Too Hot To Handle
Well hello there, you savvy style maven! I know you love chatting about kitchen design, and who doesn’t? There are so many fun aspects of a kitchen and today we are diving into the sprinkles on the cone, the icing on the cake, the absolute jewel on the crown. We are talking all about kitchen cabinet hardware. The look, the function, and how to get the style you love, in a world of endless options! We are going to narrow it down and cut through the noise. By the time you’re done with this episode you’re going to be so crystal clear on exactly what kind of cabinet hardware works for you and why.
Let’s talk about the color of the week. On this day today, December 29th, sometime in the past, one Mary Tyler Moore was born. Mary’s iconic show, and her iconic apartment defined life as a single, self sufficient human in the 1970’s. Her third story apartment, inside a classic Victorian home, was a paradise of earth tones. It was the site of many dinner parties, phone calls with Rhoda, and unexpected guests, all of whom walked through the threshold and on to a set of tan shag carpeted steps. These steps, soft and warm, impractical but inviting, took Mary’s apartment out of its Victorian bones and firmly set it in the decade of disco. Pantone 4645 embodies this warm fuzzy carpet and can be used in your space as a grounding neutral. Let yourself feel those earthy vibes and bring this color in with natural clay pottery, craft paper lamp shades, and carved wood kitchen utensils. Love is all around.
Cabinet hardware is a great opportunity to be creative and have fun. Swapping out hardware is an easy and affordable way to refresh kitchen cabinets, old dressers, media consoles, and so many other types of storage. But in order to make the choice that’s best for you and your home, you have to understand the full range of possibilities, which can seem endless. But I assure you, it isn’t. Cabinet hardware falls into three main categories - knobs, handles, and finger pulls.
The finger pull is the most ultramodern opener option for a cabinet door. These are often referred to as handleless, but that’s not to say there isn’t a mechanism in place to assist with opening the door. If you're not familiar with this look, it's the idea of carving away from the edge or cutting out a void in the face of the cabinet door to allow just enough room for part of a hand to reach in and pull the door open. There are two main types of finger pulls. First we have the cut-out - which is exactly how it sounds. At the top of the drawer or cabinet is a simple punch out. The shape of the cut out is usually round or oval, for ergonomic reasons. You’ve likely seen this before in mid-century modern storage furniture. This has a playful look to it, it’s understated, but it’s not taking itself too seriously.
Next, there is the true routed finger pull. These are often referred to as finger grooves, and can come in a variety of profiles, including a J-groove (which looks like the letter J) or a bevelled profile which looks like a 45 degree downwards angle. This style can often be directly carved into the wood of the door, which looks very craftsman-esque, and exposes the movement of the grain inside. Or the finger pull can be an additive piece achieved with metal hardware attached on the top or side edge of the door, aptly named edge pulls. Edge pulls can be as wide as the cabinet itself, or super tiny, in which case they are referred to as tab pulls.
Using finger pulls or handleless openers is a small, but mighty space saving technique if you have a very small footprint for a kitchen, or whatever you may be putting cabinetry in. Using a finger pull or cut out means that there's nothing sticking out past the face of the cabinet door. Even if you've just got accident prone folks, this can be a great solution because there's nothing to knock your face or elbow on.
The downside to finger pulls is twofold. Firstly, these are not super popular right now. This minimalist style of essentially non-hardware, was the premiere look when high gloss kitchens were everywhere. With many trends returning to more a rustic appeal, the finger pull starts to feel sterile. Some of the more intricate and decorative pieces of hardware that are popular right now add a level of sentimentality and embellishment that these openers do not.
Secondly, and what I feel is most important, is that these openers are not fully accessible to everyone. Meaning if anyone using the cabinetry is differently abled, particularly in the realm of hand dexterity, finger pulls are not easy to use. The Americans with Disabilities Act defines acceptable hardware for operable parts in a space as needing to be “usable with one hand and not require tight grasping, pinching, or twisting of the wrist; or more than 5 pounds of force (lbf) to operate. Parts that can be operated without hand or finger dexterity, fine motor movement, or simultaneous actions provide easier access and accommodate a broader range of users.”
In commercial spaces, ADA is part of the law that we designers must follow, but in most homes, it’s up to the home owner to what degree this is followed. If you or a loved one has dexterity limitations which include (but is certainly not limited to) arthritis, diabetes, cerebral palsy, and carpal tunnel; this type of cabinet opener may cause daily frustration.
