When you choose drawer pulls for your kitchen cabinets, you must consider the scale of the drawer pulls and where you place the drawer pulls on the drawer fronts. The scale of the drawer pulls is important in that the scale determines whether your drawer fronts will look balanced or awkward. If the drawer pulls are too large for the drawers, they will overwhelm the front of the drawers.
If the drawer pulls are too small for the drawers, the pulls will look disproportionate to the front of the drawers. Therefore, before you purchase drawer pulls, you must measure the drawers to ensure that the pulls will be the correct scale for those drawers. There are many differents types of drawer pulls, each with a specific use.
How to Choose and Place Drawer Pulls
For instance, you use knobs for drawers and cabinet doors that are relatively narrow. Knobs only requires one screw hole to be placed into the drawer or cabinet door. Bar pulls is used for other drawers and require two screw holes for installation.
When measuring bar pulls, you must measure the distance from the center of one screw hole to the center of the other screw hole. You should not measure the length of the bar pulls, as this will not provide the same measurement then the distance between the screw holes. If you use the length of the pull instead of the center-to-center distance, you will drill the holes in the wrong spot.
The width of the drawer will determine the size of the drawer pulls that you use for that drawer. For instance, for drawers that are less than twelve inches in width, you can use drawer pulls with a center-to-center measurement of three inch. For drawers that are approximately twenty-four inches in width, you may want to use drawer pulls with a center-to-center measurement of six inches.
In either case, you should aim to leave at least one and a half inch of space on each side of the drawer pull. Providing this much space on each side of the drawer pull will allow your drawer fronts to look balanced. Where you place the drawer pulls on the drawer fronts is also important.
The pulls should be centered horizontal on the drawer front so that they are in the middle of the drawer. For cabinet doors, place the drawer pulls in the upper third of the doors as this is the portion where your hand will naturaly reach. On dressers, all drawer pulls should be of the same height so that they are even and form straight rows.
To ensure that all drawer pulls are aligned to the proper locations, use a drill template. A drill template will ensure that each drawer pull is in the proper position on each drawer front. The style of the drawer pulls should match the style of the cabinets.
For instance, Shaker cabinets work well with bar pulls that have matte black and brushed nickel finishes. Traditional cabinets work best with cupped pulls and bronze finishes. Modern cabinets work best with long bar pulls that have chrome finishes.
Try to choose a finish for your drawer pulls that match your countertops or appliances so that your kitchen looks cohesive. When placing the drawer pulls into the drawers, you will need to use specific tools to properly install them. Use a drill bit that is five-thirty-second-of-an-inch in size to drill holes into the drawer fronts.
Use a pencil to mark the center of the holes where you will drill the wood. Once you drill the holes, insert the screws from the back of the drawer. Once you insert the screws into the holes in the drawer fronts, tighten the screws by hand.
Do not overtighten the screws as this can strip the holes in the wood. The screws should also not be too loose as the drawer pulls may wobble. Before you permanently place the drawer pulls into the drawers, test the scale to ensure that they are the apropriate size for the drawers.
Use cardboard cutouts of the drawer pulls and place them onto the drawer fronts. This will allow you to see if the pulls are too large or too small for the drawers. By using this simple technique, you can ensure that the drawer pulls are of the correct size and that the pulls are of the correct placement on the drawer fronts.
