You know, not knowing what to put where was probably part of it for me, too. I've seen kitchens with knobs on the uppers and pulls on the lowers. Or pulls on the uppers and knobs on the lowers. Or knobs on doors and pulls on drawers. Or vice versa. And then what do you do with the dishwasher panel (if your dishwasher is paneled, or if a woodchuck is planning to chuck wood on it). I decided to get nice big handles that wouldn't cramp my fingers and put them on everything. They were heavy-duty enough for the dishwasher panel, and I only needed one of them on the 30" drawers (instead of two knobs). But I've seen some combinations of knobs and pulls here that I've loved, so it's really just another one of those endless decisions - which cabinets, which finish, what height uppers, what countertop, what backsplash tile, etc. I tried to make a list of all the decisions I had to make over the course of this renovation. I gave up after my third glass of wine. ;-) Whatever you decide to do will be correct. :-)

Weathered Nickel pulls (Amerock) and Antique Pewter knobs (Anne at Home) on burgundy painted cabs: Satin nickel on gray painted cabs: A closeup of our choices set on a fir cabinet door. The widest pulls are Amerock Weathered Nickel, the cup pulls are Top Knobs Antique Pewter, the left knob is Anne at Home Antique Pewter, and the right knob is House of Knobs Antique Pewter: In this photo you can kind of see them all at once, in place. You can also see we're waiting for one more cup pull for the island...My error:

The cabinet hardware doesn't have to match the stainless. What style is your kitchen? A picture would help with suggestions. If you use knobs on the cabinet doors, it should not look like metal overload. Depending on the style, even pulls on the doors may be fine too. We have a traditional kitchen with stainless appliances. I used antique nickel hardware. It's still in the silvery color, but muted, and the shape is not sleek, so doesn't look anything like the appliances. This is the first kitchen I've ever had with cabinet hardware. We've always had finger-pull cabinets before, and I won't ever have them again if I can help it. I love the hardware. It's so much easier to use than grabbing the cabinet door/drawer.

Since many people on this board are building a "forever house" and care about aging-in-place, I vote against knobs. As you age, they'll be the most problematic to pull open. The easiest thing for aging would probably be a wiiiiiiide staple-type pull or similar. These have the added benefit of doubling as a towel holder. However, I do agree that I'd hit my hip or catch my clothes on them. And they're more modern-looking than I want. Between cup pulls and handles, I don't see a great deal of difference in functionality. I vote for a combination of them: cup pulls on the lower drawers, handles on the upper cabinets. Another question worth mentioning: What type of material ages well? In my kitchen, I have antique brass, which has been in place probably a decade. It still looks great. No visible wear, and they weren't expensive items in the first place. In my bathroom I have builder-grade junk: I don't know what material it is, but it's a goldish tone painted white on the front (okay, perhaps it was white all over when it was new around 1970?). It's 100% functional, not a single handle is in bad shape. The look is quite outdated, but no complaints about the function.