Rhyme and reason for knob, pull placement

11 years ago

We are doing a vintagey kitchen and I am looking at vintage cast iron looking hardware. I have a lot of feedback on places to look including eBay. However, I am realizing that I do not have a good idea of the logic or the aesthetics of when to do single bin pulls, when double pulls work better, when to use knobs, handles etc.. I went through several old threads and the consensus seems to be whatever works for you.. gulp! Given that my last kitchen was builder grade with no hardware, I need some help to send me along the right way.. DH is quite convinced that I am making a mountain out of a molehill and we should just but a bunch of knobs and be done.. I on the other hand love the mixed up eclectic look with knobs, bin pulls, and sash type handles. Please help get the look I want without making it a mixed up mess.

To remind folks we have a galley in a Spanish/ mission ranch which is open on both ends. All drawer base with some uppers. Painted cabinets.

Galley side A

Galley side B

Here is the type of hardware I plan to use..

Bin pull type about 4in

Handle and knobs.. I like how the hardware is mixed up in this picture. Love the eclectic look.

Bigger knobs. I am thinking this for uppers and possibly trash.. Mine is a rollout .. Should I do a handle along the top frame instead?

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Comments (7)

labbie
11 years ago
We did pulls on drawers,and did two only on the wider pot drawers. For the trash and spice pullouts we did pulls even though they are next to drawers with knobs. Due to the weight, the pull just feels better to us.
labbie
11 years ago
We did pulls on drawers,and did two only on the wider pot drawers. For the trash and spice pullouts we did pulls even though they are next to drawers with knobs. Due to the weight, the pull just feels better to us.
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aimless07....I don't think you're being weird at all. Pending on the cabinet layout, having pulls used for door and drawers can help balance the bling. Personally, if you do end up with single doors....I'd probably go with knobs on doors and pulls on drawers above. Knobs on doors above and pulls on drawers below is our preference for our home as I think it's easier to open a cabinet door with a knob and the pulls offer leverage to pull open large heavier lower level doors/drawers. However for my built-ins in the morning room....I elected for knobs to help diminish protruding hardware. To each his own but at the end of the day.....my DH usually defaults to who spends the most time in a certain room to let that person make the final decision....within reason that is. ;-)
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It is such a visceral choice. You really need to think about the Users of your kitchen. And, you really need to think about how you weigh in on the "form v. function" concept. There are a lot of old posts I could direct you to. But, I won't. Close your eyes, imagine your plan, open your drawer. Is it a pull or a knob? Is it two or one on a 30 inch wide drawer? Reach to your uppers. Again, what was in your hand, pull or knob. Go with your gut. Draw what your gut wants then ---BALANCE. Your gut = function. Your iterative drawings, with all the variations, = form. Order lots extras for last minute changes. I love my choices. I have 2 different size pulls for my all drawer (except under the sink, the hutch, over the fridge, and one pullout) kitchen. Even, among these, they are all pulls, except for the small bottom doors of the hutch and the small top doors over the fridge. For me it was a "small door" decision factor. Right or Wrong, it works, because it is consistent. And, consistency is KEY.
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thank you for the advice. looks like 3 votes for longer, one for the smaller. errant_gw, i see the concern re: guests, but since we'll be able to tell which way the doors open, i won't worry about guests. they can figure it out lol. michelle, i had the same thought as you, the longer pulls are more "modern" right now meaning they'll probably be dated soon, so then we were leaning towards the smaller ones. we're torn. would it look weird to do smaller on the uppers and the medium size on the lowers and drawers? of course we do have a couple of giant width cabs (20" and 21"0 where the smaller looks a little awkward. annkh_nd, thank you, he will like hearing that:) the reason we were thinking horizontal on the uppers and vertical on the lowers, was this inspiration pic: the only difference is their lower cabs do not have drawers on top so they don't have a horizontal pull over vertical pull look going on, which i would have. and we do have drawers significantly larger than the one shown. we have some 28-32". we also have one tiny one because we did a very narrow tray base and i made the stupid mistake of requesting that the door on the tray base look like a drawer over a door and that resulted in a horrifically tiny looking drawer. i think we're going to have to do a vertical pull on that drawer. i'm starting to think it doesn't really matter as long as things look relatively proportionate.
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wdccruisewdccruise here is my curvy range hood-chosen to allow more clearance for adjoining cabs since it is angled. One of the reasons I went with the arched pull is so the hood wouldn't be the only curve. I sort of made a fool of myself when we went to the showroom to choose hardware. I had told both the cabinetmaker and my husband I thought I could make a choice quickly. My husband really liked some more rectangular ones but they felt too clinical for me. I am pretty sure the cabinet guy has already ordered these and I am locked in. I really appreciate your time and thoughts though.
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breezygirl
11 years ago
You're gonna love me.....do what YOU want! LOL! You love the pic you showed, right? Then mix it up like that. Personally, that pic is too busy for me with the three different types of hardware and with the two bar pulls on the center island drawers, although I love those knobs even though I'm not a knob person.

