Where to Place Your Kitchen Cabinetry Hardware
Does it go in the middle of the drawer, on the edge or nowhere at all? Get advice on positioning knobs and pulls
Barbra Bright
10 April 2019
Houzz Contributor. San Francisco-based designer who writes about TV kitchens in her spare time. http://www.barbrabrightdesign.com/
Houzz Contributor. San Francisco-based designer who writes about TV kitchens in her... More
Remodeling a kitchen can be a daunting undertaking. There are so many decisions to make that it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. And just when the end of your remodel is in sight, your contractor asks one last question: “Where would you like the hardware placed on your cabinetry?”
It probably never occurred to you that there are placement options for your hardware. Like most design options, placement is based on a combination of tried-and-true design solutions and one’s own aesthetic. Let’s explore hardware placement so that when your contractor comes asking you’ll be prepared.
It probably never occurred to you that there are placement options for your hardware. Like most design options, placement is based on a combination of tried-and-true design solutions and one’s own aesthetic. Let’s explore hardware placement so that when your contractor comes asking you’ll be prepared.
Lower Cabinetry: Drawers
Option 1: Centered. The most popular placement is to center the hardware in the middle of each drawer front. Aesthetically pleasing and symmetrical, the main drawback to this placement is that the bottom drawer can be difficult to reach since the hardware is low.
The first photo shows a five-piece drawer front, also known as a decorative drawer front, which echoes the door style. A five-piece drawer front consists of a center panel surrounded by a frame. The vertical portion of the frame is called the stile and the horizontal, the rail. Stiles and rails can be of varying widths depending on the door and drawer style you select.
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Option 1: Centered. The most popular placement is to center the hardware in the middle of each drawer front. Aesthetically pleasing and symmetrical, the main drawback to this placement is that the bottom drawer can be difficult to reach since the hardware is low.
The first photo shows a five-piece drawer front, also known as a decorative drawer front, which echoes the door style. A five-piece drawer front consists of a center panel surrounded by a frame. The vertical portion of the frame is called the stile and the horizontal, the rail. Stiles and rails can be of varying widths depending on the door and drawer style you select.
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The gray island in this photo also shows center placement of the hardware in each drawer front. The difference is that the top drawer front is a slab, or flat, style, whereas the lower drawers are decorative. It’s not uncommon to mix the two drawer styles to achieve a less formal look.
Shop for cabinet and drawer pulls in the Houzz Shop
Shop for cabinet and drawer pulls in the Houzz Shop
Option 2: Centered on top. In this option, the hardware is centered in the middle of the top drawer only. For all the lower drawers, it is placed on the top rail. Some find this placement visually unbalanced, while others appreciate its blend of form and function.
Placing the hardware on the rail instead of centering it in the middle of the drawer front makes it easier to open the lower drawers — especially for the taller members of the household.
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Option 3: All on top. This is my preferred configuration for its symmetry and functionality. The hardware is placed on each rail if the drawer fronts are five-piece.
For a mix of slab and five-piece drawer fronts, as in this photo, the hardware is placed on the top quarter of the slab drawers to mimic their placement on the rails of the decorative fronts.
Option 4: Top one-third. What if the drawers are all slab? In this photo, the hardware is placed in the top third of each drawer. But because the fronts are slab, there is the added flexibility to place the hardware in the top one quarter, or even to center it. The choice depends on your own aesthetic.
Option 5: Two-pull placement. Is there a secret to placing two pulls on a drawer? Well, here’s mine: Divide the drawer in half and center a pull in each half and it will be perfectly balanced. For example, if your drawers are 36 inches wide, half of 36 is 18, half of 18 is 9. Therefore, each pull is centered 9 inches from the left and right edge of the drawer front.
Option 6: No hardware. I love the clean, seamless look of cabinetry without hardware. Most cabinetry sans hardware uses a magnetic touch latch system to open and close the doors and drawers. Press on the cabinet or drawer and a spring-loaded plunger opens it. Press again and a magnetic catcher holds it closed.
