Kitchen Handle and Hardware Decision Checklist

Hold a sample handle with wet hands before choosing it, since that is the condition in which most kitchen handles are actually used.

A shape that feels secure dry can become slippery or uncomfortable wet, which is impossible to judge from an image.

Try opening a drawer with a single finger hooked into the handle, which is how it is opened when the other hand is full.

The one finger test rules out a surprising number of shapes that seem perfectly good when tested with a whole hand.

Note whether the handle has an edge that presses uncomfortably into the fingers when a heavy drawer is pulled open.

A thin or sharp edge is tolerable on a light door and unpleasant on a loaded pan drawer used every day.

Consider whether the handle can be gripped comfortably by anybody in the household with limited hand strength, and record what you find.

Hardware is one of the cheapest things to get right for a particular need and one of the most awkward to change later.

Requirements arising from grip, strength or dexterity should be discussed with a suitably qualified professional.

Note how far the handle projects from the face of the front, since projection is what you feel rather than what you see.

Projection decides whether a handle catches clothing and how much space a run of units effectively occupies.

Try a knob and a pull on the same door if you can, because a knob on a wide door tends to pull the door unevenly.

Knobs suit narrow doors and small drawers, and the difference is felt immediately once a wide door is opened.

Ask what replaces the handle on a handleless kitchen, whether a routed groove, a continuous rail or a push mechanism.

These three options behave very differently in use, and the term handleless is often used for all of them.

Note that a groove or a rail collects whatever falls into it, and ask specifically how it is cleaned.

The recess that replaces a handle sits directly beneath a worktop, which is where crumbs and liquid end up.

Consider whether a push to open mechanism suits a household where doors get leaned on or pushed shut with a hip.

Push mechanisms respond to any pressure, which is charming in a showroom and less so in a busy family kitchen.

Note whether push to open still works well on drawers that are heavily loaded, and ask the supplier to demonstrate one that is.

Showroom drawers are empty, and the behaviour of a mechanism changes noticeably once real weight is in it.

How a mechanism performs under load should be demonstrated by the supplier rather than assumed from a description.

Consider what a handleless front does to the visible gaps between doors, since the gap itself becomes the detail you look at.

With nothing to draw the eye, alignment and shadow lines carry the whole appearance of the run.

Note whether the handleless detail requires the fronts to stay very precisely aligned, and ask what happens if a door drops.

Precise details are unforgiving, and it is worth knowing in advance how adjustment is handled.

Adjustment and alignment of fronts over time is for the supplier and installer to explain before the choice is made.

Note where a handle would sit beside a walkway, a doorway or the end of a run, which is where hips and pockets catch on them.

The same handle can be perfect along an open run and a constant nuisance at the end of it.

Consider the handles on the two doors that meet at an internal corner and whether they collide when both are opened.

Corner collisions are routine and are easy to avoid if the handle type is settled before the layout is finalised.

Note whether a handle projects into the space a nearby appliance door has to swing through when it is opened.

An appliance door that clips a handle damages both, and the damage happens repeatedly rather than once.

Clearances between appliance doors and adjacent hardware should be confirmed with the supplier and the installer.

Consider whether a tea towel, a sleeve or an apron string would catch on the handle shape you are drawn to.

Open ended and hooked shapes catch fabric constantly, which is not visible in any photograph of them.

Note where handles would sit at the height of a child's face, and whether the shape has a hard or protruding end.

Handle shape at low level is worth a deliberate thought in a household with small children.

Consider whether a handle on a drawer beneath the hob would be reached for over a hot pan.

The drawer under the hob is opened constantly during cooking, which makes its handle position a practical matter.

Positions where hardware is reached close to a heat source are worth raising with the designer and the appliance installer.

Decide whether drawers and doors carry the same hardware or deliberately different pieces, and note exactly where the change happens.

Mixing types can look considered or accidental, and the difference is whether the rule is written down.

Consider whether long drawers take one pull or two, and look at a run drawn both ways before choosing.

Two pulls on a wide drawer open it more evenly and change the appearance of the whole run.

Note whether handles run horizontally on drawers and vertically on doors, and check how that reads across the whole kitchen.

The mixture of orientations is far more visible on a long run than on a single sample door.

Decide how the handle is positioned on tall units, since a full height door offers no obvious place for it.

Tall units are where a handle rule usually breaks down, and the position chosen is very noticeable.

Note where the handle sits on a corner unit or a narrow filler, where the usual position may not be available at all.

These awkward units are drawn last and are the ones where hardware decisions get made on site.

Consider how the arrangement looks on wall units, where handles usually sit at the bottom edge and are always in view.