Two variations of the finger pull worth talking about are the cup pull (that’s cup, like tea cup) and the leather pull tab. These are neither true finger pulls or true handles. The cup pull, or bin pull as it’s sometimes called, brings an old-school charm to your kitchen and makes it feel more like a library from the 1800’s rather than the place you make your morning coffee every day. This style of pull is screwed into the face of a door and is basically an upside down metal pocket. Very charming, very sweet. The leather pull tab is more commonly seen on furniture but has been making its way into the kitchen. This style is a small strip of leather or faux leather if you’re like me, that’s made into a loop and then nailed into the cabinet door face with a decorative nail. All charm, all day long. Neither the most functional choice, especially if your kitchen is used often.
Next we have the world of knobs and handles. These are additive pieces, attached directly to the face of the cabinet door. Most project about an extra inch past the door itself. These come in endless varieties of profiles, styles, and materials.
Knobs are a specific type of round handle. Knobs tend to be fairly small in size, about 1 to 2 inches in diameter, and similar to the idea of the cut out, they offer a very cute component to a run of cabinets. These come in any imaginable material, because they're so small they're very structurally sound. So you can have knobs that are made out of blown glass, elaborately glazed baked porcelain, molded metal, carved wood, beautiful stone, even something like resin. Knobs can be particularly well-suited for small kitchen drawers, but ergonomically and also in the eyes of the ADA, is still on the less practical side of the spectrum. What I've seen that I think is very successful is to have a combination of knobs and handles all made out of the same material and place knobs on smaller drawers and keep the true, easy-to-grab handles on the bigger cabinets that get used more often.
Handles come in lots of shapes, sizes, and profiles; and while many handle manufacturers and stores market handles by “style” (ie modern, transitional, traditional, etc); what really helps is to understand is the key variations in the structure of any handle design. Handles have two major components; the handle itself, the part you touch, and the supports that attach it to the door. How these two components interact have a major impact on the look of the handle itself.
If the supports are placed at the very end of the handle, they’ll make what’s referred to as a waterfall shape. This makes all three sections of the handle read as one continuous element. The most common example of this is what's called the wire pull, which is one continuous piece of metal that’s been bent in two places to creating a three sided rectangle with eased corners. This is always the more modern looking option, as opposed to having the supports slightly inset from the edges of the handle. This allows the front segment of the handle to take center stage, and the supports become more secondary feeling, rather than one continuous piece with the waterfall style.
Either of these styles can look traditional or modern, depending on the details. A third component is the flange or escutcheon plate. This is a piece that lays flush against the cabinet door and serves to cover the attachment point of the handle to the door. The larger and more decorative the flange on the hardware, the more traditional the it will look. The absence of an escutcheon plate will inherently make your cabinets look more modern and cleaner. Both options can look great, it’s really a matter of personal preference.
The other detail that distinguishes hardware is its finish. Hardware comes in all kind of materials, but the vast majority are metal. Bronze, in its many finishes, gold, and brass will almost always bring a slightly antique vibe to the space, especially if the finish is aged or darkened in any way. Chrome, nickel, and steel will bring a more techy feel with their silver vibes, whether you chose brushed, satin, or polished. But a word to the wise, any of these metals in a high polished finish, require lots of cleaning to stay finger-print-free. Finishes like satin, brushed, oil rubbed, aged, or blackened will be more forgiving. Outside of the world of metal, choices like wood or stone tend to look more streamlined, with the exception of elaborately glazed porcelain - that has Grand-Millienial written all over it.
Last but not least, there is the option of including color in your cabinet hardware. And you know me, I am all about adding color to interiors, especially in unexpected places like cabinet hardware. And this is a great opportunity to play with color because it takes up such a small percentage of visual real estate that allows for very poppy and exuberant colors without overwhelming the space. The color you choose, of course, should be carefully considered with the color of the cabinet doors, the counter top material, wall color and any tile you have in the space. If you want to see some eye candy examples of what this can look like, check out the manufacturer called Dutton Brown. Other good resources include Modern Matter Hardware, Buster & Punch, Schoolhouse, and of course Rejuvenation. These are all linked in the show notes.
Remember, the hardware on a kitchen cabinet is just like the jewelry we wear, let it be sparkly, and consider it in the context of the whole outfit. I hope this run through of cabinet hardware leaves you beaming with ideas and possibilities. I love you so much! You are seriously the best, and I will talk to you in the next episode.
