I’m no expert and you don’t HAVE to do anything you don’t want to do, but my opinion is yes! It keeps the cabinets cleaner and protects them from nicks and gouges. I prefer the look of hardware-it’s a great way to add style.

thanks! what Is your opinion on knobs vs bars and on which cabinets?

Can you show us an image of your space? The question of knobs vs pulls has a lot to do with the aesthetics you’ve already put into place.

We need pics of your cabinets and kitchen

From a usability standpoint, I find "D" shaped pulls to be best - especially if your hands are wet. Routed grooves are the worst in terms of comfort and ease.

I'm not a fan of knobs on cabinets - much prefer a pull. They will keep finger marks off your cabinet far better.

Pics. Under construction during covid and project delayed :( But can still order handles at least. FYI no countertops yet until after pandemic

I like cups on drawers. I think they would look nice on yours.

I would add pulls to protect the painted finish. Without them you will notice a change you you tend to open the cabinets in the same location.

If your cabinets do not have pulls or knobs, then they will have a groove routed out so your fingers can open the doors. So, either you clean pulls or knobs, or cabinet doors where your fingers have left natural oil from your fingers. I find it much easier to clean pulls. You don't see the oil as much with wood stained cabinets, but you will with painted cabinets.

However, my 50 lb grandson thinks the pulls are for him to climb on. I used pulls on both uppers and lowers and on doors and drawers. The wider the drawer, the wider the pull I used.

Yes, you need knobs and/or pulls. You may have noticed that you have full overlay doors and drawers and have nothing to grab to pull drawers open.

I have knobs on cabinets and pulls on drawers. I think it works well functionally and aesthetically.

Personal preference between knobs and pulls - I actually prefer all knobs :)

I like the clean look of using neither. You can either rout an area at the corners to provide a grip or use a non-obtrusive lip pull. That won’t go out of style as quickly as knobs or pulls.

https://www.houzz.com/products/1-rotterdam-cabinet-lip-pull-hh09747-polished-nickel-prvw-vr~114305578

With your very traditional style cabs you need something to open your cabinets . I prefer pulls as in my experience knobs frequently need tightening and when they’re on lower drawers they get caught on clothing. Find yourself some nice comfortable pulls.

ref pic with bars on drawers and cupboards

White Cottage Kitchen · More Info

Your raised panel cabinets lean towards a traditional style. Think of cabinet pulls as jewelry, the right jewelry to go with an outfit only improves how you look and feel.

your cabinets are more on the traditional side, which would call for bars and/or knobs. It is mostly a preference, and you can also do a combination of both knobs and pulls on drawers and cabinets.

These are a couple of jobs we have done recently.

I agree that you need hardware to be able to open the doors and drawers. I like knobs on doors and pulls on drawers, especially if you have a lot of cabinetry. It adds some variety to the space. But it's personal preference as to whether you do all pulls, all knobs, or a combination. Just make sure they are the same style and finish.

I also echo knobs on doors and pulls on cabinets. However, both will work. I think that pulls on doors is more modern than traditional or transitional.

Both knobs and pulls are easy to use, so that's probably not a factor.

I would avoid cup pulls on the lower drawers...think about reaching down to open the bottom drawer...you have to put your hand under the cup pull, you cannot reach from the top. If you have just two deep drawers in a drawer stack, it probably isn't an issue, but if you have three or more drawers in a drawer stack, I'd think about it b/f I used cup pulls.

To me, cup pulls are very traditional, I wouldn't even think of them as transitional.

I wouldn't say that pulls are necessarily modern. It depends on the style.

This one is quite traditional, the one below is very modern.

Reeded Pull 5" (c-c) - Polished Chrome · More Info

Square Bar Pull Cabinet Handle Gold Champagne Stainless 12 mm., 5" · More Info

Don't buy pulls that will catch on clothing. The two pics Diana posted will not.

This pull will.

Years ago, I had cabinet pulls with projections on the ends as Peke described. The drawer pulls caught on my pants pockets, and ripped the pants. When I replaced those pulls, I went with something rounded (no sharp edges) and no projections that could catch on pants pockets.

I put pulls on all my kitchen cabinets and drawers. TBH at that point I was tired of picking things out in my build, so everything in my kitchen has the same pull of the same size, everywhere. At this point - two years later - it still looks awesome to me.

I do agree with Peke about not picking pulls that can catch on your clothing. I am glad that I did not.

If you're clumsy like I am, stay away from pulls with sharp edges! I manage to walk into anything with an edge it seems haha

I saw this picture today. Really small pulls on the drawers, and two per drawer. Click on picture to open.

I would hate to have to use two hands to open a drawer. If you used one hand, it might get a little wonky after a few years.

Had partial overlay cabinets and the cabinet/drawers were angled in towards the cabinet box, which was a built-in pull. I hate knobs and pulls; they clutter the view. We had no problems with color changes on the stain; I cleaned the cabinets frequently. We sold this dream home in Oct 2017 - wonder if the buyers installed pulls or knobs? I can't imagine an accessory I would have liked that would have added design value.

We moved after this home to one that had darker cabinets and ugly brushed nickel knobs so I bought all new rubbed bronze knobs so they'd blend in. That house was odd as some cabinets had knobs, some didn't, and some had holes for knobs on the wrong side.

Now, we're building another home and I'm still not excited about pulls. I'm clumsy too and won't want anything that has edges that stick out.