Guide to Door Handles
Handles or (lack of!) handles can often be the last thing people consider when designing their new kitchen. Think of handles like icing on a cake – the finishing and essential element to bringing together the overlook look and feel of your kitchen.
Choosing the right handles to match the style of kitchen is so important. Having a modern kitchen but adding Hampton style handles confuses the look you are trying to achieve. With so much choice it can seem overwhelming, especially as its not always about selecting a handle type – but selecting if you have no handles at all!
Below we will go through each of the different types of handles available.
HANDLELESS OPTIONS
When you are looking for those sleek modern lines, having no handles to your joinery design results in a clean minimalistic look to your cabinetry.
There are many options that you can choose if you decide that handles are not something you want or compliment the style of kitchen you are designing.
Sharknose or Linealine
Sharknose handles are doors & drawers fronts with a 45 degree angle. This type of handle alternative is popular in modern and contemporary designs. Sharknose handles are suitable for polyurethane and a wide range of melamine colours.
Linealine gives a handleless alternative should your door be thermolaminate or a door colour that isn’t available in a sharknose profile. It gives the same external appearance as a sharknose handle with the difference of a square top. Within the polytec profiled door range there is also the Bronte handle which features a recessed handle to the top which can also help you to acheive a handleless look when using a thermolaminate door.
We have both a polyurethane sharknose & linealine profile on display in our showroom for you to try for yourself to see what feels most comfortable for you to open.
Push Catch or Finger Rails
Another alternative is push catch doors or drawers. The push to open mechanisms are spring loaded and allow you to open the door or drawer by pushing on it, rather than pulling with a handle.
Finger rails are designed for wall cabinets that do not have handles. We install an aluminium extrusion to our underpanels which provides a gap for your fingers to fit in to open the door. This design works well in all styles of joinery and it is often a common combination to have handles to your base & tall cabinets with none to your wall cabinets.
For any cabinets above another cabinet where finger rails are not an option, we would use push catches on these to keep the handleless look. We always add these to any cabinetry above the fridge space where handles are not being used for ease of opening.
Minimilistic Handles
While not entirely handleless, lip pull handles are an option to create a minimalistic look. These handles are installed on the top of doors or drawers with minimal visibility. It is also more cost effective than no handle options.
HANDLES & KNOBS
If you are wanting to introduce definition & style into your kitchen choosing the right handle is of the utmost importance. Its often the way texture and colour is brought into the space that has a flow on effect to matching other finishes in your kitchen such as your sink & tapware.
Both knobs and handles have their place on kitchen doors & drawers and both can often be used in conjunction with eachother as many handles do a complimentary knob in the same finish.
When selecting handles it can come down to personal choice as well as budget. When considering If a handle or knob Is right for you kitchen ask yourself these 4 questions:
- Does it suit the style of kitchen?
- Is it comfortable to use?
- Is it a quality product?
- Is it available in the right size and finish?
Asking yourself the above questions will help you to consider if the handle selection is right for you. You may love the style of a handle, but the finish doesn’t suit your overall look and feel. Size is also important to check. Whilst most do come in multiple sizes to suit both your smaller and largers doors, some model do come in one size only which may not work if you were wanting longer handles on your tall pantry doors.
Quality is also important. We only source our handles from well known and trusted brands. Not all handles are created equally and opting to purchase a cheaper version of a handle wont offer you the longevity that you should get from your kitchen handles.
Above all – the comfort factor should be high on the list, especially if you have any joint problems, you need to ensure its comfortable for every day use.
We understand the importance of selecting the right handle for your project and would love to help guide you to the perfect handle selection for your kitchen.
We welcome you to view our Narellan showroom so we can show you the many options of handles. We source our handles from a wide variety of suppliers ensuring that we can find the perfect handle to compliment and unify your kitchens overall look. We also have handleless options on display for you to view & try for yourself. We highly recommend calling ahead to book in a consultation to have a guided experience.
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