Mixing 3 Different Types of Hardware in Small Kitchen

10 years ago

Hi Everyone,
My mini kitchen reno (painting existing cabinetry from stained wood to Cloud White and changing door style from raised panel to shaker) is almost finished and I now am considering types of hardware.

I have a small galley kitchen approx. 12 feet long. I have installed new caesarstone countertops with a square edge, new rectangular sink in stainless and new modern looking chrome faucet. That's the background info.

I want to use oval/egg shaped knobs on all of the cupboard doors. On drawers, I was thinking of bin/cup pulls. However, one bottom-most drawer is our "recycling" drawer. Our family is in the habit, especially when hands full of recycling, of hooking our toe on the existing handle to pull open that drawer. We won't be able to do that if it is a bin pull. Would it look odd to have bin pulls on all drawers except that one on which I would instead have a handle so we can continue our habit?

Also - due to lack of towel hanging space in the kitchen, I want to install a knob on the tilt out drawer in front of the sink to hook a dishtowel on where normally it would be a bin pull.

This would mean I could potentially have three different types of pulls in a very small kitchen. Would you advise against this?

I hope my questions are not too confusing and appreciate whatever input you can give me.

Comments (13)

kateskouros
10 years ago
i have 5 different types of hardware in my (large-ish) kitchen. mixing hardware can be a great look, but it has to make sense. all of my smaller, narrow drawers are bin pulls and my large drawers (36" +) are larger, straight pulls. honestly i i wouldn't mix the pulls on the same bank of drawers. do you have pics?
catbuilder
10 years ago
I think you can mix different types of hardware successfully, but only if it makes sense. The way you're describing it, I'm afraid it will look like you ran out of what was supposed to be there, and filled in with what you had on hand. Also, I wonder if a towel will stay put on a knob. Seems like a pull would work better for that. I
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blackchamois
10 years ago
i agree with catbuilder. And FWIW consider that with an egg shaped knob (or anything other than round), if it becomes crooked, it will be noticable.
acdcstrang
Original Author
10 years ago
Oooh, good point, BlackChamois. And crooked things tend to spark my OCD tendencies. That is definitely something to think about. Thank you.

kateskouros, the kitchen cabinets are in the process of being painted, so all the drawers and doors are gone, so no pics I'm afraid. With my small kitchen, you are probably correct about using less "variety" in my hardware. Our family will just have to change its habits :)

catbuilder, I have waited too long for this transformation. I definitely do not want it to look like I "ran out" of hardware. Thanks everybody for your input. Much appreciated!
meek95
10 years ago
I would think twice about keeping a dish towel in front of a wood drawer or door. If it is wet or damp I think it would ruin the finish.
carsonheim
10 years ago
slight threadjack -- kateskouros: would you mind adding pix of your kitchen and mixed hardware? I'm wanting to mix three types as well because I love them ALL and the bin pulls are busy -- but not sure how to pull it off.
motherof3sons
10 years ago
I have 3 - two knobs and one pull. The uppers have an oval knob, lower doors a round knob and drawers pulls. I love the look.
kateskouros
10 years ago
carson, i have the crystal knobs on the glass fronted hutches, paired with the drop pulls; the cup pulls can be seen to the right of the pic -on the top drawer and the island. latches on all the uppers. bar pulls (small and large) on the remainder of the drawers. the appliance pulls for the fridge and freezer are the same -but much larger. the round knobs are for the doors under the seating area of the island. i think that's it...
amykath
10 years ago
Kate, your kitchen is amazing!!!! Wow! Did I miss your reveal?
fishymom
10 years ago
I also like the look of various types of hardware in a kitchen, I think it adds interest. I will have 3 different types of hardware in my remodeled 12 x 10 kitchen. That is if I can ever make a decision on the cup pulls! I will have cup pulls on the drawers(12), knobs on the wall stacks and pantry(23) and vertical handles on the base cabinet doors(8).

As to your question, I don't think it will look good to have different types of hardware on the same stack. I understand how hard habits are to break and this habit is a particularly convenient one, not having to touch the drawer with dirty hands. Since it is a bottom drawer, are you able to open the drawer from the bottom with your foot? And I would not hang a damp towel on the front of a wood cabinet, you could have issues down the line from the moisture. I hang my towel on the dishwasher handle, which is right next to the sink. Is there another spot you can hang the towel?
acdcstrang
Original Author
10 years ago
Kate, thanks for the pic. WOW! It's no wonder you have the space for five different types of hardware and it all works so beautifully.

Fishymom - Thanks for your support. Good point about maybe hooking our toes UNDER the cup pull so we don't have to use dirty hands to pull open the recycling drawer. How do you think a kitchen showroom will feel about me taking off my boots and socks and trying out their bottom bin pulls to see if its possible ;)

I've actually been hanging a handtowel for years on one of those over-the-door towel bar hangers that I had hooked on my tip out drawer, and it didn't harm the finish; however it was a varathane finish, so perhaps that would hold up better than lacquer. And I don't want to continue using that over-the-door hanger for fear of scratching the new lacquer. Unfortunately, my not-terribly-old dishwasher does not have a towel bar on it! Chalk that one up to not thinking everything through when looking for my first dishwasher. Will know better next time.
kateskouros
10 years ago
aktillery, i took down the pics from my (sort of) reveal, as i will this one, shortly as well. i still don't have a backsplash but have something in mind. i'll post pics again when it's finished.

thanks so much for your kind words!
carsonheim
10 years ago
kateskouros -- thanks for posting! That's one gorgeous kitchen! I look forward to seeing more photos when you are ready to post them ALL!!!!

:)