Hardware is the jewellery of a kitchen — small in scale, but the thing people touch every single time they open a cabinet or drawer. It's also one of the last decisions in a renovation, which means it often gets rushed. It shouldn't be.
Pulls vs. Knobs
Pulls (bar handles, cup pulls, bin pulls) are easier to grip, especially on drawers. A 5" or 6" bar pull on a wide drawer looks proportional and functions well. Contemporary kitchens lean heavily toward bar pulls — long, lean profiles in brushed nickel, matte black, or brushed gold.
Knobs work well on doors where you don't need to grip and pull as far. Many kitchens use pulls on drawers and knobs on doors — a deliberate combination that can look very intentional, or accidental if the styles don't coordinate.
Edge pulls and recessed pulls — for a fully handle-free look (common in high-gloss European-style kitchens), edge pulls are routed into the underside of the cabinet door, or push-to-open mechanisms eliminate hardware entirely.
Size & Proportion
Hardware scale matters more than people expect. A 3" pull on a 36"-wide drawer looks undersized. A 12" bar pull on a narrow cabinet door looks oversized. General guides:
- Drawers up to 18" wide — 3"–5" pull
- Drawers 18"–30" wide — 5"–8" pull
- Drawers 30"+ or pan drawers — 10"–18" pull or two pulls
- Cabinet doors — knob or pull, 3"–5"
Finish Coordination
Cabinet hardware finish needs to coordinate with your faucet, range hood, and any visible appliance trim. Brushed nickel is the safest all-rounder. Matte black is the strongest contemporary statement but requires consistency — it reads poorly if it conflicts with polished appliance trim. Brushed gold adds warmth and is popular in transitional kitchens with white or off-white cabinets.
Mixing two finishes can work (brushed nickel hardware with a matte black faucet, for example) but needs to be intentional and repeated — one accent finish, consistently applied.
Organizational Accessories
The interior of your cabinets is where a kitchen either works well or fights you every day. Worth considering during a renovation when everything is accessible:
- Pull-out shelves — Lower cabinets become fully accessible without kneeling and reaching. High daily-use value.
- Drawer organizers — Utensil dividers, knife blocks, spice inserts. Custom-fitted to your drawer dimensions.
- Lazy Susans — Corner cabinet solutions. Available in full-round and half-moon configurations.
- Pot drawers — Deep drawers below the range for pots and pans. More accessible than a base cabinet with a door.
- Pull-out waste bins — Concealed recycling and garbage integrated into a base cabinet.
- Under-cabinet lighting — Not hardware in the traditional sense, but the right time to add it is during cabinet installation. LED strip lighting under upper cabinets improves both task lighting and the room's ambient feel.
Brands We Work With
Richelieu Hardware — Our primary supplier for cabinet pulls, knobs, and organizational accessories. One of the largest hardware suppliers in North America, with an extensive range from entry-level to premium.
Don't Rush the Hardware Decision
Hardware selection is best done with your cabinet door and countertop samples in hand. Come in and we'll help you land on the right combination.
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