Kitchen makeover is finished! And a question

[carmenere]

After six months our kitchen makeover project is finally (almost) finished. We kept the existing cabinet boxes and ordered new solid wood doors from Rockler. We had the cabinets and doors professionally painted and then mounted them and installed the hardware ourselves. Lesson learned: bar style handles are a huge PITA to install.

Before (PDQ)


After




Here’s my question: what do y’all think about the handles on this lazy susan corner cabinet? I want some kind of handle so that we don’t dirty the white cabinet door but something about it doesn’t seem quite right. (The handles are stuck on with adhesive, not drilled yet, so we can change them.)

[lightbulbsun]

That looks great!

[maudefindlay]

Thanks for sharing, I love before and after updates! This is such a nice change. All the finishes you chose are classic with clean lines, so it looks fresh and also isn't trendy and I don't think it will look dated any time soon.

[deadwing]

The update looks great!

For your question, I think I'd put one handle on the corner door and put it at the same level as the other lower cabinet handles. It could be the angle of the picture, but the current placement looks off to me.

[dr.girlfriend]

That looks great! I think if functionally it works better to have the lazy susan handle up high I would try to center it to the horizontal handles, and if it's workable to have it lower I would have it aligned with the vertical handles on the other lower cabinets. I know it's a full-length cabinet instead of a lower, but from a distance I think you just want things to look cohesive if possible, and if they can't be cohesive I think you should make them clearly different (e.g. clearly high but vertical instead of horizontal) rather than kind of in-between.

[carmenere]

Jun 8, 2021 9:00:18 GMT -5 dr.girlfriend said:

That looks great! I think if functionally it works better to have the lazy susan handle up high I would try to center it to the horizontal handles, and if it's workable to have it lower I would have it aligned with the vertical handles on the other lower cabinets. I know it's a full-length cabinet instead of a lower, but from a distance I think you just want things to look cohesive if possible, and if they can't be cohesive I think you should make them clearly different (e.g. clearly high but vertical instead of horizontal) rather than kind of in-between.

Thank you! I think we may have to go the "clearly different" route, so I'll try that out tonight and see how it looks. I'm hesitant to move them any lower because then H won't want to bend down to use them while cooking (he has back issues) and he'll get his hands on the door which defeats the purpose. Would one horizontal handle look crazy if it's aligned with the drawer handle on the other side of the stove?

[daisyduck]

I would try two horizontal handles in line with the drawer handles. I think that would fit in better than they do now.

[thejackpot]

Your update looks great! I love the cabinet style.

[dr.girlfriend]

Jun 8, 2021 9:32:45 GMT -5 carmenere said:

Jun 8, 2021 9:00:18 GMT -5 dr.girlfriend said:

That looks great! I think if functionally it works better to have the lazy susan handle up high I would try to center it to the horizontal handles, and if it's workable to have it lower I would have it aligned with the vertical handles on the other lower cabinets. I know it's a full-length cabinet instead of a lower, but from a distance I think you just want things to look cohesive if possible, and if they can't be cohesive I think you should make them clearly different (e.g. clearly high but vertical instead of horizontal) rather than kind of in-between.

Thank you! I think we may have to go the "clearly different" route, so I'll try that out tonight and see how it looks. I'm hesitant to move them any lower because then H won't want to bend down to use them while cooking (he has back issues) and he'll get his hands on the door which defeats the purpose. Would one horizontal handle look crazy if it's aligned with the drawer handle on the other side of the stove?

I was trying to think if you could get away with one handle that you either push or pull, but I have a feeling if that side is pushed in you'll just end up grabbing the other side to push rather than reaching into the cabinet space to find the handle to pull...  if you do a high horizontal handle I would think you might want two, but you can always do one on the right and then see how it feels and then add the other.  I'm trying to figure out if you would risk scraping your hand on the cabinet front with a horizontal handle set that high that you're pushing in...

[Cappy]

I vote one handle on the right that you push or pull (oriented as it is). IMO 2 looks odd.

[carmenere]

Jun 8, 2021 10:46:06 GMT -5 dr.girlfriend said:

Jun 8, 2021 9:32:45 GMT -5 carmenere said:

Thank you! I think we may have to go the "clearly different" route, so I'll try that out tonight and see how it looks. I'm hesitant to move them any lower because then H won't want to bend down to use them while cooking (he has back issues) and he'll get his hands on the door which defeats the purpose. Would one horizontal handle look crazy if it's aligned with the drawer handle on the other side of the stove?

I was trying to think if you could get away with one handle that you either push or pull, but I have a feeling if that side is pushed in you'll just end up grabbing the other side to push rather than reaching into the cabinet space to find the handle to pull...  if you do a high horizontal handle I would think you might want two, but you can always do one on the right and then see how it feels and then add the other.  I'm trying to figure out if you would risk scraping your hand on the cabinet front with a horizontal handle set that high that you're pushing in...

I need to pay more attention to how we handle the cabinet because this is a good point I hadn't even thought about. When I close it, I usually touch the top edge (need to break that habit) or the inner shelf (which is black plastic so I don't mind it being touched). Now I'm wondering if there's a way to add a knob or handle on the inside without drilling all the way through.

[lessel]

Jun 8, 2021 11:23:36 GMT -5 Cappy said:

I vote one handle on the right that you push or pull (oriented as it is). IMO 2 looks odd.

This is my vote too. One horizontal handle on the right side of the cabinet.

Kitchen looks great!

[scm1011]

What a difference! Looks great!

I agree with PP who say one horizontal handle on the right side.

[mrsd2006]

That looks amazing!

[libbygrl109]

It looks great!

As far as the handles, you can always start with one handle, and if you find you grab at both sides, add the other.

Or maybe a finger pull like this?

[mrsukyankee]

It looks great! I am unsure what I would do with the lazy susan issue.

[atarianna]

Did you change your granite or does the color just look different because of the lighting?

[carmenere]

Jun 12, 2021 12:15:25 GMT -5 atarianna said:

Did you change your granite or does the color just look different because of the lighting?

Same granite. I think it’s the paint and cabinet colors that make it look different. (Also think the “before” photo from the listing was edited.)

[origami]

Looks great!! My kitchen has a similar layout/look. On our lazy susan corner cabinet we have a knob on the left side. All our doors have knobs though. We have horizontal handles like yours too, but only on the drawers. I don’t need a 2nd handle, but my cabinet door there is hinged on the right side. I can’t tell how yours opens

[divanerd]

Really nice!

[divanerd]

I would lower it