Nice, bright, warm kitchen you have!

In our last house we had knobs on everything. In this one, we have pulls on drawers and knobs on doors. I think that's pretty standard for what I've seen lately.

I couldn't do the birdcage ones in our kitchen, because people around here tend to grab knobs or pulls with messy or sticky hands, and I wouldn't want to try to clean it out of the cage. ;-)

First I have to say that I love your new kitchen! All of the wood tones are beautiful and the island is a great size, along with the great bank of windows. We also have your exact fridge & love it!

As far as knobs vs. pulls I think it is a personal choice. Go with what you like best and feel good about. One thing, make sure that if you go with a pull that DH's hand will fit comfortably, my DH rejected a few samples that didn't feel right for him.

Your basic pulls match the style of your appliance handles, but maybe you have enough of that and the birdcage would add new style to the mix. Either one would look great. Good luck!

I personally favor the plain ones. The birdcage ones are very pretty but they would catch your eye more. Your kitchen looks very integrated and serene -- not sure you want to punctuate that with the highly styled knobs. Just my opinion.

Your cabinets are so gorgeous that I would hesitate to use anything that adds another look. The birdcages are wonderful looking, but hard to clean, and they really look better, I think, with a more rustic look. I would choose the smallest, simplest, and most elegant knobs (no pulls) I could find, and I'd use bronze so that they would be more likely to disappear. I know you have stainless elsewhere, but if you look at your beautiful photo, and then imagine all those silvery "dots and dashes" all around, I think you might lose some of the elegance you have achieved...and you have achieved it, no doubt!
To see what I mean, go here, and scroll down to the simple knobs, which are surprisingly affordable, and also available in bronze.

Here is a link that might be useful: Simple Baldwin knobs

The birdcage knobs in your picture are the exact same ones I just took out of my kitchen when we demo'd. I put them on about a year and a half ago, thinking they would help my awful cabinets look better (didn't help!).

I had planned to use them again after the remodel, but found I didn't really like them. I just never liked the way they felt in my hand and wasn't crazy about the look after they were all in.

I am going with something simpler this time on my new cherry cabinets. Also going ORB, as I didn't like all the silver look in the kitchen.

I spent hours, days, even weeks picking out knobs and pulls. Mine are ordered from ebay now and should arrive tomorrow! I hope I like them!

It's so funny how people differ. One of the first things I picked in my kitchen (before cabs, granite, etc.) were my orb bird cage knobs and handles. I still love them and think that they add to my kitchen. As far as the dirt, I have two young boys and no problems, yet! Good luck. I don't think you can go wrong.

No offense, but I'm not crazy about either. First, I'm not a fan of birdcages -- I have a nightmare that some kid with sticky fingers will smear some horrible ant-attracting substance inside the cage and I won't be able to do anything short of replacing the whole knob. Also, IMO the other ones are just a little too boring. I like things with a little twist on what's expected, says the woman with blue granite countertops :) Again, however, it's a personal choice, and you might prefer knobs that recede rather than grab attention.

Here's the "rules" as far as I can distill them:
1. TKO prefer pulls when possible because knobs catch on clothes.
2. Cup/bin pulls are for drawers only, not doors.
3. Bar pulls, placed vertically, are ok on doors. (Might be nice on the doors surrounding your fridge.)
4. Be prepared to go through weeks of agony and indecision on GW!

FWIW, I started off quite sure that I really wanted satin nickel bin pulls everywhere -- even on doors -- and nothing cutesy or country. Three threads with sample pix and 35 "no" votes on everything I looked at, 12 samples, and weeks of indecision later, I ended up liking the unobtrusive little frosted glass (not satin nickel) knobs on perimeter cabs and cutesy country knobs on the island. Go figure.

We did a bit of everything. We used knobs on everything above counter height and, mostly, pulls used vertically on the base cabs and cups on the drawers below the counter. The two pantry cabs beyond the fridge both have knobs -- the lower one on the top and the upper one on the bottom.

I think it's all a matter of what enhances the kitchen though. So do what looks good to you. You can draw them in on a copy of your drawing and also have someone hold them in place to see what you like better. If you use a local hardware store or some equivalent, you can buy one of each and return what you don't want.

I am using very simple black distressed knobs for cabinets and
cup pulls for the drawers.

I love the dark cabinets with the dark granite and great bank of windows. As far as knobs versus pulls, we selected the cup/bin pulls for our drawers and knobs for all the cabinets. The only thing we thought about with handles on the cabinets is if we wanted to change them down the line, it would be easier to change a knob than a handle(in terms of finding something else that fit in the same space). With your cabinets, granite and sink I thought the birdcage was maybe more rustic/traditional than your kitchen. My impression was that the kitchen is somewhere between traditional and modern. The cabinet style itself is traditional but the dark cabinets, dark granite, SS sink and lots of windows seem to be given it a edgy traditional if that makes sense so I see either knobs that don't stand out or using handles that may stand out a little but are part of the look/feel you are going for.

