How To Choose The Best Cabinet Handles For Your Home

By Zephyr and Stone

Take it from us, we know all too well the many decisions you’re juggling when building, renovating or updating your home.

From nailing the perfect floor plan to lighting, paint colours and more, cabinetry handles are a finer detail that can make or break a space. In any room, including wardrobes, bathrooms, kitchens, laundries and even offices, the right knobs and handles can easily elevate a design with minimal effort… and if you think about the sheer use your cabinetry handles receive each day, it’s no wonder opting for high-quality hardware is as vital as any other element to complete your design. So how do you choose the best handles for your new cabinetry? Here are our simple tips for nailing your design…

Zephyr and Stone • Classic Coastal Kitchen

Style + Shape

As with any finish or product you choose for your home, it’s vital the style and shape of your cabinetry handles complement your overall design. Whether it’s minimalist, traditional, contemporary or somewhere in between, handles should be considered as an extension of your cabinetry and pair seamlessly with its finish and the overall space. To achieve this, you might need to choose a handle that’s so minimal it’s almost invisible, or a style that contrasts with your cabinets to make a statement and elevate the space. There are no hard and fast rules for selecting your handles, but the home style you’re looking to achieve should always be at the forefront of any product decisions you make.

Zephyr and Stone • Retreat House Bathroom

Likewise, when selecting a handle shape, it’s important to consider any patterns and profiles in wall cladding, cabinetry, tiles and other finishes, and choose a handle shape to replicate or create contrast with these features. Think about how any shapes will work together and whether they match to balance your design. Then consider how the shape will affect the handle use - rounded edges versus square or sharp corners - to ensure your handles suit the needs and lifestyle of your family or the end users of the space.

Zephyr and Stone • Contemporary Coastal Entry

Colour + Finish

Just like the style of your handles will dictate the overall look of a space, the colour you select is equally important in driving home the type of home you want to create. You might think that choosing a colour is purely decorative, but colour actually also contributes to the style, feel, functionality and longevity of your new cabinetry. For example, a family with young children or a home that will be a rental might steer clear of crisp white - which may show dirt and require more cleaning compared to chrome or brushed nickel finishes.

A great place to start when looking at the hardware is to take note of other colours in your room — windows, doors, lighting and other finishes, to help you narrow down which colours will suit best, and then consider their maintenance and wear. When you’re finalising all your products and finishes, keep track of them with our Finishes Schedule or a similar template, to easily compare your choices as you make decisions and order products. While you don’t always need to match your handles to your windows or tapware for a cohesive look, keeping finishes consistent throughout a room and home, will result in a balanced design where everything feels like it ‘fits’.

Zephyr and Stone • Contemporary Coastal Kitchen

No matter the style of home you’re creating, and whether you’re after handles or knobs, there’s a huge range of finish options to choose from, including timber, marble, brass, bronze, nickel and stainless steel. When choosing handle colours, ensure you check any finish options like polished, brushed and satin, which will also affect maintenance, finger-printing, and how well your cabinetry handles stand the test of time. This detail can be overlooked but is vital in making sure you invest in the right finishes that you can enjoy for years to come. The local environment should also be considered when choosing finishes, especially elements like sea spray in coastal areas which make certain finishes unviable as a long-term solution.

Zephyr and Stone • Classic Coastal Laundry

Size + Positioning

Now that you’ve got the style and finish of your cabinet handles sorted, it’s time to consider what size to use and where to position your hardware for maximum effect. Cabinetry handle options range in size from subtle knobs that blend in right up to oversized pulls that take centre stage in any space. You can even mix and match the size of your hardware to emphasise features like statement doors while utility drawers recede to the background. This combination can help a space feel more fun, and casual and can give the room instant personality, too.

Also, consider whether handles and pulls are in scale to your design and cabinetry, and importantly for functionality. Choosing larger cabinetry handles with a good grip for high-use appliances like integrated fridges and dishwashers, ensures ergonomics and effortless use every day.

Zephyr and Stone • Classic Coastal Kitchen

Generally speaking, drawer handles run horizontally while door handles sit vertically for ease of use, however, there aren’t any hard and fast rules, when it comes to creating a design that’s right for you, as long as it’s functional! In a kitchen with varied-sized doors and drawers, ensuring the position of individual pieces working together is as important to consider as functionality. You can also combine styles, like a pull handle that sits over the lip of drawers contrasted with oversized handles that are positioned in the centre of pantry doors - for a unique way to elevate your room and add a designer touch.

Zephyr and Stone • Classic Coastal WIR

Functionality

Like every decision when building or renovating, functionality is paramount to creating a home that’s easy to live in day to day. Choosing cabinetry handles is no different, and when you consider how often they’re used, it’s vital to get it right the first time. Choose larger handles for bigger or heavier drawers that hold things like pots and pans, and ensure there’s enough space for your hand to get a good grip to open with ease. We recommend ordering samples of any pulls or handles you love and personally testing them out to make sure they’re the right size and shape for the type of cabinetry you have in mind. Quality is an extremely important factor as well, especially in high-use areas like the kitchen and bathroom where sub-par hardware will quickly show signs of wear and tear.

Zephyr and Stone • Contemporary Coastal Kitchen

Cabinetry Considerations

Finally, your cabinetry material can also dictate which handle options are most suitable. If you’re using a cabinet maker then it’s a good idea to have a chat with them about your final vision to ensure your pulls and handles will be right for the type of cabinet. Cabinetry comes in a variety of thicknesses, so it’s important to check your handle specs to make sure they’re suitable, especially if you’re using panelled or profiled cabinetry or solid timbers. Some handle options wrap around the side of a door, and may only suit materials with a narrower thickness.

Zephyr and Stone • Coral House Butler’s Pantry

If you’re looking for high-quality cabinet handles in a range of stunning colours, finishes, shapes and styles, head over to our friends at Lo & Co to receive 10% off your order with the code ZS10. You can also download our free cabinetry tips sheet that’s packed full of key cabinetry terms you need to know, and those are all the important questions to ask your cabinet maker before you sign off on your joinery!

Want more ideas for your home? Tour our Contemporary Coastal Project room-by-room…