Any housewife knows how important the practicality of furniture installed in the kitchen is. Each cabinet, shelf or table should be comfortable and useful for storing food and utensils and preparing food. We must also not forget about the attractive design of the headset. Surprisingly, it is the handles for kitchen furniture, chosen correctly, that add zest, make it unique and comfortable. You just need to be careful about their choice. Handles should be of high quality, beautiful, practical, and appropriate to the interior.
Varieties
The market offers a huge selection of furniture handles for the kitchen to suit every taste and budget. When purchasing a ready-made structure on which these elements are already installed, you should pay attention to their quality, safety and convenience. When ordering a headset, you can choose accessories from the catalogs proposed by the designer. However, you need to have an idea about the types of handles, the material they are made of and the approximate price.
Profile
Material of manufacture: aluminum or plastic. The handle can be overhead or mortise. Suitable for small kitchens with narrow aisles as it saves space.
The mortise profile is installed a little more complicated than the overhead profile, because a special recess is milled into the facade for it. But it combines favorably with high-tech design and does not protrude beyond the boundaries of the surface. These are the so-called hidden handles. They are very popular abroad, in particular in Europe.
You should not try to install mortise handles yourself. The work requires a certain skill and experience of furniture makers.
Overhead profile handles are simply attached to the furniture facade at the top or side end. They give kitchen furniture a modern, laconic look. They come in different colors, but there is no decor. The price of these elements is low, but they are reliable and durable.
Mortise
Invoice
Bracket
The most popular handles for kitchen furniture are staples. They are considered universal. They have the shape of the letter P, but with a curved arc, and come in various designs. Main advantages:
- strong fastening with two screws;
- variety of models, shapes, sizes;
- large selection of shades;
- reliability, durability;
- ease of use;
- affordable price;
- various materials of manufacture.
Handle handles can be chosen for both a small cabinet and a large one. It is important that they are comfortable and stylistically match the kitchen set.
Railing
The railing resembles a bracket, but without bending. It looks like a crossbar on two supports. It can extend beyond the supports or go into them at right angles. The surface is most often nickel plated. If the coating was made by galvanization, it does not wear off over time and does not lose its shine. Railings are often used in modern interiors. Like staples, they have a wide range of sizes; it’s easy to choose a color that matches the set.
Button
Knob knobs are not very popular now. They are made in the Provence style, but suit the loft and classics. This accessory has a small leg, which is screwed to the furniture. The head is made round, oval, square, in the form of a flower or an animal figurine. The button can be combined, with an insert made of wood or porcelain, with rhinestones or crystals. Disadvantage: not very convenient for kitchen cabinets, as your hand can slip off its surface.
Shell
The original shape of the handle for kitchen furniture resembles a shell, does not overload the façade, and looks inconspicuous. It can only be purchased in specialized departments or online catalogs. It is suitable for loft, country, classic or any modern design. Shells are made of stainless steel, nickel, plastic, and sometimes plated with gold. For furniture in Art Nouveau and Gothic styles, products are made of copper.
A drop
This furniture handle really resembles a drop with its base. An addition in the form of a loop or earring is attached to the top. This is an elegant accessory that looks original on a facade made of any material - wood, plastic. The drop decorates kitchen furniture and serves more as decoration than as a convenient handle.
With ring
Such products are used to equip kitchen furniture in a classic or retro style. The main element of the model is a ring attached to a decorative base. These are high quality, durable products. They have a small selection of colors, but you can choose fittings to match different furniture designs. Requires caution during operation; the ring often leaves scratches on the door covering.
Functional new items
New technological models are constantly appearing among furniture fittings. A striking example of such handles for kitchen furniture are touch-sensitive handles with LED backlighting. They look interesting in the evening and at night, illuminating furniture cabinets with soft light. The power source is a regular battery, which is attached to the inside of the facade. The pen glows for 30 seconds after you touch it.
Types of furniture fronts for cabinets, popular materials
Another new furniture fittings product dictated by the development of the tandembox is a handle with a leash. It is attached to the inner drawer and secured to the outer drawer from the inside with a latch. With its help, both boxes can be pulled out together or, by releasing the latch, one can be pulled out separately using the regular handle on it.
