We’re seeing an imposing shift in the world of kitchen hardware: the ditching of cabinet hardware for a no hardware look; the minimalist and clean transition. And in all honesty, the trend is doing absolutely well.
Does that translate to a decline for cabinet hardware like pulls however?
Absolutely not!
Here’s why cabinet pulls are still in style
Cabinet pulls are and will remain in style for a very long time due to their marked characteristics of bestowing a contemporary look to kitchen cabinets. The cabinet pulls currently in trend are the European bar pulls, cup pulls, recessed pulls and the edge pulls. These pulls are offered in many different shapes and forms which makes them highly suitable for different types of kitchen settings.
What cabinet pulls are in style?
No doubt, if you should run into modern kitchens that employ cabinet pulls, you’ll most likely run into the following styles:
- Cup pulls
- European Bar pulls
- Recessed pulls
- Edge Pulls
These four pulls from above are the most common types of pulls out there for a modern home. And they each come in different shapes and forms and are finished differently. We’ll go through the popular designs and styles that these pulls are finished in.
Polished and Brushed finish
These basically involves smoothening and brightening the surface of a metal or the top (metal) coat of a base using a strop or an abrasive element attached to a work wheel.
Due to the numerous colors of metals out there, there’s a variety of polished and brushed surfaces such as nickel, chrome, brass, stainless steel, bronze, honey bronze and copper.
Oil rubbed finish
Oil rubbed finish applies finishing oils to the surface of metals to give them a certain type of look, in the case of bronze, to give it a darker coloration. Oil rubbed metals, being living finishes, wear out with time which means they begin to reveal a much different undertone from their original, and this may or may not be attractive, depending on your style as a person.
Pewter
Another popular cup pull style is pewter which is a metal, or more specifically, an alloy consisting of tin, antimony, copper, bismuth and silver.
It has this beautiful antique look that is very appealing to the eye. Pewter is mostly used as a coating on base materials used in the manufacture of pulls, for instance zinc.
Matt finish
The matte finish applies a flat type of look to a metal, and this finish particularly compliments woody cabinets as well as Matt and Satin finished cabinets.
Of all the matt finishes, black is the most trendy or stylish of them all.
Satin finish
A satin finish is the opposite of a matt finish in the sense that it is glossy. In satin finish, just like matt, you have the base metal coated with another metal or in a metal color such as gold, bronze, copper or steel, with a gloss base applied into the mixture.
The most popular satin colours include nickel, champagne and honey bronze.
Distressed finishes
The distressed finish basically gives this worn out type of look to metals that adds a bit of character to the areas where they are used. The most popular metal colors or finish it comes in include the nickel, rust and bronze.
Glass cup pulls
Glass cup pulls simply have a piece of decorative glass attached to them, which is where their name comes from. Glass pulls can be finished by polishing or brushing and can be given a wide array of metal colours for decoration.
Embossed pull
Embossed pulls basically are embossed with different types of designs from rose to string and can be finished in nickel, pewter and antique english.
What are kitchen cabinet pull trends of 2022?
With everything said about cabinet pulls, it seems the trend for 2022 (that would most likely fall over to 2023 and onwards) is the no hardware kitchen.
With this trend, cabinet doors are installed with a push latch that holds them securely in place and releases them open when the doors are pushed with some force.
Others might have handles that are integrated so the fingers can wrap around it for a pull.
All in all, the elimination of hardware makes for a clean and minimalist kitchen without the clutter imposed by the presence of hardware.
Aside from the no hardware style which seems to be the direction we’re heading towards, the other hardware trend of 2022 that would most likely fall over to 2023 is the European bar pull that come in a variety of finishes as we have discussed above.
Are large cabinet pulls in style?
Large cabinets are definitely the ones in style. They express well as they are bigger and establish the more contemporary look, especially when it comes to bar pulls.
Smaller pulls are more likely to be drowned in the vastness of a large and decorative kitchen where larger pulls will easily attract attention.
With that said, there are certainly ways you can use smaller pulls to make them one of the highlights in the kitchen. For instance, when you have a very large drawer, instead of using a larger bar pull or cup pull on it, go for two smaller versions separated by a distance, and that would definitely serve the purpose of cultivating contemporariness just like the former.
Are pulls or knobs more modern?
Both pulls and knobs have come a long way and are very far from what they used to be in the past. There are varieties, plethora and multitudes of designs, shapes and forms that pulls and knobs exist in each suited to match a certain type of style in the kitchen be it: traditional, minimalist, and even contemporary.
Pulls and knobs can be modern and they can also be traditional due to the very many variations they come in.
But on the general look of things, if bias must be made from my side, I would say that pulls are the more modern kitchen hardware and knobs are a bit old school. This is for the fact the knobs have existed way before the invention of pulls. And generally, pulls just simply look sleek!
Are black cabinet pulls in style?
The color black almost never fades in trend and style, and because of that, it is evergreen and can match and work with any type of kitchen stratosphere or palette you present to it.
Are gold cabinet pulls in style?
Gold cabinets are not particularly in style and instead more softer tones like honey bronze and bronze itself or satin finishes of nickel are the trendy ones.