Knobs vs Pulls: How to Decide Which is Right For Your Kitchen
From choosing your cabinet colours to creating a floor plan, there are a lot of decisions you must make when designing new spaces.
While cabinet hardware can feel like a small detail in your project, your choice can make a big impact – not only visually, but physically as well. It is essential to choose the right hardware style, colour and functionality for your space.
Before we start talking about style, we can start off by looking at the different types of hardware and where to use them.
1. Knobs
With endless options of shapes and sizes, knobs are often a go-to for a daintier look. They’ve been popular for ages, always look good, and can be used on doors and drawers. That being said, they can be harder to grip since you most often have to pinch them to open your door/drawer. This is not always a big concern, but for someone with less dexterity in their hands, or someone with long nails, like myself, they can feel slightly awkward to use.
You can choose various shapes, finishes, sizes and level of detail to suit different design styles. When used on cabinet doors, you can even change the placement slightly to lend to a more traditional design versus a more modern placement.
2. Pulls
Pulls are classic and can make more of a statement. They can be stylized to suit your space, and they are often considered the most functional hardware. They tend to be easier to grip compared to knobs or other hardware, so they are really great for people who have lost dexterity in their hands.
One of the best things about pulls is that they come in many lengths, so they can be proportionately sized to your drawer/door front. On longer drawers, or tall doors (ex. Pantry cabinets) I like to use long pulls, so it looks more substantial and feels natural to open whether you’re shorter or taller.
Cup Pulls
Cup pulls are a subcategory of pulls which are open on one side only. I particularly like using them in pairs on wide drawers. They’re most useful on drawers since it is most comfortable to reach and cup your hand from below.
Edge Pulls
Edge pulls are another subcategory of pulls. As per their name, they sit flat on the edges of a door or drawer. They give you a bit of a lip to pull on, while providing a much simpler look. They are a great option for more modern/minimalist designs, where you want to keep your fronts looking clean.
3. Tip-on
Tip-on hardware is completely hidden within your cabinets. Typically, this is used in modern-style kitchens, where you don’t want to see any hardware, or we can strategically use this to ‘hide’ certain cabinets.
By adding this hardware, you simply have to press on your door or drawer, and it will pop open slightly, so that you can pull it open fully. If you don’t want any visible hardware, this can be a great solution.
One thing to keep in mind is that for busy areas like a kitchen, it can be common to accidentally open your base drawers/doors if you press on them at all. So if you’re someone like me, who often leans on your cabinets, you may frequently open your cabinets when you don’t mean to.
After you’ve seen the different types of hardware, our next step is to figure out how you would like to install them. These are my favourite hardware combinations:
A) Mainly pulls, knobs on select doors
B) Pulls on bases, knobs on uppers
C) Pulls on drawers, knobs on doors
D) Mixed of pulls and knobs throughout
E) All Pulls
And finally, you get to the fun part of choosing finishes, styles, etc. To help narrow down some selections, you can start by asking yourself questions like these…
Do you want to match your hardware finish with other fixtures like your faucet, or do you want to mix metals?
What style are you going for? Brassy, brushed, or rubbed metals often have a more vintage feel to them, while more contrasted colours and softer finishes, like matte black, may feel more modern.
What shape/style do you like the look of best – rounded vs squared. simple vs ornate. small vs oversized. thin and dainty vs chunky and bold.
To give you a few ideas, here are some of my favourite pieces to use!
Hickory – Piper Knob & Pull
Amerock – Blackrock Pull
Richelieu – 7470 Pull
Richelieu – 426 Pull
Hardware Placement Guide
When we talk to our clients about hardware placement, we use our hardware placement guide to talk through their options. Based on their door style, they can see a visual for the standard placement options. If you’re interested in seeing our standard options, check out our Hardware Placement Guide.
Brooklyn Stein
Brooklyn joined the Two30Nine team after earning a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Design with a focus on interior design at the University of Manitoba. She loves to connect with her clients to create beautiful, functional spaces that they will love.
