Do you need to learn how to choose kitchen cabinet hardware to match decor? This guide is all about utilizing hardware to bring out the color of your cabinetry and that would also work well with the entire room decor. The right size and the right cabinet fixtures can make a huge difference on how you would want your cooking area to look.
Cabinet fixtures may not sound so vital during the process of kitchen renovation. However, these items can really give additional charm, style and will create a beautiful finish in your entire space provided that you use the right style hardware that complements the style and color of the surrounding area. Having said that, the wrong choice of these items that does not work well with your overall design style can also make your kitchen look like a mismatch to the entire home especially if your cooking area is open into the dining area or living room.
Finding the perfect fixtures to match your kitchen decor is actually a bit challenging because they come in different styles, materials, and sizes that you can choose from. On top of that there are only a few fixture styles and colors that you can use that will match or will work well with your cabinetry style, appliances and your countertops. To make matters worse, often the most popular choice of hardware by the people you follow on social media will not create a cohesive look with your design style. Fortunately, you do not need to hire an interior designer to help you to choose the right fixtures for your kitchen design because all of the information that you need to know is just a click of a finger away.
There are actually different ways to learn how to choose cabinet fixtures. Knowing the style and finishes of fixtures, the color and style of your cabinetry, the color of your appliances, faucets, light fixtures and other elements in your kitchen will give you an idea as to what new hardware you should buy for your new cooking area.
What Are The Popular Cabinet Hardware Finishes
Choosing the right hardware finish can make your kitchen look complete and offer a cohesive look to the entire home.
- Chrome Finishes – Chrome hardware is timeless. It matches many cabinetry colors and it may be a good option if you like brushed nickel but want something bolder. A chrome finish works well in modern and farmhouse kitchens.
- Antique Brass Finishes – Antique Brass blends well in brown hues with a soft golden glow, an ideal fixtures finish for traditional kitchens.
- Polished Chrome Finishes – This type of finish will make your cooking area shine and is suitable for both modern and classic design kitchens.
- Satin Nickel – When you are planning to have a contemporary kitchen, satin nickel is a popular choice. Satin Nickel’s cool luster and warm undertones give it a luxurious quality. It goes well with Stainless Steel appliances, making it a good choice.
- Brushed Nickel – One of the popular choices for cabinetry hardware. It works well with all style and appliance colors. Aside from that it is easy to clean and easy to keep clean because it resists fingerprints.
- Silver Satin – Silver satin knobs and pulls match all cabinetry colors like brushed nickel. What is so good about a fixture with a satin finish is that it hides fingerprints and water spots like with brushed finishes.
- Black Matte -Matches all cabinetry colors. Having black cabinetry fixture is a bold choice that won’t overwhelm your space. It often is used for farmhouse-style kitchens and works great as well for both traditional and modern style kitchens.
- Iron –Iron is a classic, durable, and timeless finish and therefore works well in most design styles.
- Copper – If you want your fixture to make a bold statement, fixtures with copper finishes are for you. This is especially true if it is paired with blue cabinets. It gives a trendy and unexpected look to your space. However, if you have a copper sink, the use of fixtures with copper finish is a must.
- Oil-rubbed Bronze – Comes with brown, gray, and copper undertones. This is the most utilized ironware for a traditional-style kitchen or country-style kitchen with white cabinetry.
- Clear Glass Cabinet Hardware -A good choice for a vintage look or antique kitchen.
- Ceramic -Adds whimsy and character to any kitchen.
Choose Hardware Based On Appliances And Other Elements
The color of your cabinetry is not the only thing that you need to consider when choosing fixtures because when utilized properly can make a huge impact with your kitchen design. Below are the other elements to consider when choosing the right fixture for your cooking area:
- Faucet Color And Finishes – You can choose your fixture colors and finishes based on your faucet. Many prefer to match their fixture color to their faucets. However, there are also others that choose a contrasting color against their faucet.
