Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
purrus

Placement of pulls on upper shaker-style doors? Help needed ASAP!

purrus
9 years ago

Hi...

I need to make this decision soon.

I am using this hardware:

What I can't decide is how to align it. Should the bottom align with the center panel? Should the inner part of the bottom of the pull align with the center panel? Should I ignore the center panel and put it close to the bottom of the door?

I know a lot of folks don't have many uppers (or have none) so all I could find in searches was discussions of hardware placement on drawers.

Would love any insights you could provide...thanks!

Comments (12)

  • dcward89
    9 years ago

    Hopefully I can explain this properly...we have shaker style cabinets and used a bar pull on all our cabinets/drawers, although ours in an open bar, yours is a closed bar. We aligned the post with the top of the bottom rail of the door. I think this pic shows it. I think the equivalent of your pull would be to put the inner part of the bottom of the pull in line with the top of the bottom rail. Hope that makes sense!!

  • Texas_Gem
    9 years ago

    We did ours like this, hope it helps.

  • palimpsest
    9 years ago

    The other option for uppers is this:

  • jellytoast
    9 years ago

    Mine are bar pulls but without the little parts that stick out past the end like dcwards. I centered the end of the pulls on the rail portion of the doors. So if my side rails are 3 inches, I would put the bottom hole 1 1/2 inches from the side and 1 1/2 inches from the bottom of each door. I prefer this look to having the bottoms line up with the center panel, but it truly is just a matter of preference. You can purchase some earthquake putty and use it to hold your pulls in place so that you can stand back and get a good visual before drilling.

  • Cloud Swift
    9 years ago

    There is no one right answer to this. Our decision was influenced partly by me being short so we chose a placement that put them about as low on the door as would look nice.

    Our pull's "legs" (the part of the pull touching the cabinet - not sure what to call that so leg seems as good as anything) are round. We placed ours on uppers so that the bottom leg of the pull (i.e. the bottom part touching the door) was centered with respect to the bottom rail.

    On the lower cabinets with a door we did the same thing except with the top leg and rail instead of the bottom.

    The result is that the end of the pull is kind of centered on the diagonal running from the inner corner of the rail and stile to the outer corner of the door.

    Since your pull has a longer leg, that might make the bottom of the pull look a bit too close to the bottom of the door.so moving it a bit higher with the inner edge lined up with the inner edge of the rail as DCward suggests might be better.

  • dcward89
    9 years ago

    Palimpsest...how did you sneak in, change my pulls, take a pic, change them back and sneak back out without me seeing you??? Really cool to see them a different way!

  • dcward89
    9 years ago

    Double post

    This post was edited by dcward89 on Wed, Oct 1, 14 at 18:05

  • bbstx
    9 years ago

    Here is a Southern Living Idea House with an interesting placement on the pulls - on the upper doors they are centered on the lower rail. On the lower doors, they are centered on the upper rail. I hope you can see them in the photo. I saw them in person and they were pretty cool looking!

  • purrus
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Wow, this is all SO helpful! I think I know what I'm gonna do... center the bottom on the bottom rail like one of you brilliant people suggested. That was sort of what looked best to me today!

    Smooches to you all!! I am so excited to be nearing the end of this adventure!

    Purrus

  • badgergal
    9 years ago

    My pulls are similar to the ones you are using. The bottom edge of the pull is 2-3/8 inches from the bottom edge of the door. My cabinet rails are 2-1/4 so the bottom of the pull is 1/8 above the top edge of those rails. The pulls are centered in within the stile.


    As others have said there is no right or wrong answer.

    This post was edited by badgergal on Wed, Oct 1, 14 at 20:08

  • cookncarpenter
    9 years ago

    I've been drilling and installing hardware for clients for over 40 years, and agree there is no right, wrong, or standard placement. I usually hold the pull or knob on the door/drawer and let the owner or designer decide before I drill anything.
    As far as personal preference goes, badgergal's are perfect! :)
    I don't like to see anything below the top of the bottom rail, or above the bottom of the top rail. Same goes for horizontal mounting, not past the inside edge of the stile...

  • DIY2Much2Do
    9 years ago

    If you place the hardware horizontally, centered on the door rails (as in the Southern Living example posted above), you lose a visual clue as to which direction the door is hinged. Especially if you have full overlay doors with hidden hinges. It might not bother everyone, but it's something to consider.

    This post was edited by DIY2Much2Do on Thu, Oct 2, 14 at 10:34

Sponsored
Davidson Builders
Average rating: 5 out of 5 stars1 Review
Franklin County's Full-Scale General Contractor