Most people choose their hardware last. Which is exactly when sizing goes wrong.
A guide to getting the proportions right — from knob diameter to centre-to-centre measurements.
The right hardware in the wrong size is still wrong. A pull that's too short on a wide drawer looks like an afterthought. A knob that's too large on a shallow upper cabinet dominates the door rather than completing it. Sizing isn't a technical detail to resolve at the checkout — it's one of the first decisions worth making.
In short: kitchen cabinet hardware works best when sizing follows function. For pulls, aim for a centre-to-centre measurement of at least 96mm for most cabinets. For knobs, diameter is less critical than proportion — but 32–40mm suits the majority of door and drawer fronts. Use knobs on doors, pulls on drawers, or mix both across upper and lower cabinets.
This guide covers everything you need to decide — from the difference between knobs and pulls, to how to measure, what sizes work where, and which Plank Hardware pieces to consider.
Already know your sizes and want to know where to position them? Read our cabinet hardware placement guide.
Knobs vs pulls: which should you choose?
Before you get into sizing, settle on type. The main options are knobs, pulls, or a considered mix of both. They're not interchangeable — each has a different ergonomic logic and visual weight.
Knobs.
Fixed at a single point and operated with a pinch or a turn. They read as more compact and discreet — a good choice when you want the cabinetry or splashback to do the talking, and the hardware to sit quietly within it. They work particularly well on doors, where the pulling motion is natural.
The trade-off: they require more grip precision, which can be an issue for people with reduced hand strength. If accessibility is a consideration throughout the kitchen, pulls are the more practical choice.
Pulls.
Attach at two points and offer a full-hand grip. They tend to read as more architectural than knobs, and suit drawers particularly well — the pulling motion is direct and ergonomically honest. They also keep hand contact off the cabinet face, which helps with cleanliness over time.
Pulls come in several formats — bar pulls, cup pulls, and edge pulls each have different visual registers and suit different cabinet styles. More on those below.
Using both.
The most considered approach is often a mix: knobs on upper doors, pulls on lower drawers and doors. This follows the ergonomic logic of the kitchen — heavier drawers at lower height benefit from the stronger grip of a pull; lighter upper cabinet doors suit the precision of a knob. Alternatively: knobs on all doors regardless of height, pulls on all drawers. Either works. The important thing is that the decision is consistent across the kitchen, and that the finishes hold together.
Types of kitchen cabinet knobs.
Textured knobs.
Surface texture on a knob does two things: it adds grip and it adds character. The two main texture families in the current Plank Hardware range each have a distinct feel.
Grooved — parallel channels machined into the body, giving a clean, linear texture. Works well in contemporary and Shaker kitchens. The BECKER Grooved collection is the one to explore here, spanning knobs, handles, and hooks in Brass and Antique Brass.
Knurled — a dense crosshatch pattern more common in precision engineering than kitchen cabinetry, which is exactly the point. The KEPLER Knurled collection applies this treatment to solid brass. The result is a knob — and a handle — that earns its keep on contact, not just at distance. Available across the widest range of sizes in the Plank Hardware range, including appliance-scale pulls for fridge panels and pantry doors.
Smooth and minimal knobs.
Not every kitchen wants texture. For smooth-faced cabinetry — particularly flat-door contemporary kitchens or painted Shaker in quieter palettes — a considered round or oval knob can do more with less.
The newest arrival in this territory is ESBEN — where spherical forms meet clean lines. The ESBEN knob has a sculptural quality that reads as more considered than a plain sphere, without the surface treatment of a grooved or knurled piece. It's the one for a kitchen that wants presence without noise.
The BOBBIN knob takes a similar spherical starting point but with a softer, more rounded profile — a tactile, playful form that sits naturally in both contemporary schemes and more characterful, collected interiors. Available in Brass, Antique Brass, Polished Nickel, Unlacquered Brass, Aged Brass, and several colourful finishes.
For something more traditional in profile, the PEYTON Oval Knob is an oval/Shaker form with clean proportions and considered weight. It comes in Unlacquered Brass, Polished Nickel, Heirloom Brass, and Blackened Bronze — the finish range alone makes it one of the most versatile knobs in the current collection.
Colourful knobs.
Hardware finish doesn't have to mean metal. Plank Hardware's colourful hardware range brings colour into the equation — useful when the cabinet colour is neutral and the hardware is asked to do more visual work, or when the whole scheme leans deliberately bold. The BOBBIN knob is available in Pale Blue and Burgundy alongside its brass finishes, making it an easy entry point into this territory.
Types of kitchen cabinet pulls.