Thank you all for your very valuable feedback. You've helped me understand many things about my new kitchen.

1. Like lovemyboys, we fell in love with the bird cage pulls long before choosing cabinets, granite, etc. However, now that those major items are in you've helped me reconsider the choice.

2. You've helped me understand that they would look best in a more rustic kitchen.

3. I've also learned that my kitchen would probably be considered more traditional or modern. Thanks, because this type of thing is not my forte.

4. Although I've never considered anything other than a satin nickel finish (because they match the appliances), I think I should now consider an ORB finish as recommended by bronwynsmom, cindyinsocal, and others. Thanks for the idea.

5. I never considered cup pulls. They probably would be too bold for my kitchen based on your feedback. However, I see them a lot of lately. I'm curious, what kitchen style are they best for?

6. To bluekitobsessed, I like your final choice. Great pics. So what's a TKO?

Thanks again! For comparison, I added two more photos of my kitchen "before" renovations!

I welcome any additional advice, recommendations, or opinions.

Absolutely something bronze and unobtrusive - maybe square ones that cut away from the center point, hammered or smooth.
Your first picture shows something like what I have in mind on the upper left door, perhaps unintentionally, but it looks perfect.

Well it looks like I'm starting over at square one with picking out cabinet knobs and pulls. Based on your feedback, I've decided against the birdcage design and I've decided to look at oil rubbed bronze instead of brushed nickel.

I'm probably going to put knobs on cabinets above the counter, pulls on drawers below the counter, and either one on cabinet doors below the counter. I'm not sure about the tall pantries on either side of the fridge.

Before I come home with another whole set of choices I would like to be sure that the ORB is really the best choice. I always thought if I had stainless appliances that the cabinet hardware should match but I understand why you say it should blend more. I also thought that it was nice how the basic pull I selected matched the style of handles on my appliances but I heard that maybe they are too similiar.

Before I start over I could really use more feedback. Again I really value your opinions because I don't have the best eye for this sort of thing.

1. Should I definitely be looking at ORB as opposed to brushed nickel (which matches the appliances)?

2. Would you recommend a basic pull like the one I show in the picture that is similiar to my appliance handles or would you recommend avoiding a pull that is too similiar to the style of my appliance handles?

Thanks again!

I just received my knobs today from ebay retailer Your Home Supply. I was worried about the quality, as the price was so low. Pleasant surprise they are great! I will post pics once they are on my cabinets.

Thought you might want to check their selection of ORB knobs and pulls. Great prices!

Here is a link that might be useful: Oil Rubbed Bronze Pulls

I really like the birdcage pulls & knobs (especially the pulls). Of course, I'm biased as that is what I put in my new kitchen...we love them! They feel so nice in your hand when you're opening the drawers & doors. I had thought of cup pulls originally, but then someone mentioned how you'd have to lean way down to get the bottom drawers open b/c you cannot put your hand/fingers in from the top....you have to go from the bottom.

So I continued looking and found the birdcages....they look wonderful with traditional cabinets...which you have.

One thing...the pulls are great, lots of room for your hand (I have large-ish hands) but not too big. But ours knobs are made by a different manufacturer than our pulls b/c the matching knobs w/the pulls were too "short" and my DH's fingers didn't fit well. So, we have Dec Har knobs & Siro pulls...all in "antique iron"

Here are some pictures:

Here is a link that might be useful: Siro Cabinet Hardware Provence Birdcage Collection (Antique Iron)

I think the oil rubbed knobs on uppers and simple pulls you posted on lowers would look nice.
Your kitchen is just gorgeous and I agree with the previous posts that you don't want something too fussy that would take away from the elegant clean look you have achieved.

Would you mind sharing the door style brand and color of your cabinets?
Good luck.

Thanks all for your feedback!

Cindyinsocal - thanks for the link. You're right the prices are great. It's good to know you are happy with the quality too.

Buehl - your cabinets and hardware are beautiful! I still like the birdcages, just not sure now if they'll work for our cabinets. I need to look into "antique iron". I'm not familiar with that one. Thanks for the link. What will you have for your countertop and appliances?

Carmel39 - My cabinets are from Shenandoah Cabinetry. They are Winchester Maple Square in Cognac. I ordered them thru Lowes. The price was great compared to other options at the kitchen and bath places I checked out. And my KD at Lowes was awesome to work with. Their subcontractor was great too. Good luck!

Trust your first instincts. When the ORB craze has simmered down, if not earlier, you'll be shaking your head wondering why things don't look quite right.

Don't get me wrong, I love some of the ORB, just in the correct places. I also like to mix finishes, but...

buehl, your knobs, pulls and cabs look great!

Sorry I haven't gotten back sooner....

Our counters are actually in...those pics were taken b/f they were installed. We have Absolute Black granite counters and stainless steel appliances. I really love my kitchen now...even if we haven't painted or put in a backsplash yet!

Here're a couple of more recent pics that're a little more recent...we do now have all the electrical done so no more yellow cords hanging out of walls!