Cabinet Hardware Placement: Tips for Knobs and Pulls Installation
Posted by KraftMaid on 2nd Apr 2024
Get advice on choosing between knobs and pulls, sizing them right, and where to position your cabinet hardware so your finished space beautifully reflects your style.
It’s super satisfying to install kitchen cabinet hardware. Not only does it mark the completion of your project, but it can also be an impactful way to personalize your space.
Before you can get there, you’ll have to make a few design choices – starting with choosing a style from a seemingly endless offering of knobs and pulls. Then, you’ll have to land on an installation placement that aligns with your taste.
Good news: There’s not really a right or wrong way to do it. We’ll walk you through a few things to keep in mind as you decide on cabinet hardware placement.
Use knobs and pulls from the same hardware collection for more visual variety in your kitchen design.
SHOULD YOU USE KNOBS OR PULLS ON YOUR CABINETS?
While there are slight functional and installation differences, choosing between knobs and pulls is mostly a matter of preference.
- Knobs are simpler to install and less expensive than pulls but can be difficult to grasp for people with larger hands or a disability.
- With an easy-access design that’s typically three or four times larger than a knob, cabinet pulls allow people to use them with one finger or an entire hand for more leverage. Two mounting points on pulls tend to hold up better on heavy drawers, as well.
- It’s OK to use both. One easy way to do it is to install knobs on all your cabinet doors and pulls on all your cabinet drawers. Or use knobs on cabinets above the countertop and pulls on all cabinets below.
For a more updated look, center the knob on the cabinet door frame and align it with the edge of the door’s center panel.
WHERE TO PLACE KNOBS AND PULLS ON CABINETS
Tips for kitchen cabinet knobs and pulls placement with a framed door construction:
- For a traditional cabinet hardware placement, mark the middle of the door’s vertical stile and horizontal rail. Install the knob or end of the pull where those two lines intersect. Install hardware in the middle of the center panel on all drawers.
- For a more updated look, center the hardware on the vertical stile but position it even with the edge of the frame rail. Install the knob or pull centered on the top rail of the drawer.
Traditional Look Modern Look
Tips for positioning hardware on cabinets with slab doors and drawers:
- Install the knob or end of a pull two to three inches from both edges of a slab door.
- On drawers, you have the option to install your hardware centered left-to-right and top-to-bottom on all drawers, or to center it left-to-right but consistently two to three inches from the top of each drawer.
Oversized pulls with a Modern placement give cabinets a contemporary appearance.
WHAT SIZE CABINET HARDWARE WILL LOOK BEST?
On drawers, pulls often look best when you follow a 1:3 ratio – choose a pull that’s about one-third as wide as the cabinet drawer face. In other words, a 4-inch pull is ideal on a 12-inch drawer. (An exception to this rule: Oversized pulls spanning two-thirds or more of the drawer can accentuate the linear characteristics of a sleek, Modern design.)
What if the largest pull in your favorite hardware collection maxes out at 5 inches and you’ve got a drawer that’s 30 or 36 inches wide? In that case, consider installing two pulls. Use the 1:3 rule again to divide the width of the drawer into thirds and install the two individual pulls centered on those lines.
Just one word of advice for knob sizes. Make sure your knob isn’t wider than the frame of the cabinet door you’ll mount it to. You don’t want your knob to extend past the door’s edge and interfere with adjacent hardware, appliances or cabinets.
MORE CABINET HARDWARE EXAMPLES
Browse our Inspiration Gallery to see how our designers have used hardware in dozens of beautiful kitchens and baths across a variety of design styles.