We put them on the front of the kitchen sink panel for consistency in our vintage kitchen.

BTW, on a standard kitchen sink we can do a tilt out for sponge and glove storage. I suppose the same could be done in a bath vanity....but not sure what you'd put in there!

Love the story of the persistent client, Ironwood!

We don't add them unless the homeowner really wants it - we actually had the same situation as @Ironwood Builders: a guest went to help in the kitchen and yanked the false front off of the cabinet.

Oh, yeah - we also had a client insist on tip trays in their bath once so they could store their toothbrushes there (yuk...)

Duncan's....right about that bath tip tray...eeeeww!

Randi, what Ironwood said (about his client). For similar reasons, for our remodel I will not install a door knob/lever that does not turn but only snaps -- (I don't know the technical term for this mechanical part, please help :) -- lest somebody like Ironwood's client will brute-force and kill that knob/lever. So every knob/lever/pull after our remodel will be "armed and operational" :) And not only am I not putting any hardware on a fake drawer-front, but I'm not even putting hardware on certain drawers and cabinet doors that we can open without any hardware. Minimalist, again. :)

Bottom line, Randi, is that from a design perspective you'll find thousands of kitchens on Houzz doing it each way, plus a few alternatives (bottom picture below). But if you are afraid of people mistaking your sink panel for a drawer and ripping it out, then definitely go minimalist.

I think it looks better with them than without, but for the main sink in our kitchen we opted not to put them on so we wouldn't be leaning into them/snagging on them when using the sink.

I think it's a good idea to put a long bar (drawer pull) on the fake drawer and use it as a kitchen towel holder instead. I saw this idea oh Houzz and think it's genius

Question, when the fake drawer front is blocked by a sink behind it, how can you install a drawer pull? We can't reach the space on the back of the drawer where the screw would go. Help :)

THe false fronts normally are held in with clips and can be popped out.

we didn't find any clips to remove the fake front on the cabinets. any other ideas? can we attach the pulls another way (rather than screwing them in)? or we're open to other ideas....all the door and drawer hardware is replaced except for these 2 fake fronts. Need to get it done. thanks!

Odd. But you could drill pilot holes from the front and use hanger bolts to mount the pull. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Crown-Bolt-8-32-x-1-1-2-in-Plain-Hanger-Bolt-4-Pieces-80191/202707078

Awesome! Love this idea! I had the same problem on my kitchen Island with multiple fake drawers / cabinets. Thanks for the idea!

Hi, that might work for a knob, but a handle has to screws. When you turn the one side and screw it in, how do you now turn the other side?

I find it bizarre to have a drawer front creating a fake drawer, but to not go the whole nine miles and put a knob or pull on.


But my very strong personal preference is the substantial towel bar that distinguishes itself from the other hardware and serves a functional purpose.

2016 post. Update? What did you decide?

My thoughts: The only "reason" for installing drawer handles on a faux drawer front at a kitchen or bathroom sink is if you want to use it as a towel holder (otherwise, leave them off) -- and putting a towel holder there instead could be more practical, depending upon the style of the towel holder. Knobs on a faux drawer for looks make no sense to me.

People STILL pull mine off, even without the fake handle, on the back of my island. For some reason, the builder put the clips on the fake drawer, to make it removeable, and when people pull on it enough times, thinking it's a drawer, it hits the floor, and smashes the clips, and the clip has to be replaced (again) before we can put it back on. I don't get it.

HELP!! Like someone else mentioned, I decided to update all my kitchen cabinet pulls. Only problem, there is a pull mounted on a panel directly in front of the sink. A friend bought me a bendy ‘bit’ to unscrew it from the back side, but there still isn’t enough room between the sink, and the back of the panel that the handle is screwed into. The panel itself is glued in place. Are there any tricks of the trade to remove these handles when there is no space behind them to remove/replace them with new handles?

Can you see the nut and bolt or is there any chance the pull is glued on?

My late husband likely would have considered sawing off the bolt and nut -- a saw blade would have fit between the sink and board -- however, he likely would have ended up either prying the board off or lifting out the double stainless steel sink. If you have a different kind of sink, gently prying off the board may be your best bet -- especially since you'd likely need to do so to replace the pull with another anyway.

Old post. What did you do?

The post was old, my problem is not, lol! You can see a nut/bolt, so sawing the handle off might be an option, thanks. The sink is apparently glued to the frame, so no prying happening. Thanks for taking the time to respond , and I’m so sorry for your loss.....

@spooner68

With the bendy bit did the other side hit your sink? Try a right angle ratchet with a screwdriver attachment. (Also called an offset screwdriver. Check amazon for ultra low profile ones) I had a similar issue where the sink was so close there was barely enough room for the ratchet. I couldn’t even see, just had to feel that it was set on the screw.

I have the same issue! Just finished painting and ordered new hardware. Was going to do cup pulls on drawers and faux drawer and knobs one cabinets. There is a plate between sink and faux drawer which is screwed in and the front part seems to be glued in place as well. I was able to take the knob fronts off but the screws are still there bc they are stuck between the 2 boards (which are glued). Technically I can just put knobs there but it really bothers me bc I wanted to put cup pulls there 😩

This is easily fixed. Unscrew the cabinet front from the adjacent cabinets/dishwasher and remove the doors. Set a piece of wood blocking behind the cabinet front and smack it with a hammer until you drive the cabinet front off the cabinet. Now you have complete easy access to the screws holding the pulls. Clean the dadoes, smack the front back in place with a rubber mallet, run the screws back in, and replace the bead of hot melt glue that you scraped off.

This is an old post but I have tilt down trays in my bathroom lol. I have 3 girls so we use it for all their hair ties/rubber bands etc

I’m also adding that tilt outs for toothbrushes makes sense to me. Wrap it in a washcloth and change it regularly. It’s better than toothbrushes being exposed to the mist that is dispersed through an uncovered toilet flush which is said to spread around six feet in the bathroom. The alternative is to have it in the medicine cabinet, but how is that better than a tilt out?

What to do if my drawer fronts are all different lengths?

Doesn't a wet towel that's hung on a fake drawer front damage the cabinet due to moisture?

I chose not to put pulls under my sink panel.

I was able to buy a small tool in the shape of a “z” with two screwdriver heads on either end. It is about 5” long and allows you to get the head into the small space between the sink and the cabinet. It worked great to get those knobs on the front of the cabinet in front of the sink.