But this modern look comes at a price. The natural oils on your fingertips are transferred to the cabinet’s face and will eventually damage its finish where it is repeatedly touched.
But this modern look comes at a price. The natural oils on your fingertips are transferred to the cabinet’s face and will eventually damage its finish where it is repeatedly touched.
Option 7: Channel system. One option to help avoid degrading the finish with repeated use is an integrated channel system. A channel system offers a clean look with the ability to open base cabinetry without touching the drawer fronts. Instead, you pull on the integrated metal lip.
This photo shows the metal lip of a channel system more clearly.
Door Cabinetry: Uppers and Lowers
Unlike drawer cabinetry, hardware placement for door cabinetry is much more subjective. The knob or pull can align with the rail, or it could be higher, or lower — there are no rules. Well, except for this rule: The hardware spacing for the wall cabinets should match the base cabinets. Let’s look at a few options.
Option 1: Horizontal. If you’re looking for a more modern aesthetic, place the hardware horizontally, as in this bamboo kitchen.
Unlike drawer cabinetry, hardware placement for door cabinetry is much more subjective. The knob or pull can align with the rail, or it could be higher, or lower — there are no rules. Well, except for this rule: The hardware spacing for the wall cabinets should match the base cabinets. Let’s look at a few options.
Option 1: Horizontal. If you’re looking for a more modern aesthetic, place the hardware horizontally, as in this bamboo kitchen.
Option 2: Vertical edging lower rail. In this photo, the hardware for the wall cabinets are centered on the top edge of the lower rail. The pull placement for the lower cabinetry doors mirrors the placement of the uppers.
Option 3: Vertical extending into rail. Here, the pulls extend into the bottom rail of the wall cabinets and top rail of the base cabinets. This makes for a convenient location to reach, especially for wall cabinets that are a bit higher.
Option 4: MIdway up on stile. This green Shaker-style kitchen places the knobs midway up on the stiles of the upper cabinets. It’s a great look but perhaps difficult to reach for those who aren’t tall.
And the lower door cabinets use different hardware altogether — proving my point that anything goes. Keep in mind that hardware placement is really about what works best for you. Any one of the options we’ve considered can work. Go with the one you like best and that will also deliver comfortable function.
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Tell us: Where do you think cabinet hardware looks best? Share your thoughts and pictures in the Comments.
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And the lower door cabinets use different hardware altogether — proving my point that anything goes. Keep in mind that hardware placement is really about what works best for you. Any one of the options we’ve considered can work. Go with the one you like best and that will also deliver comfortable function.
Find cabinet knobs in the Houzz Shop
Tell us: Where do you think cabinet hardware looks best? Share your thoughts and pictures in the Comments.
More on Houzz
5 Color and Style Trends for Kitchens and Baths in 2019
Find a design or remodeling pro for your next project
Shop for home products
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@Fredda Epstein: any hardware is personal tastes and styles. I suggest you use your browser and put in "kitchen cabinet knobs traditional, modern, contemporary, Louis XIV, art deco, art nouveau, mid century modern" or what ever style your kitchen is and the hardware already chosen. Also add in if you want "wood, brass, gold, copper, silver, white, black, iron" or what ever materials you so desire.
So your search would look something like "Art Deco contemporary copper kitchen cabinet knobs". If you want to look at many types, put in "knobs, kitchen cabinets". The more selection you add to your search the more choices of what you really want will pop up in your search engine. If you don't get enough, then drop part of the detail description.
Great article. All too often this gets pondered at the last minute (usually as the installer is standing by with a drill ready to go). So many decisions to make during a kitchen installation but this one is important to get right the first time!
I went horizontally with my wide stainless drawer and door pulls. And I lined them up on the top rail with the same ones on the drawers. It gives a clean, consistent, linear feel, and all are in line throughout the entire kitchen. Having a cabinet pull in the center of the doors does not present any problem in opening the door. It does not affect the swing of the door one bit, but is sure gives a uniform look to my shaker style cabinets. And on the wider ones (with two panels 36 inches) over the range hood or refridgerator, I used two per cabinet that open upwards with struts. It makes it appear that each panel is seperate.