Calculators / Cabinets and counters
Where should your knobs and pulls go?
Put in the door or drawer size, and whether it’s a slab or shaker front. You’ll get where to drill, measured from the edges, and the pull size that fits.
Updated · How we check our numbers
Base cabinet door
224 mm (8 13/16 in) pull
For a 15 in × 30 in door: 2½ in down from the top and in from the edge opposite the hinges.
- Pull size
- 224 mm (8 13/16 in)hole to hole
- First hole
- 12½ × 2½ infrom left edge × from top
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Estimate for planning only, not professional advice. Check the manufacturer’s instructions, your local code and a licensed professional before you buy, build or install. Use at your own risk. Terms.
Hinges on the left.
Drill here
measured on the front- Hole 112½ in from the left edge, 2½ in from the top12½ × 2½
- Hole 212½ in from the left edge, 11⅜ in from the top12½ × 11⅜
- Pull length for this sizeTop Knobs: 7 to 12 in; a third of the height is 10 in224 mm (8 13/16 in)
From the face’s left edge and top edge, hinges on the left. Mirror it for doors hinged on the right.
Pulls go vertical on doors and horizontal on drawers (Liberty). Replacing pulls with a different size? Amerock: on wall cabinets reuse the bottom hole, on base cabinets the top hole, and on drawers drill two new holes centered.
Make a template from cardboard or buy a jig, so every door and drawer comes out the same. Measure from the door’s edges, not the cabinet box.
How we work it out
Hardware makers agree on the basics. On doors, the knob or the end of the pull goes in the corner opposite the hinges: the top corner on base cabinets, the bottom corner on wall cabinets. Emtek says 2½ to 3 in from the corner, Berenson and KraftMaid 2 to 3, Liberty 2 to 4, Amerock 3 to 4. Pulls run vertical on doors. On a pantry door, Berenson puts it at about elbow height, usually the middle of the door.
Shaker doors have a frame. KraftMaid's traditional spot is where the middle of the stile meets the middle of the rail, so we center the hardware on the frame when you give its width.
Drawers get one piece centered, until they get wide. That's where makers split: Top Knobs uses two knobs past 16 in, Emtek and Berenson at 24 in, KraftMaid and Liberty past 30 in. Top Knobs and Emtek center the two in the outer thirds; Berenson and KraftMaid put them on the ⅓ and ⅔ lines. Pick one and use it everywhere.
pull length ≈ ⅓ of the drawer width, or of the door height (Top Knobs, KraftMaid)
Top Knobs gives ranges too: 3 to 7 in pulls on doors under 24 in tall, 7 to 12 in on 24 to 36 in doors, longer than 12 in on pantries; one 3 to 5 in pull on drawers under 16 in, two 5 to 7 in or one 9 to 12 in on 16 to 32 in drawers, and over 12 in past that. We pick the standard size, measured hole to hole, closest to a third without going over.
Where the numbers come from
- Top Knobs: hardware sizing guide
- Emtek: decorative hardware styles and placement
- Berenson: how to place cabinet hardware
- KraftMaid: cabinet hardware placement guide
- Liberty Hardware: how to choose kitchen cabinet hardware
- Amerock: hardware installation instructions (via Lowe’s)
- KraftMaid: 2025 Home Depot spec book (pull sizes)
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