Although it’s somewhat of a minuscule task in the larger scheme of kitchen design, picking out the hardware is still important. A carefully thought-out combination of knobs, pulls, and handles will help make the kitchen complete. With many options in style, size, and finish, it allows for the opportunity to mix and match for different purposes. Houzz contributor Yanic Simard says mixing types of hardware gives kitchens more character on the design side and makes it more functional on the function side. See his tips for mixing and matching below.
Choose a single finish. Although it’s definitely possible to coordinate cabinet hardware in different finishes, it’s much easier and safer to mix different shapes of knobs and pulls in one matching finish. This automatically gives all the hardware a sense of being coordinated and makes the differences between each style less immediately noticeable.
Think about the numbers. Cabinet hardware will usually look best when used in multiple places so that no single knob or handle is the odd one out. For this reason, it can be easier to make multiple styles of hardware work in a larger kitchen with many doors and drawers.
Use one style for upper cabinets and a different style for lower cabinets. A great option for coordinating the look of your hardware is to use one hardware type for the uppers (often a knob because they’re easy to grip when swinging an upper door open) and one for the lowers (often a short handle or pull, which can work for both the lower doors and drawers).
Use different styles for each function or door and drawer type. If you love the look of mixing more than two types of hardware or have a large kitchen with many different cabinets and drawers, you should look at choosing different hardware styles for each functional type of door and drawer.