Bar pulls.
T-bars and D-bars are the most widely specified cabinet pull for a reason: they work on almost everything. The bar format suits Shaker cabinetry, handleless-adjacent contemporary kitchens, and period-style schemes equally well, depending on the finish chosen.
The PEYTON Handle is the new benchmark here — a D-bar form with clean lines, consistent proportions, and an unusually broad finish range: Unlacquered Brass, Polished Nickel, Blackened Bronze, and Heirloom Brass. Classic enough to work in a traditional kitchen, resolved enough for a contemporary one. The PEYTON Heavyweight Long Handle scales this up for appliance doors and tall pantry cabinets.
The KEPLER T-Bar remains the choice for kitchens that want grip and visual weight in equal measure. Knurled texture, solid brass, available in Brass, Antique Brass, and Stainless Steel — and across a wide range of centre-to-centre lengths.
The BECKER Handle takes a grooved surface treatment to a bar pull format: architectural, tactile, and particularly well-suited to Art Deco-adjacent schemes or kitchens that want something between the raw texture of KEPLER and the clean line of PEYTON.
For something with more character, the SQUIGGLE Handle — a fluid, undulating bar — consistently ends up in finished kitchen photography and gets asked about first. It's the one for kitchens that have committed to a point of view.
Cup pulls.
Cup pulls are half-circle forms that you reach underneath to open. Traditional in origin, they pair particularly well with Shaker and in-frame cabinetry. They're especially practical on deep drawers where a full-hand grip matters — and they give kitchens a collected, specific feel that a bar pull rarely achieves on its own.
The GRAYSON cup pull is the classic take: heritage style, solid brass, available in Aged Brass and other warm finishes. Best used on cutlery drawers or any drawer with significant weight behind it.
Edge pulls and lip pulls.
Edge pulls mount to the side or top edge of a cabinet door rather than the face. The result is a near-handleless aesthetic: clean, minimal, and particularly suited to contemporary kitchens where the hardware should be felt rather than seen.
The FOLD Long Edge Pull is pressed metal, flush to the door, nothing wasted — the cleanest expression of this format in the range. For a more compact version of the same logic, the JUDD Edge Pull is available in Brass, Aged Brass, and Black.
Appliance pulls.
Appliance pulls are the larger format — typically 340mm or longer — intended for fridge panels, oven housing, pantry doors, or larder cabinets where a standard-length pull would be out of proportion.
The KEPLER Heavyweight Appliance Pull is the obvious call for kitchens already using the knurled range — the added length reads correctly on a tall panel, and the texture adds grip that a smooth bar at that scale doesn't. The PEYTON Heavyweight Long Handle offers the same scale in a clean D-bar form, available in Heirloom Brass, Polished Nickel, Blackened Bronze, and Unlacquered Brass — the better choice for kitchens where the PEYTON Handle is being used throughout and a matching appliance pull is needed.
Kitchen cabinet hardware sizing guide.
What size knobs for kitchen cabinets?
Knob sizing is primarily about visual proportion rather than a strict functional rule. The most common diameters for kitchen cabinet knobs run from around 25mm (discreet, minimal) to 40mm (more present, suits larger door fronts). As a general guide:
- Small cabinet doors and narrow drawers — 25–32mm diameter
- Standard cabinet doors — 32–40mm diameter
- Larger doors or statement pieces — 40mm+ or consider a small pull instead
All Plank Hardware knobs include full dimension details on the product page — diameter, projection, base diameter, and screw thread — so you can compare against your door front before buying.
A practical trick before committing: cut a circle of card to the knob's diameter and hold it against the cabinet door. It takes thirty seconds and tells you more than any spec sheet.
What size pulls for kitchen cabinets?
Pull sizing has more variables — but a clearer rule to anchor from. The critical measurement is centre to centre (CC): the distance between the two screw holes. This determines whether a pull will physically fit a given cabinet and how it reads proportionally on the door front.
How to measure centre to centre: mark the centre of one screw hole, mark the centre of the second, and measure the distance between them. This is your CC measurement — the number you need when selecting a pull.
Standard guidance by drawer or door width:
- Narrow drawers (under 300mm wide) — 76–96mm CC pull; one pull centred
- Standard drawers (300–600mm) — 96–128mm CC pull; one pull centred
- Wide drawers (600mm+) — 128–160mm CC pull, or a longer single pull; the one-third rule applies — the pull should be roughly one third the width of the drawer front
- Very wide drawers — consider two pulls rather than one long one, especially on heavyweight drawer boxes
For cabinet doors rather than drawers, the same CC guidance applies — but the pull is typically positioned towards the opening edge of the door, roughly one third of the way down from the top on upper cabinets, or one third up from the bottom on lower cabinets.
