Cabinet Jewelry!

I am sure I’m not the only one, but just getting that blue cabinet protective film off and putting the gorgeous handles and knobs on has allowed us to see ahead into the future to what our kitchen might actually look like if it ever gets completed!

This is actually the first time we have seen the cabinets since we saw them in the showroom! Seems a bit risky now looking back, but thankfully, all’s well that ends well because we sure do love them and their crisp, clean lines.

Even more, we love the hardware we chose (the aforementioned jewelry!) We did have one minor setback. We held up the handles we were installing in our 24-in cabinets to the very large, 36-in drawers that go under the cooktop. Yikes! They looked puny! We thought about using two of them, but I really did not want to clutter up the drawer with two handles. Thankfully, we lucked out because the company had the same exact handle in the next larger size. There arrived yesterday, and we now have a winner for those large oversized drawers and pantry!

Our contractor would have installed all of the hardware for us, but I had major reservations about letting anyone else drill into our cabinets. I don’t think I could handle a crooked fixture (pun!) and I felt better having that in our control. At least this way, if we screwed it up, it was on us.

We did buy a cabinet fixture installation tool that has helped to insure every single handle or knob is spot on perfect. We have used the plastic kind of templates in the past, but for this renovation, and the expense of these cabinets, we invested in this tool which, to be honest, has a bit of a learning curve, but more than paid off to get perfectly installed fixtures.

A few tips for those who may be new to installing cabinet hardware. Go ahead and clamp a scrap block of wood on the backside of the cabinet as you are drilling. This will help prevent any blowouts on the back side. We also use a piece of masking tape on the front to prevent any splintering as the drill begins.

The last tip, make sure to measure anew each and every handle placement. Don’t assume your tool remained accurate. We found that we bumped it or dropped it several times and that changed the reading just a tad. So, go back and make sure everything is correct for each and every cabinet. We also double checked each mark before drilling with a tape measure just to be certain. It was probably overkill, all that measuring, but we are thrilled that with 15 cabinets down and eight more to go, our track record is strong.