The Kitchen Cabinet Rule To Know Before Installing Your Knobs Or Pulls

So, you've decided to upgrade your cabinets with some brand-new shiny hardware. Great choice! Replacing cabinet hardware is a wonderful way to get a budget-friendly kitchen upgrade without remodeling because it subtly makes your home look more finished and elevated and can be done in just a couple of hours. But before you go and grab that drill to start installing new hardware, there's one cabinet rule you'll need to know: Always install new knobs or pulls 1 to 4 inches from the bottom or top of the door. 

The truth is, placement is much more important than you think. Following this essential guideline doesn't just make your kitchen look balanced, intentional, and polished. It also makes it more functional and enjoyable. Wall cabinets are more accessible for everyone in the house when the handles are near the bottom corner. Meanwhile, you won't have to stoop too low to open base cabinets because the knob is near the top of the door. And this rule isn't just for kitchens; you can apply it to cabinets in bathrooms, offices, or bedrooms. Or, if you need a renter-friendly workaround when you can't replace outdated cabinets, give them a hardware upgrade to easily transform the space.

To figure out exactly where to place your kitchen hardware within that 1- to 4-inch range, you'll need to consider the cabinet door style, the types of cabinet hardware that you're using, and the look you prefer. But before you start drilling, make sure to measure and mark the placement of pulls and knobs on every single cabinet in the room instead of doing it one at a time. The spacing should be the exact same throughout the room for the cabinets to look uniform.

With frame and panel cabinet doors, the placement can be guided by the horizontal rail lines. Within the 1- to 4-inch range, there are three styles: traditional, modern, or classic. Traditional style calls for a roughly 1-inch space, giving the cabinet a balanced look where the knob is equidistant from the door's side edge and the top or bottom one. Classic style has a wider space around 3 or 4 inches, and modern is in between both options. Either place the knob centered with the rail's edge or right above it for modern or classic styles, respectively. The choice depends on personal preference and what matches your interior. With slab cabinet doors that are flat, many positions can look good, though keeping knobs about 2 inches from the edges often works the best. If you're using pulls instead of knobs, the same rules apply, but use the end of the handle as your reference point (measure 1 to 4 inches for the bottom end of the pull for upper cabinets, and the other way around for lower cabinets).