A note on appliance pull sizing.
Appliance pulls start at around 340mm in overall length. At this scale, the one-third rule still applies — but proportion to the full panel height matters as much as drawer width. A pull that's too short on a tall fridge panel reads as an afterthought; one that's too long crowds the door. If in doubt, err towards longer: a substantial pull on a large panel is a decision, not a mistake.
Mixing knobs and pulls: two approaches that work.
Knobs on upper cabinets, pulls on lower cabinets.
The ergonomic logic here is sound. Lower cabinets and drawers tend to hold heavier items — pots, pans, oils, anything at elbow height or below. A pull gives you more grip and a more natural pulling motion at that height. Upper cabinets, reached overhead, suit the lighter grip of a knob. The visual effect when both are from the same collection — a PEYTON Oval Knob above and PEYTON Handle below, say — is a kitchen that feels specified rather than assembled.
Knobs on all doors, pulls on all drawers.
This approach separates hardware by cabinet type rather than position. Doors get knobs; drawers get pulls. It's consistent, easy to specify, and works at every height. The visual effect is more varied across the kitchen — which can be exactly right, particularly in kitchens that lean towards a collected, Curated Chaos aesthetic.
Neither approach has a wrong answer. What matters is that the decision is made deliberately, the finishes hold together, and the sizing follows the logic above. Everything else is preference.
Shop by type.
Browse the full Plank Hardware cabinet hardware range, or jump straight to what you need:
- Pulls and handles
- Cabinet knobs
- Cup pulls
- Edge pulls
- Appliance pulls
- ESBEN collection
- PEYTON collection
Samples are available on most products. If you're ordering before committing to a full kitchen specification, hold the finish against your actual cabinet doors in the actual light of the room — finish photographs well, but it reads differently under warm kitchen light than in a studio. The Project Inspiration page shows hardware in finished kitchens — usually more useful than any spec sheet.
Finish first, then style, then size — in that order.
Get all three right and the hardware disappears into the kitchen.
Get one wrong and it's all you see.
Frequently asked questions.
What is centre to centre measurement on cabinet hardware?
Centre to centre (CC) is the distance between the centres of the two screw holes on a pull or handle. It's the measurement you need to match to your existing screw holes if you're replacing hardware, or to ensure a pull is proportionally correct for a new install. All Plank Hardware pulls list their CC measurement on the product page.
Should I use knobs or pulls on kitchen cabinets?
Both work — it depends on the cabinet type and your preference for grip. Pulls are ergonomically easier on drawers and lower cabinets. Knobs are more discreet and work well on upper doors. Many kitchens use both: knobs on doors, pulls on drawers, or knobs on upper cabinets and pulls on lower ones.
What size cabinet pulls are most popular?
96mm and 128mm centre to centre are the most commonly specified pull sizes for standard kitchen cabinets. 96mm suits narrower drawers and smaller doors; 128mm gives a slightly longer bar that reads well on most standard-width drawer fronts and is a reliable default for most kitchens.
Can I mix knobs and pulls in the same kitchen?
Yes — and it's a considered choice rather than a compromise when done deliberately. The most common approach is knobs on doors and pulls on drawers, or knobs on upper cabinets and pulls on lower cabinets. Keep the finish consistent across both types to hold the scheme together.
How do I know if cabinet hardware will fit my cabinets?
For knobs: check the screw thread specification and the projection (depth). Most cabinet knobs use a standard M4 fixing. For pulls: measure the existing screw hole spacing (centre to centre) and match it to the pull's CC measurement. Plank Hardware includes full dimension specs and illustrated spec sheets on every product page.
What size hardware works for Shaker kitchen cabinets?
Shaker cabinetry is well-suited to D-bar pulls in the 96–128mm CC range — the clean horizontal line of a D-bar echoes the frame-and-panel construction. Cup pulls also have a natural affinity with Shaker style on drawers. The PEYTON Handle and PEYTON Oval Knob are designed specifically with this kind of traditional kitchen in mind.
What are Heirloom Brass and Blackened Bronze?
Both are newer additions to the Plank Hardware finish range. Heirloom Brass is a mid-tone between Satin Brass and Antique Brass — warmer and more characterful than the former, less heavily aged than the latter. Blackened Bronze is a dark, slightly warm finish that reads as near-black in most light but reveals its bronze undertone in raking or warm light. Both are available across the PEYTON collection and selected other ranges.
