Where To Put Knobs And Handles On Kitchen Cabinets (With Pictures!)

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Last updated on February 27th, 2024 at 08:21 am

Rules For Cabinet Knobs and Pulls

Wondering where you should put the knobs and pulls on your kitchen cabinets? Well, look no further because I have your answer!

In general, the best placement for knobs and pulls on cabinet doors is in the opposite bottom corner of the hinges for upper cabinets and the opposite upper corner of the hinges for lower cabinets. The best placement for knobs and pulls on drawers is centered across the drawer face.

Now that we’ve got the basics out of the way, let’s break into the details further so you can know exactly where to install your cabinet pulls and knobs.

Let’s dive in!

Quick Navigation: Cabinet Hardware Placement Guide

Best Placement For Pulls/Handles On Cabinet Doors
Best Placement For Pulls/Handles On Cabinet Drawers
Best Placement For Knobs On Cabinet Doors
Best Placement For Knobs On Cabinet Drawers
Other FAQs About Cabinet Hardware Placement
Final Thoughts
Related Kitchen Cabinet Articles

Best Placement For Pulls/Handles On Cabinet Doors

For most cabinet doors, the best place to put pulls is on the side of the door that is opposite the hinges. For upper cabinet doors, you want to put them in the bottom corner and for lower cabinet doors, you want to put them in the upper corner.

This placement works well for both standard cabinet doors and shaker-style cabinet doors. This placement is also the easiest and most comfortable placement for you to grab and open the cabinet doors.

Cabinet handle placement for upper cabinets.

Cabinet handle placement for lower cabinets.

Best Placement For Pulls/Handles On Cabinet Drawers

The best placement for pulls on cabinet drawers is dependent upon the drawer size and the pull size.

The general rule of thumb for pull placement on cabinet drawers is:

One larger pull centered on the drawer face or
Two smaller pulls that are evenly spaced across the drawer face

This kitchen has pulls that are all the same size, and they just doubled up on them on the extra wide drawers.

If you want a single, extra-large pull then make sure it is no more than 1/2 the size of the drawer face. Just keep in mind that the larger the pools you get, the more expensive they will be.

This kitchen has pulls that change based on the width of the drawer face.

Most of the time, if you choose pulls that are 5 to 7 inches wide center-on-center then you can get them for a low cost while still making your cabinets look more upscale. This size pull also looks great on cabinet doors so you can kill two birds with one stone by purchasing pulls within this size range.

We used 5-1/6 inch center-on-center pulls on all of our cabinet drawers (which ranged from 12 inches (on the left) to 36 inches wide (in the middle)). That turned out to be a great size for a decent price that still looks pretty high-end.

Best Placement For Knobs On Cabinet Doors

The best placement for knobs on cabinet doors is the same as the best placement for pulls on cabinet doors.

Again, look on the side of the door that is opposite the hinges. For upper cabinet doors, you want to put them in the bottom corner and for lower cabinet doors, you want to put them in the upper corner.

Knobs typically come in 1-2 sizes and are much cheaper than cabinet pulls while still being just as convenient and comfortable to use, so they are a popular choice for a lot of people.

Best Placement For Knobs On Cabinet Drawers

The best placement for knobs on cabinet drawers is also dependent upon the drawer size (but not so much the knob size).

The general rule of thumb for knob placement on cabinet drawers is:

18 inches or less drawer width –
- One knob centered on the drawer face
19 inches or more drawer width –
- Two knobs evenly spaced across the drawer face/cheating more towards the outer sides of the drawer face

The larger the drawer width, the more important it is to install two knobs so that the drawer can be easily pulled out and pushed closed without putting too much pressure on the knobs and drawer face.

For one of our rentals, we had a 36-inch wide drawer, so we installed 2 knobs to make the drawer easier to open and close.

Other FAQs About Cabinet Hardware Placement

Here are some other frequently asked questions about cabinet hardware to help you choose and install them with ease!

Should Drawer Pulls Be In The Middle Or Top?

In general, drawer pulls should be in the middle of the drawer face. However, for different cabinets such as cabinets with trash can pull-outs or deeper cabinet drawers, the best pull placement would be on the top for maximum functionality and looks.

What Is The Most Popular Cabinet Hardware?

The most popular cabinet hardware is a pull/handle because they look more. Upscale, come in a variety of colors and sizes, and are more comfortable to use than knobs.

Where Do Knobs And Pulls Go On Shaker Cabinets?

For shaker cabinet drawers, put one knob or pull centered in the panel if the drawer face is 36 inches or less, or put two knobs spaced evenly across the panel/ one extra larger pull centered in the panel if the drawer face is wider than 36 inches.

Final Thoughts On Cabinet Hardware Placement

There you have it!

The easiest way to determine the best placement for cabinet knobs and pulls is to buy one or two and hold them up in front of your cabinets to see what sizing and placement you like best.

The larger the pools, the more upscale, the kitchen cabinet doors and drawers will look.

Hopefully, this cabinet hardware placement guide helps make your decisions a little bit easier!

Catch you in my next post!

The Best Kitchen Tools & Products I’ve Used

Ravinte Cabinet Handle Installation Template (For Doors & Drawers)

This is my all-time favorite handle installation template because it has two templates (one for drawers and one for doors) with multiple pull sizes & knob placements! These templates make installing cabinet handles a breeze because you always know your handles will be installed in the same spot on all of your drawers and doors. The kit also comes with a drill bit so you can guarantee you’re using the correct size. I used this template on my entire kitchen and both bathrooms to cut the installation time in half. You can find this hardware template here on Amazon.

Franklin Brass 5-1/16 Inch (128mm) Center Bar Pull (Stainless Steel)

If you want to immediately modernize your kitchen island, then these cabinet pulls are a must. They are heavy-duty feeling, durable, easy to install, and are a large size for a great price. We put these pulls on all of our kitchen and island doors and drawers along with our bathroom doors and drawers. You can find these gorgeous cabinet pulls here on Amazon.

P.S. Use the hardware installation template I mentioned above to install these new pulls in record time!

If you’ve been curious about how we are decorating our 1950s Ranch, you should check out our “Shop Our Home” page. You can find products that we’ve personally bought to decorate our home.