Touch with LED backlight
Handle with leash
Expert advice
When purchasing a finished facade, the location of the handles has already been determined. But furniture fittings have standard sizes, so you can always replace them if desired. You can update and install handles on cabinet doors yourself.
What you need to know when replacing fittings yourself:
- To drill holes for fasteners, use a drill of the required diameter. For railing models, a 5 mm drill is useful, but if the shape is such that it may not close the mounting hole, you need to take a 4 mm pointed drill.
- When attaching fittings to glass doors, you need to drill the glass with a diamond-coated drill.
- If handles need to be attached to new facades, then holes should be drilled using templates to mark the center of the holes. In this case, the symmetry of the arrangement of the handles will be maintained.
- When installing handles on wooden and glass facades, be sure to screw an additional washer on the back side for strong fastening.
Replacing handles on kitchen furniture correctly is not a difficult process. You can install traditional staples, or you can use products with Swarovski crystals - the installation depends on the interior of your kitchen and personal preferences.
Manufacturing materials
The highest quality, strongest, most durable materials for the manufacture of furniture handles are metal alloys based on aluminum with zinc or magnesium. A thin film of galvanic coating serves as a protective layer and at the same time a decor for them. Such elements can be chrome-plated, nickel-plated, matte, glossy, with patina, coated with gold, silver, copper. Bronze looks interesting. In addition to metal, furniture handles are made:
- made of wood;
- plastic;
- porcelain;
- rock crystal.
Sometimes ceramics are used to make handles.
Handles for kitchen cabinets can be combined from several materials (for example, wood and metal), inlaid with natural stones, rhinestones, and Swarovski crystals. Designers even offer rope elements for furniture. Each material has its own advantages and disadvantages. For example, the varnish surface of wooden ones quickly wears off and will have to be restored again. The metal must have a coating applied by galvanic method, and after cutting the thread for fastening, so that corrosion does not appear in this place.
Types of furniture guides, their installation and selection criteria
Ceramic and porcelain handles are fragile and require careful handling. Despite this, they are popular due to their elegant appearance. They are considered quite expensive options. Ceramic handles look stylish and beautiful, but they need to be protected from impacts. Plastic is a universal material; elements made from it will decorate any interior, the main thing is that it is of high quality. Disadvantages: not wear-resistant, cracks even with slight mechanical impact.
Metal
Tree
Plastic
Porcelain
Rhinestone
Combined
Methods for attaching furniture handles
Ergonomics, reliability, and strength of handles on furniture facades largely depend on the method and quality of their fastening. Of course, the base material plays an important role - self-tapping screws will hold better on solid wood doors than on chipboard. For comfortable operation, heavy structures are equipped with larger width handles with at least two locking elements.
Fastening with one screw
Typically used for small knobs. The head of the screw is fixed on the inside of the door or drawer, and the spiral part is screwed into the base of the handle.
Fastening with two self-tapping screws
Typical for the installation of brackets, shells, and sometimes modernized rings and drops. In the brackets, the fastener heads are also hidden inside the facade and can be additionally protected with silicone/plastic overlays that protect against rust. If the design of the handle provides for an external base plate with slots on the sides, the screws are screwed in from the outside.
Fastening on steel hinges
Suitable for antique furniture, as well as rough drawers and cabinets in the loft style. In this case, the handle is supported on a base of forged door hinges. This option looks very unusual.
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Selection rules
Handles for kitchen furniture can be completely different, but for any option there are common requirements:
- Opening comfort. You will use kitchen handles more often than any other - they should be ergonomic and fit comfortably in your hand.
- Safety. The accessories should not be traumatic: check them for sharp edges, nicks and other defects to avoid damaging your palm.
- Proportionality. Kitchen furniture of the same size will look good with the same handles. If the dimensions are different, it is better to choose different sizes of handles for the kitchen: larger and smaller.
- Harmony. The dimensions of the fittings are selected not only to match the furniture, but also to the size of the kitchen. The optimal solution for a small kitchen is mortise or compact models that do not protrude and will not interfere with movement around the room.
The photo shows an option for using black fittings in a light kitchen