Wall unit handles are at eye level for most people and carry more of the appearance than base unit handles do.

Note which appliances are integrated behind a matching front and which are freestanding with their own visible handle.

Freestanding appliances bring their own hardware into the room whether it suits the kitchen or not.

Consider that appliance handles come with the appliance and are unlikely to match the hardware chosen for the cabinetry.

Expecting a match usually leads to disappointment, whereas planning for a difference can look entirely deliberate.

Ask whether an integrated appliance can take the same handle as the surrounding cabinetry, and who would fit it.

Not every appliance front will accept ordinary cabinet hardware, and the answer affects the whole run.

Whether an appliance door can carry particular hardware is for the appliance manufacturer and installer to confirm.

Note every metal finish already in the room, including taps, the sink, light fittings and any radiator, and decide how many you will accept.

Most kitchens contain more finishes than anybody intended, and counting them is the fastest way to regain control.

Consider whether a handleless kitchen still leaves visible appliance handles, and how that looks in an otherwise unbroken run.

A single protruding appliance handle in a handleless kitchen is very prominent, which is worth deciding about rather than discovering.

Note the sockets, switches and plates in the room, since their finish sits in the same field of view as the handles.

Electrical accessories are usually chosen by a different person at a different time from the hardware.

Ask what the handle is made of and what the finish is, rather than only what colour it appears to be in the showroom.

Two handles that look identical can behave completely differently depending on how the finish is applied.

Note whether the finish is likely to show fingerprints, and ask to see a sample that has been handled rather than a new one.

Fingerprint behaviour is the most common complaint about kitchen hardware and the easiest to test in advance.

Consider what happens to the finish exactly where it is gripped constantly, and ask the supplier what wear to expect.

Wear appears first in a narrow band on the most used handles, which is where the eye goes.

How a finish wears in use is for the supplier or manufacturer to describe, and any claim should be confirmed with them.

Note whether anything routinely used to clean a kitchen would affect the finish, and ask before assuming that it would not.

Handles are wiped with whatever is being used on the worktop, which is not always what the finish tolerates.

Consider whether the finish is consistent across every piece in the range, including the longest pulls and the smallest knobs.

Longer pieces are sometimes made differently, and slight differences show when they are next to each other.

Note whether the same finish is available on hinges, brackets or anything else that will be visible when a door is open.

Open doors reveal hardware that was never considered, particularly on glazed or open fronted units.

Ask which hinges and runners come with the kitchen and which are a separate choice, and try both if you possibly can.

The difference between the included mechanism and the alternative is easy to feel and impossible to guess.

Note whether soft close is wanted on every drawer and door or only on some, and whether it can be adjusted afterwards.

Soft close is not universally liked, and knowing whether it can be adjusted is worth asking before committing.

Consider what happens when a mechanism stops working, and ask whether it can be replaced on its own.

Mechanisms are the parts of a kitchen most likely to need attention while everything else is still perfectly good.

Availability of replacement mechanisms is for the supplier to confirm, along with how long they expect to be able to supply them.

Note how the drawers feel when they are loaded, and ask to open a fully loaded drawer rather than an empty display one.

Weight changes the feel of every runner, and this is the single most useful thing to test in a showroom.

Consider whether any door needs to open beyond the usual angle, such as one sitting beside a wall or an appliance.

Doors that cannot open far enough make the storage behind them effectively unusable.

Note anything with a powered opening action, and ask what it depends on in order to keep working.

Powered hardware introduces a dependency into a kitchen that otherwise has none, which deserves a deliberate decision.

Anything powered within cabinetry is for a qualified electrician and the supplier to advise on.

Write down every handle type, its position and which units it goes on, so that the schedule can be checked against delivery.

A written schedule is the only way to notice that a unit was missed before the fronts are being hung.

Count the handles needed including the units nobody remembers, such as fillers, plinth drawers, end panels and any pantry doors.

Short deliveries of hardware are common and always concern the units that were not on the main drawing.

Ask whether spare handles can be kept, and whether the range is expected to remain available for some time.

A damaged handle in a discontinued range means either an odd one out or replacing the lot.

Note who drills the fronts and at what point, since the position of a handle is very difficult to change afterwards.

Drilling is a one way step, and confirming positions before it happens is the last practical checkpoint.

Drilling and fitting of hardware is carried out by the installer and should be agreed with them before fronts are made.

Record the finish reference of everything ordered, so a replacement can be matched at a much later date.

Finish names are forgotten quickly and are almost impossible to reconstruct from a handle in your hand.

Ask what happens if a handle arrives damaged or if the finish varies noticeably between pieces in the same delivery.

Agreeing the remedy before delivery makes the conversation straightforward if it turns out to be needed.