Ours is a working kitchen, so looks are important but function is more important. Think eye-hand coordination--what does it feel like to reach for the knob/pull and how difficult is it to aim and land on the item without thinking very much? [for me this rules out the catches that are little locks] How far does the finger area stand proud of the cabinet? [1 inch is probably insufficient.] Can it be used with other parts of the hand or are the fingertips essential to using it? Is a grip required? [hard for arthritic fingers] Will it push the fingers and hand back onto the cabinet or is there sufficient clearance so cab is not touched? Would a ring on a finger scrape the cab? If someone uses it with a glob of egg yolk or frosting on the fingers and this dries on the knob/pull, how hard will it be to clean it? [Extra points for knobs that are flat at back that can be opened with the side of a hand if fingers are messy (see posting above) or can be opened with fingers in V pattern.] Does your body need to be directly in front of knob/pull or can you pull strategically from the side? [This is a problem with many bin pulls and is reason I have decided against them. I hope that I can hook a finger into one of two hoop pulls and guide a drawer open even when standing caddywompus to drawer.] Knowing that I used to wash a 3-4 inch circle around the small ceramic knobs on my old cabs in order to remove the accumulating grime, I am hoping to keep my cabs cleaner by using open 5 inch pulls that rise 1.25 out from the cab. Wonder if it will work. Out of nostalgia, just want to post one of the pulls I once lusted after:

Shaker cabinets can take a lot of knob and handle styles. Some give a more traditional feel and others a more modern feel. We wanted something simple and unfussy with out design details that might pick up dirt and make them hard to clean. But we also didn't want to go too modern and we wanted the handles to be very comfortable to use - no finger pinching (some handles are too tight toward the ends and can grab onto a finger) and no thin edges (some cup pulls look good but are stamped out of a relatively thin metal so they don't have a comfortable feel). We went with Schaub traditional handles in oil rubbed bronze. The drawers are cup pulls and both drawer and door handles are about 4". Schaub has these cup pulls in two sizes and says both are 3" because the holes are on 3" centers but the holes on the bigger one are higher on the arch of the cup so the opening of the cup is a bit more than 4" on the bigger one. The Schaub has several dark finishes. The one they call ORB is a uniform matte brown and that's the one we got. They have two others that are brown with some brassy bits showing through like some other ORB finishes. We liked the more understated matte brown of their ORB for our kitchen.

HandleMax proudly offers a wide selection of quality handles and knobs at a fraction of the costs of those from big home improvement stores. Our prices are typically 70%-80% lower than our big box store competitors. We source directly and, thus, can pass on the savings to our customers. Moreover, HandleMax sells products with excellent quality. We work with OEM factories constantly to improve the quality and broaden our offering of cabinet pulls. Equally important, we provide best-in-class customer service.

I knew you all would understand and not think I am just being "difficult" :) I love it here! magsnj I haven't heard of that one, will definitely look. Nothing from China is definitely a plus. Those are very pretty! This is hopefully our forever home, and since we are in our mid50s it should last lol. And yes, we are very blessed to be able to not worry to much about staying in budget. In fact, DH hates a budget :) And while I was hoping to stay under $50 I'm not tied to that number. holly-kay I think Schaub is on my contractors list he gave me. I just haven't made it to the Ss yet. You've been just ahead of me throughout all of this, so you give me hope lol. katy-lou I have looked thru Rocky Mtn hardware several times! I've got a couple of maybes saved there. Just nothing reached out and grabbed me yet. I will check out Sun Valley also. Thank you all for the recommendations!