I have (obviously since my whole kit is pulls) a pull on my trash drawer. I find this easier than a knob would be. The pull has more surface area to grab, and I can open it by grabbing from below or above with a little pinky if the rest of my fingers are dirty. My pullout needs a bit of a tug to get it started. For ease of use, I recommend a regular bar pull installed horizontally for trash. Again though, do what looks best to you.

I'll tell you how I approached my hardware placement. I knew I wanted all pulls and was unsure of which size pull I'd want on which size drawer so I purposely ordered too many of each size. When my order came, I held up the various sizes to each drawer and decided. Then I sent the remaining, unused pulls back. Another option would be to buy one or two of each piece of hardware you're considering and experiment before the entire order is placed.

Will your appliances be paneled so you're putting on your own hardware?

In looking at your plan again, I might suggest the following:

-putting pulls on all your uppers

Galley A
-two pulls on drawers larger than 25" since your pulls are small
-one pull on drawers smaller than 25"
-can't tell the measurements or exactly the configuration of the trash area (is each door face pullout or just a pullout on the right? Drawer above?)
Galley B
-knobs on the hutch
-pulls on the stack left of DW
-pull on the top of the stack right of sink and pulls for lower three

Just a possible starting point! I'm sure you could work it up a couple of different ways and have it look fabulous! Good luck.
breezygirl
11 years ago
The mix of the three different hardwares suddenly reminded me of one of my most favorite GW kitchens-Segbrown. I'll link her kitchen below. Perhaps it can give you more ideas for your own placement.

Here is a link that might be useful: Segbrown's stunner
segbrown
11 years ago
Hey, look, it's me ... ;-)

We did have rhyme and reason for our mix of placement, believe it or not.

Basically, cup pulls went on slab drawers, knobs on the narrow drawers, and handles on panel drawers. Whether we put the handle in the center panel or on the stile depended on height and how they would be used ... we put them on the top stile on the island so I wouldn't have to reach too far down to pull them.
holligator
11 years ago
The "eclectic" pic reminded me of one of my all-time favorite kitchens--Elizpiz's. But wait...that IS Elizpiz's kitchen! The linked thread includes a discussion of the hardware, and she shares her sources. If you're thinking of doing anything like her kitchen, I can't wait to see the results!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Elizpiz's gorgeous kitchen
lalithar
Original Author
11 years ago
Holligator, it is indeed Elizpiz's kitchen :) which is one of my favorite kitchens for the feel it invokes.

Breezy. - thanks for your notes on what would look good. I am going to draw it on a printout of the plan and see how it looks. All my appliances are paneled so that I can have a cohesive look.. Important in my galley based on GW feedback. Re: trash.. the right side is trash pullout and the left is a pullout for Oils, vinegars etc. I had not seen Segbrown's finished post.. So thanks for posting that.. What a charming and functional kitchen!

Segbrown- DH likes your reason for the hardware placement.. We are going to try to do some layouts to see if it works for our flow..I love your kitchen.. Can't believe I had not seen it before.

Rhyme and reason for knob, pull placement

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labbie

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Rhyme and reason for knob, pull placement

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