This website provides a few basic guidelines you might want to consider when selecting doorknobs or cupboard door handles. Matching and colour coordination are only a tiny part of all the factors you might want to consider. A few more are listed below:
- A kitchen is a grimy and greasy place. If they are the correct shape, they can help minimise contact between hands that are dirty from cooking, and the glossy surface of a cabinet or cupboard
- If the drawer or cupboard you are seeking to open is significant sized, you might consider a handle or cup handle rather than just a knob, simply to make the whole act of opening easier and more comfortable
- Match curved shapes within your knobs and pulls to curved shapes within your design, for example, a cup handle might blend more seamlessly within the drawer or cupboard on an island bar or table, set within a modern kitchen. By contrast, if all of your lines are very angular and square, fairly straight and standard handles could work better. If your kitchen or bathroom is quaint and traditionally styled, doorknobs might appear more in keeping.
- Use your cupboard door handles to enhance the existing design. You can create burnished, brass or shiny finishes can create a high impact, because they are sticking out and prominent to the eye, it is possible to use materials that do not feature elsewhere within the design, and handles can add a pleasing order and symmetry.
Colour related decisions
Supposing your cupboard door is bright and vivid or suppose the opposite: it is dreary and grey, and you’re seeking to add something that is both functional and interesting. The colour wheel is a good rule of thumb to use when considering the colour of your cupboard door, and the overall effect you want to create within the space you have designed.
To create a monochromatic effect, select three variations, dark and pale, of the same shade.
To create a bright and striking effect, select complimentary colours, i.e. those on opposing sides of the colour wheel.
To create a harmonious or analogous effect, select colours that are adjacent on the colour wheel.
If your cupboard door was grey, the blankest void of them all, then your doors sit approximately at the centre of the wheel. This means a dull version of any colour that sat next to it close to the centre might create harmony, whilst a vivid colour from around the edges could create that striking effect of contrast.
Overall, consider the handle’s shape, how easy it is to open the door. Then, factor in stylistic points, such as colour and shape.
Discover more here, and whatever your decision about knobs and pulls, enjoy designing a room that is both aesthetically pleasing and functional.