Do you have cabinets without hardware? We need to add 42 handles to the cabinets and drawers in our kitchen! It’s going to be quite a job, but we’re up for it! Let us show you how to install cabinet hardware the easy way so you don’t lose your mind!
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Why Install Cabinet Hardware
When we bought this house there was no hardware on any of the cabinets or drawers.
I couldn’t find hardware that I liked in any of the stores near our home, so I kept procrastinating!
But that’s about to change!
I finally found cabinet hardware that reflects our style and didn’t break the bank!
There are several reasons we wanted to install cabinet hardware.
First, it enhances the functionality of the space by making it easier to open and close cabinet doors and drawers.
Second, the white cabinets will stay cleaner because hands won’t be directly touching them!
And third, hardware adds beauty to the appearance of cabinets.
Best tip to keep you from losing your mind
Drilling holes into cabinets can be very scary and hard to fix if you mess up!
Never fear, we have the best tip to help you reduce the chance of mistakes, increase uniformity, and make the job go faster!
It’s a handy tool called a jig!
If you have more than a few knobs or pulls to install, using a jig is a must!
A jig like this one can be used for knobs or pulls. The sliders adjust to your hardware. This one also has vertical and horizontal rulers.
Most jigs come with instructions on setting up your hardware. For ours, we aligned the center slider to the center of the horizontal ruler. Then we took one of our pulls and placed it on the jig to align the right and left sliders. We fed the screws through the holes to make for perfect alignment.
For a pull, you would then make sure your right and left slider are equal to the center slider. Now you are ready to decide on your cabinet hardware placement and make final adjustments to the jig.
Determine Placement of Kitchen Cabinet Hardware
Rich is going to explain how he will place our kitchen hardware but if you are a visual person and want to see different examples of how to place cabinet hardware click here.
If you are using only one knob or pull on a drawer then you must find the center. If using two pulls, you would divide the drawer width in half and find the center of each half.
Because our handles were large enough we decided to use just one pull even on the larger drawers.
Cabinet door pulls or knobs would be placed inside the bottom corner of the side of the door that opens on the upper cabinets and the top corner on the bottom cabinets.
Again hold up your hardware and see what looks best. You must attach to a thick part of the door and it is usually a half inch to an inch from the side and a couple inches from the bottom/top of the door.
The best way to decide is to just hold up your hardware and see what looks best.
How To Install Kitchen Cabinet Hardware
Gather Tools
- Knobs and/or pulls of choice with screws – pulls from Amazon
- Jig – Amazon
- Measuring tape
- Pencil
- Drill
- Screwdriver
Measure and Mark Locations For Handles
For the first drawer, measure and mark the horizontal center point.
Next mark the vertical center and cross over your horizontal mark indicating the exact center of the drawer.
The last part to adjust the jig is the slider on the vertical ruler. Align your center slider hole exactly over the center mark on your drawer. Then adjust the last slider down to sit on top of the drawer.
So now when you line up the center hole on the jig to your center mark on the drawer your pull holes will be in perfect position to drill.
Drill Holes
Make sure you pick a drill bit that is slightly larger than your hardware screw so they easily slide through the hole from inside of the drawer/door to your hardware. Also, make sure your screws are long enough. The pull we ordered came with two sets of screws. One for drawers (longer) and one for cabinet doors (shorter).
Align the jig over the center mark and hold the jig firmly in place with one hand. Drill your holes through the right and left slider for a pull and center hole if installing just a knob.
Just so things do not move I usually just set a screw in the first drilled hole so the jig doesn’t slide horizontally.
For cabinet doors, it is more about marking where the pull or knob will be located on the door. Then adjust your sliders to line up over the hole(s). Then adjust the side slider and the additional bottom slider shown in the picture above.
You can now drill your holes in the cabinet door.
What is great about this jig that speeds things up is you can just flip it horizontally to do the opposite door. Flip it, hold, and drill those holes too.
Install new handles
Time to install your hardware.
Just feed the appropriate screw through the back of the drawer or cabinet door.
Hand tighten each screw to get it started and then use a screwdriver to tighten things up.
In Conclusion
We are so happy to finally have hardware on our kitchen cabinets!
Using a jig took the guesswork out of installing hardware on all of those cabinets!
We’re thrilled with how the kitchen looks now!
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Blessings, Donna and Rich
Pin It For Later
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- Install a Tile Backsplash in the Kitchen
**Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, we will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. We appreciate your support. (disclosure policy)
Such a big difference, Donna! I love the hardware you chose and all the helpful tips and tricks you shared too. It seems like cabinet doors and drawers would be so easy but gah they’re no joke! Hugs, CoCo
Thank you CoCo! I’m really happy with how it turned out, but it was scary watching him drill the first couple of holes, lol!!
Love the hardware Donna, and you hit the nail on the head… I always worry about projects that are permanent, so it takes me forever to make a decision on those such items. I am glad I am not the only one!
Thanks, Cara! I was glad to finally find hardware I liked well enough to risk drilling holes in those cabinets!! It was scary but I’m so glad we finally did it!