nini804, thanks. cienza & bh401, I agree, but believe I would use both to open significantly large & heavy drawers. (most people don't use knobs on doors either - I've cleaned enough filthy doors / doorways to know that, LOL) jessicaml - two separate knobs or handles (handles in my case, but knobs would work equally well). It may be that you've not noticed - in which case please take a quick look @ the site for Kitchen Aid, for example: http://www.kitchenaid.com/flash.cmd?/#/page/home/ Go to Kitchen Gallery. The Default kitchen shown is the French Country. While it has one example, the Modern American, the Contemporary, and the Craftsman all show examples. I'm not savvy enough with this site to post images, sorry! Thanks all!

Thank you everyone. That confirms my original thought (and yes, Buehl, that's exactly what I said, that I"d have to bend over to open those middle handles) I'm glad to know that I can tell my mom that I was right HAAHAHA. The next pressing issue is finding cup pulls that I like, if I go with cup pulls. The only thing I dislike about the cup pulls is that in a lower cabinet you can't just hook it to open it from above, you have to reach under...I'm not sure if that will be a problem or not. And so far, they've all just seemed way too small...

The contractor will put them where I want them, that is the question. I keep second guessing my decisions. Some people have said all knobs on top, all handles on bottom, regardless of whether they are drawers or cabinets. I have also heard the exact opposite. I would love an "accepted standard in the industry", or a "rule of thumb" folks agree on.

Just aesthetically. It will just matter to you, most people will not even notice. If you don't like the look of the gold you can swap out the door knob for a silver one or whatever your color choice. The actual knob usually is easily replaceable.