- Sink Color – Kitchens with metal sinks such as stainless steel, copper and alike, use a fixture color that is the same as the color of their metal sink.
- Appliance Color – Stainless appliances always look best with silver-toned fixtures as it gives your space a classic and cohesive look.
- Backsplash or Wall Color – You also have the option of whether you want to have your fixture complement or blend well with the main colors in your area.
- Shape Of The Hardware – The shape of your hardware is also as important as the color. Order a few favorites and compare them to your cabinetry before making a final decision.
When we renovated our kitchen, we used the same finishes for the light fixtures in our dining area, faucets, appliances and hardware to have a cohesive and clean look.
- Light Fixtures – The basic rule of thumb when mixing multiple finishes in a space is to use no more than two different finishes within the same room. Using more than two finishes can make any space look too uncoordinated and too unintentional. So, if you have a black light fixture and a chrome faucet, choose cabinet hardware with either a black or chrome finish.
- Floors – It provides a modern backdrop for cabinet fixtures. Metal bars or knobs add elegance to lower cabinets’ symmetrical lines. For example, chrome fixtures highlight the beauty of dark wood floors and white cabinetry.
How To Choose Kitchen Cabinet Hardware To Match Decor Based On Kitchen Cabinet Color
Below are kitchen cabinet hardware ideas and cabinet hardware options based on your cabinet color.
What Color Knobs And Pulls Should You Use On Dark Stained Wood Cabinets?
- Glass Knobs And Pulls – The use of glass knobs and pulls gives a nice contrast when the light catches it but it also blends well with the cabinets. A great choice for mid-century modern kitchens.
- Copper – Kitchens with copper sinks should have copper hardware.
- Green-Gold or Orange Gold – This provides a nice contrast with cherry stained wood cabinets. It also looks great with cabinets painted with black or other dark color cabinets.
- Stainless Steel – If you want your hardware to have a nice contrast against dark wood stained cabinets, use stainless steel hardware. It always looks amazing along side stainless steel appliances.
- Oil-rubbed Bronze – Blends perfectly with dark wood stained cabinets.
What Color Knobs And Pulls Should You Use On White Kitchen Cabinets?
- Polished Gold Color – This type gives a sophisticated look in your cooking area. White cabinets exude simplicity while gold ones elevate this simplicity to the next level. However, you may not be able to find standard bars and pulls in gold color but a ring pull is a good option as it also adds interesting detail in your space. You can use these ring pulls to replace the knobs for drawers and match them with a gold bar pull on your cabinets.
- Matte Black – If you want to achieve an effortless style kitchen, matte black fixture is an excellent choice as it gives a clean and modern look. A matte black finish offers a beautiful contrast to white cabinets and they are easy to find. Consider the use of a black cup pull with matte finish but with a modern shape. It makes perfect hardware to match your farmhouse-style kitchen.
- Satin Nickel – This type offers a soft compliment to white cabinets. Half round pulls with satin nickel finish are one of the perfect options for traditional kitchens while a finger pull with satin nickel finish gives your white cabinets a more modern look but still has a soft compliment to it.
- Golden Champagne Finish – If you are looking for fixtures that would give a space a glam and contemporary look, a golden champagne finish will do the work for you. This will give a touch of glam without overpowering other elements in the room.
- Chrome Finish – If you want your small kitchen to feel cheery and bright. Chrome finish hardware is also a popular choice for white shaker cabinets because the combination of these two creates the classic and timeless beauty which makes them suitable from traditional to modern kitchen style.
- Oil-Rubbed Bronze – If you want to achieve a country-styled kitchen, consider oil-rubbed bronze finish hardware as it gives enough warmth and contrast to your white cabinets.
White kitchen cabinets match nearly every fixture color. Go for matte black for an effortless look and use a satin nickel or golden champagne finish to add softness to your space.
What Color Knobs And Pulls Should You Use On Blue Kitchen Cabinets?
