When designing or updating a kitchen or bathroom, small details can make a big difference. Your choice of cabinet hardware can have a significant impact on the look or style of the entire space. It’s easy to overlook but easy to notice when neglect leads to a poor design choice.
With a wide range of cabinet hardware options to choose from — allowing you to coordinate with everything in your kitchen or bathroom, from the faucet to appliances — these small details are an easy way to update your space without having to blow up your budget.
What are we talking about when we refer to cabinet hardware? Cabinet handles, knobs, pulls, and hinges. All are essential to the function of your cabinets. However, in addition to functionality, each of them provides an opportunity to add a touch of style or a splash of color or glimmer to your kitchen or bathroom.
Kitchen & Bath Cabinetry Handles
When updating your kitchen cabinet hardware, you’ll want to find knobs or pulls that suit your style and offer accessibility. Incorporating hardware that is ergonomic and easy-to-grasp by any size hand, whether it is a child or a senior, will ensure that functionality is not an issue when it comes to opening and securing your kitchen cabinets.
Brass Hardware is Back & Trending
Brass is back, as far as kitchen cabinet hardware is concerned. Think less bright yellow and more soft and warm tones of brushed brass, bronze, copper, and gold. Brassy kitchen cabinet pulls or knobs pair well with white and dark wood surfaces as well as matte black, which is a hot trend in kitchen color schemes.
The beauty of brass is that it is available in tones ranging from bold to subdued, allowing homeowners to find the perfect shade to complement their kitchen.
Nickel Hardware is a Popular Choice
Nickel handles are a popular choice because the color closely matches the look of stainless steel, complementing many kitchen appliances.
Chrome Hardware is a Sleek Option
Chrome is a sleek finish that holds broad appeal for homeowners and is available in brushed, polished, and more.
Bertch’s Nickel Mushroom Knob SN-K11
Bertch’s Polished Chrome Mushroom Knob PC-K11
Kitchen & Bath Cabinet Knobs
When picking out hardware for kitchen cabinets, most homeowners find themselves faced with the choice between knobs and pulls. Knobs are a more traditional accent, whereas pulls are a popular choice for contemporary kitchens. It’s a common preference to use knobs for all doors and pulls for all drawers, but there are no strict rules.
Brushed nickel knobs are an understated choice for your kitchen but offer a traditional elegance that would complement more ornate cabinetry. Knobs with a brushed-nickel finish are ideal for achieving a seamless blend with gray-colored cabinets and stainless steel appliances.
Transitional style kitchens, which essentially blend the old and the new, allow for a touch of creativity. Small button-like knobs can serve as a subtle accent on the cabinets and drawers of a transitional style kitchen. These allow more dramatic decorative flourishes, from granite countertops to a tin or stainless steel backsplash, to seize the spotlight.
Kitchen & Bath Drawer Pulls
The appeal of a pull, rather than a knob, for a kitchen cabinet is that it allows you to use your whole hand to grab hold, which is more comfortable and especially helpful for large cabinet doors.
For a modern or contemporary kitchen, some homeowners are swapping their drawer knobs for stainless steel pulls, adding a touch of elegance to the space. These drawer pulls can be curved, straight, horizontal, or vertical — depending on your style preference — and are a sleek and stylish addition that will enhance the clean lines of your kitchen.
If your kitchen is more traditional, consider vintage-inspired, antique detail pulls that will better complement the design. There are also classic drawer pulls that work well with a simpler look like dark rubbed-bronze drawer pulls paired with clean white cabinetry.
Rounded bin pulls are a popular alternative to traditional kitchen drawer pulls. These are especially popular with homeowners who favor a farmhouse-inspired kitchen design.
Cabinetry Hinges & Door Hardware
No kitchen cabinet door can function properly without a set of hinges, but few homeowners take advantage of the opportunity to add a touch of personality to their kitchen with a set of decorative cabinet hinges. Choose from multiple colors and finishes to accent your decor.
There are also multiple styles of hinges to choose from, with the majority being soft-close standard, inset, concealed, concealed inset, and full-inset exposed hinges. A more traditional choice is also available in a variety of antique, brushed, polished, and rubbed finishes.
Cabinet hinges can also improve your kitchen by standing out less. Concealed hinges, by remaining out of sight, can draw more attention to the cabinet itself or surrounding furniture.
Bathroom Cabinet Hardware
There is no shortage of hardware to be found in your bathroom, from faucets and cabinets to showerheads and towels. You have plenty of choices to make, but the key is sorting through the seemingly endless array of options to find what fits your style.
Chief among the types of hardware most common to bathrooms are knobs, pulls, and handles for your cabinet doors or drawers. Hooks for your robes and bars for your towels are also small touches that can add function and style to your bathroom.
When choosing your type and style of hardware, it is important to keep in mind that you’ll want to match or complement the finish of your new hardware to the fixtures that have already been incorporated into your bathroom, such as your faucets and showerheads.
For example, if your bathroom vanity is a dark color, consider complementing it with hardware that has been finished with a lighter-colored brushed nickel.
One suggested rule of thumb is to try to use the same finish across all of your new hardware, especially if you are trying to establish a new design theme for your bathroom. You can transition from a contemporary vanity to a more traditional vanity with brass or bronze hardware.
As far as the style of hardware, you can go with a universal style across the board or opt for a more eclectic look with a balanced mixture of different styles.
One final element to consider is the placement of your hardware on the doors and drawer fronts. Most prefer to mount the hardware on the upper portion of the doors and the middle of the drawer fronts, but you’ll also see hardware mounted in the center of a door or at the top of a drawer front. The choice is yours, but functionality is key.
Whether you are updating the hardware for your kitchen or bathroom, it is always important to go with your gut and choose what fits your personal style. This is why Bertch offers a wide range of styles and colors, at no charge to the customer. We recognize that customizing even the smallest details of your kitchen or bathroom to suit your needs is essential.
