Regular pulls are easier to use and that always gets my vote for kitchen decisions.

Love the regular pulls. There's no scratching under the ones I have. Unless you have very long, sharp talons.

They are both very nice, may I ask where you found them?

I like the both..but I am prefering the open pull. Seems to have a good amount of clearance too. So very few people should actually reach the cabinet face when they grip it.

I will throw in for the first choice, myself. If they were a matte finish I might be more inclined toward the cup pulls, but the chrome finish calls for the first, IMHO.

linelle's comment about talons gave me Napoleon Dynamite flashbacks and a good chuckle. "Do the chickens have sharp talons?"

Regular pulls are more ergonomic and IMHO look nicer in many situations.

Haha, no long talons here! Thanks for the input, I am going to do the first option. They are from Restoration Hardware. I have read on this forum some bad things about their hardware, so I am going to try and find the same style in another company.

Lee Valley has a great selection of pulls.

I love my Belcastel pol.nickel pulls. And, by the way, I had cup pulls in my last kitchen and hated them....especially for the bottom drawers.

They have a few sizes and a knob to match. I did all knobs on upper cabinets and pulls on all lower.

If you have inset cabinets, consider knobs on uppers. I personally think that pulls are too heavy looking on them, OK on the lowers though.

Heres a pic of my kitchen.
KOMPY

Here is a link that might be useful: Jeffrey Alexander Belcastel

I'm off the list for selection. Love my cup pulls, the look and easy to grab. Have seen the first ones many times. For those not in old houses, they are actually old window pulls. If you like them, look at the hardware section. They are stronger and far less in cost than as a cupboard pull. Available in a range of finishes.

Hi Rebecca. My entire kitchen is outfitted in those RH Aubrey polished nickel pulls, mostly in the 6" and 8" lengths. Almost 2.5 years later, I still love them. I agonized over my pull decision for months as DH immediately rejected the Aubrey as something that belonged in the garage shop. Eventually he gave in and is happy with them also. I am glad I didn't do cup pulls. I frequently grab the pulls on my lower drawers from the top. Having to reach all the way down and under to get under a cup pull would be bothersome to me.

I just took this photo a few minutes ago to show you that there is no damage/wear/discoloring on the cab faces behind the pulls. (Ignore how the top drawer still needs adjustment after my rangetop was repaired.) The projection is sufficient enough that my hands do not bash the cabs. Plus, I usually clean my hands before I reach for pulls anyway so as not to dirty the pull itself.

As to the suggestion that you can find these pulls cheaper, been there done that. If you want polished nickel or if you want chrome/stainless in a size larger than 3-4", there is only one choice--RH. The window sash pulls are not polished chrome, nor do they come in longer sizes. I searched dozens and dozens of hours online only to come up empty and frustrated.

I love the look of cup pulls but it only took me about a week of paying attention and being conscious to realize that I grab pulls from the top and not from the bottom.

Once I realized this, it was a no brainer, go for the function over the aesthetic.

breezygirl - Am I remembering correctly that you did polished nickel for your pulls and chrome for your faucet? What made you go with that combination? Also, how is the nickel holding up? I've read one or two posts that had negative comments on RH polished nickel, and it has made me nervous enough to consider a different finish. I am very finicky about durability. Thank you!!!