Cabinet Hardware 101

Cabinet knobs and pulls are now being used by designers to add finer details to a home’s overall decorating theme. Manufacturers of decorative hardware are making the designer’s job easier by offering more styles and design options. Emtek Products is one of these companies who manufacturers door, bath and cabinet hardware in various collection styles so that homeowners can have hardware with consistent styles and finishes throughout their home.

For example, homeowners with smaller children can choose cabinet knobs and pulls for their children’s bedrooms in bright primary colors, animal shapes or pictures of clothing items such as sock knobs for the sock drawer and shirt knobs for the shirt drawer.

Cabinet knobs are also produced from a variety of different materials venturing away from the more standard solid brass. Hardware customers can now choose products made from sandcast bronze, wrought steel, copper and chrome.

There are also many different combinations of types of hardware that you can use throughout your home. The more common selection is to use cabinet knobs on doors that swing outward and to use horizontally positioned pulls on slide out drawers. Pulls can be used throughout using pulls horizontally on slide out drawers and vertically on cabinet doors. Cup pulls and bin pulls are also being used more as they become more popular with designers.

When shopping for cabinet pulls, you should know the center-to-center measurement that you need.

Center to center (CTC) - Measurement from the center of one hole to the center of another. This measurement is used to measure both hardware and the surfaces to which hardware is applied.

If holes have not yet been drilled in your cabinets then you can start fresh and are not limited in your choices. If holes are already drilled in the cabinets for hardware, this can definitely limit your options of hardware. Common CTC sizes are 3”, 3-1/2” and 4”.

Some popular manufacturers of cabinet hardware are listed here: Alno, Ashley Norton, Baldwin, Colonial Bronze, Emtek, Fusion, Rocky Mountain, Top Knobs.

About the Author

Scott Touchton is an employee of www.SpecialtyHardwareOutlet.com which is a Birmingham, Alabama based decorative hardware outlet.