- Chrome Hardware – It is one of the popular choices to match with dark blue cabinets. This item provides a nice contrast and at the same time adds a touch of flair and glam. This type of finish also looks beautiful with cabinets painted with lighter shades of blue. It works well with modern and contemporary but also goes well with glam traditional-style kitchens.
- Brushed Nickel Knobs and Pulls – This finish gives classic beauty that goes well with almost any style kitchen. It gives a beautiful contrast to most blue cabinetry colors and works well with ultra modern, industrial and farmhouse-style.
- Gold, Champagne and Brass Hardware – These finishes pair well with blue cabinetry’s cool tones with white countertops. Contrasting colors again highlight the fixture, so choose knobs and pulls you can’t wait to show off.
- Black Knobs And Pull – If you don’t want your fixture to draw attention, black fixture is a great option for you as it blends well with blue cabinets. It also works well for industrial and rustic kitchens.
What Color Knobs And Pulls Should You Use On Gray Kitchen Cabinets?
- Black Hardware works well with cabinets painted with light or dark gray tones. Pairing it with light gray cabinets creates a stark contrast while it blends well with dark gray cabinets and with white countertops, bright backsplash and tons of natural light and artificial light.
- Gold Hardware complements cabinets painted with a light gray tone. It brings out warm hues in the kitchen against the crispness of the light gray cabinets. This also works great for a space with eclectic style as it works well with bold colors.
- Oil-Rubbed Bronze Hardware blends well with cabinets painted with gray with tan undertones as it will give a clean and timeless beauty to your space.
- Brushed Nickel Hardware goes well with cabinets painted with a medium to dark gray tone and gray with blue undertone. This type of finish provides a simple yet classic look.
Choose Hardware Based On Cabinet Styles
Cabinet door style is also an important element to consider when choosing hardware because some styles work best with certain design styles. Below are some of the popular door styles:
- Shaker-Style Cabinets – They have a classic look and work with almost any kitchen style, including farmhouse, modern, bohemian, and industrial. They have a flat or plain surface with a recessed panel in the middle. It is just like having white cabinets that goes with any design style, shaker cabinets will look good with all types of hardware. However, the hardware that will look the best against this type is hardware that matches your kitchen style.
- Raised Panel Cabinets – It has a raised center panel and provides a 3 dimensional structure to cabinet doors which typically is a popular style for traditional kitchens because of its timeless beauty. Curved wire cabinet pulls, rounded foot handles with oil-rubbed bronze finishes, with curves and other ornate details goes perfectly well with this type of cabinetry to achieve a traditional kitchen.
- Slab Cabinets – It is also known as flat-front cabinets which have a simple and minimalist design. This style is typically used to achieve a modern or contemporary style space. Stainless steel bar pulls, recessed pulls, tab pulls, flat bar pulls and other hardware with sleek but subtle design will make a huge impact in a kitchen with slab cabinets.
- Beadboard Cabinets – The cabinet fronts come with vertical slats installed together to create a textured look. This style is a popular option for a space with a country and casual feel. Rustic black iron or cup pulls with oil-rubbed bronze finishes are ideal for space with a country feel and with beadboard cabinets.
How To Choose Kitchen Cabinet Hardware Size To Match Decor
The size of the hardware is also something that needs to be considered aside from the color. Its size should match with the size of your space such as, utilizing long pulls for large kitchens with wide drawers, longer pulls for larger kitchens with wider drawers or use standard size pulls and knobs for smaller kitchens.
If you are a fan of having an oversized pull, use different pull sizes in the same style in order not to overpower your space. Use longer drawer pulls on longer drawers and smaller pulls on shorter drawers. For example, a drawer larger than 18″ usually requires more than one handle. Contemporary styles work best with handles that measure at least two-thirds of the length of the cabinet doors or drawers. There are a variety of lengths of hardware for standard or custom pullouts to create a balanced look.
