Tips and Tricks for Mounting Cabinet Hardware

Mounting Pulls

When mounting pulls on drawers and doors, the guidelines are similar. The traditional application is to use a pull for the drawers and a knob for the hinged doors.

A favorite trick of cabinet designers and fabricators is to mount the drawer pull slightly above the center line (vertical) on the drawer. This helps make the pull look like it is centered when the cabinets are viewed from above (as if you were standing at the countertop looking down). The amount of offset is up to the installer, but starting with 1/16” and up is a good place to start.

For hinged doors, it is important to avoid placing the pull in the corner of the door frame. We recommend placing the pull in the upper third, but with many traditional-style cabinets a pull in the center of the door stile (vertical) can be pleasing.

Alignment Tricks for Base Cabinets

A favorite trick of cabinet designers and fabricators is to mount the knob slightly above the center line (vertical) on the drawer. This helps make the knob look like it is centered when the cabinets are viewed from above (as if you were standing at the countertop looking down). The amount of offset is up to the installer, but starting with 1/16” and up is a good place to start.

For hinged doors, it is important to avoid placing the knob in the corner of the door frame. Placing knobs in the corner can weaken the cabinet’s joint. We recommend placing the knob in the upper third, but with many traditional-style cabinets a knob in the center of the door stile (vertical) can be pleasing. Both options provide more leverage.

Wide Drawers with Two Knobs

When mounting knobs on wide drawers, it is sometimes helpful to mount two knobs. The trick here is to avoid mounting them too wide or two narrow.

One guideline is to look for the center of the door below (if applicable) and align vertically with the outer third of each door. If there are only more drawers below, then measure the drawer into 1/3s to find the best spot

Mounting Oversized Knobs

Some types of base cabinets include very wide and deep drawers which are NOT of the 5-piece panel system. These include modern designs as well as some traditional styles. In this case, sometimes smaller knobs look “lost” on the large drawer face.

Mounting Appliance Pulls

Today’s integrated appliances require the cabinetmaker to fabricate panels to harmonize the appliances with the rest of the kitchen cabinets. The owner then gets to select appliance pull hardware to match (or accent) the other hardware in the kitchen.

Typically, longer and larger pulls are used to allow for greater leverage to open big refrigerator doors. These pulls are anywhere from 8”-24” long and upwards.

We recommend utilizing you appliance manufacturer’s installation/design guide for mounting instructions. Professional installation is advised for all appliance hardware.

One tip is to mount the center of hinged door hardware at the elbow height of the adult users in the home. This allows the lowest part of the handle to be used by children comfortably. Drawer pulls should be centered on the panel’s top rail, regardless of width.

For both door and drawer panels we recommend mounting the hardware slightly away from the panel edge. This allows a little more finger clearance on these larger pulls