nickel,” Mark Jones advises.
Theo Jones, Director of Fynn, advocates for the use of organic materials – or a well-matched metal finish.
“Most people default to metal, but it is worth remembering you can get beautiful timber handles or even leather pulls if you want something softer,” he says.
“If you do go for metal, look around the rest of the kitchen first. What finish are your tap, sockets and the door handles in the next room? As architects and interior designers, we nearly always recommend sticking to one main metal finish so everything feels calm and intentional.”
Leather handles can soften the look of a kitchen. Here is an inexpensive example.
Theo Jones is Director of Fynn, an Islington-based architecture and interior design firm which specialises in renovating or extending historic buildings. He is a member of RIBA.
Size and placement
While choosing a handle size for kitchen cabinets is partly a matter of personal taste, there are some tried-and-tested approaches.
One easy rule of thumb, the ‘one-third rule’, dictates that pull handles should be around one-third of the height of the cabinet door (or one-third of the width of the drawer) that they will open. However, you might choose an oversized pull handle for a more contemporary look.
Proportion is key. If your kitchen cabinets are large, it would make sense to choose larger handles, whereas smaller cabinets will generally suit smaller knobs or pulls.
In the kitchen, there’s often scope to use larger knobs or pulls than you might use in other rooms. “Kitchen knobs tend to be 32-38mm diameter, whereas you would use a smaller diameter such as 25mm for bedside cupboards, because you could easily catch your knees on them in that context,” says Mark Jones.
Bear in mind that choosing an industry standard size (such as 96mm or 128mm for pull handles) would mean you could have a greater choice of replacement handles in future.
Finding the right positioning for your cabinet handles also matters to the appearance and usability of your kitchen.
On cabinet doors, handles must be placed opposite the hinge side, usually close to the top or bottom corner (depending on the height of the cabinets). On drawers, handles are typically centered horizontally on the front.
Josie Medved is design manager at Symphony Group, a leading manufacturer and designer of fitted kitchens. The group offers a diverse range of kitchen styles from the Symphony Kitchens, Freedom by Symphony Kitchens and Laura Ashley Fitted Furniture brands.
Functionality and comfort
“When designing an accessible kitchen, handles should be considered from a functional perspective first, without compromising on style,” says Josie Medved, Design Manager at Symphony Group. “Ease of use is essential – handles need to be easy to see and practical for everyday use.
“Larger bar handles are often the best option, particularly for those with reduced strength, dexterity or visual impairments,” she adds. “Choosing a handle in a contrasting finish to the door colour can also improve visibility and usability.”
Given how often you’ll grip your kitchen cabinet handles, it’s well worth considering their comfort. This is a matter of personal preference, so we’d suggest physically handling handles in a variety of sizes, shapes and materials to work out what feels comfiest for your hand.
“They can have very different textures to them, with a particular feel from the metal used,” says Mark Jones. “For instance, some handles made from solid brass have a velvety feel to them.”
The ease of cleaning your handles will also colour your long-term experience. Ornate handles can look fabulous, but it is often more difficult to thoroughly clean a handle that’s highly textured, ridged or elaborately shaped.
Buying and installation
Cabinet hardware ranges dramatically in price, from less than £5 per handle to £50 or more. The costs can add up if you have a lot of kitchen cabinets requiring hardware – but the good news is that some retailers will offer preferential pricing on bulk purchases.
“Buying in bulk from us, you do save some money,” says The Handle Studio’s Mark Jones. “If someone’s buying, say, five handles, they wouldn’t get a discount, but an order of 50 to 100 would qualify.”
Most homeowners who are happy to do some DIY will find that they are able to install their own kitchen cabinet handles using a drill and screwdriver, so there’s no need to shell out on hiring a contractor to do the job for you. It’s highly recommended to use a template that will help you to line up your pencil marks and screw holes accurately.
This template comes in a wide range of sizes to help you position a kitchen cabinet pull handle perfectly.
FAQs
What are the latest kitchen cabinet handle trends?
According to Mark Jones, kitchen cabinet trends come and go. “A couple of years ago it was all brushed copper, but at the moment it’s American bronze, antique brass and polished chrome,” he says.
“Often these trends start from Instagram posts or magazine articles where people have shared their kitchen designs. There are new handles coming out all the time from suppliers, so there’ll always be new options and choices to make.”
Is it better to have handleless kitchen cabinets?
If you have yet to install your kitchen units, it’s worth considering handleless kitchen cabinets as an alternative to traditional cabinets with handles. This is a key decision for Theo Jones and the Fynn team in any kitchen design project.
“Handleless J-pull doors are the most common minimalist option,” he says. “They are clean, simple, easy to live with, and almost every kitchen supplier offers them.
“Wall cabinets often do not need handles at all; if the door runs a little lower at the bottom you can just pull it open from the edge. But if all of that feels a bit too calm or boring, then handles may be exactly what you need.”
The right cabinet handles are the cherry on top of a successful kitchen refurb, but there's a lot of foundational work to get right first. Read our guides on how to renovate a kitchen, how to remodel a kitchen and types of kitchen layout to get your project planning started.
