One knob drilled a half-inch off looks like a mistake every single time you walk into the kitchen, and there’s no fixing it without filling and refinishing the door. Getting correct cabinet hardware placement right the first time is the whole game, and it comes down to consistent measurements and a simple jig rather than eyeballing. Whether you’re upgrading old hardware or finishing new cabinets, this guide gives you the exact numbers pros use for doors, drawers, and every tricky case in between.
Part of our Kitchen Remodeling guide — explore the full guide →
The Golden Rules First
Before any numbers, internalize three principles. Consistency beats any single “perfect” measurement; every knob and pull should relate to its door the same way across the whole room. Hardware goes where your hand naturally reaches, opposite the hinges on doors and centered on drawers. And you should always mark and drill from a template, never freehand.
Get those three right and the specific measurements below simply lock in the details.
Standard Placement for Door Knobs
On a standard cabinet door, the knob sits on the stile (the vertical frame) opposite the hinges, near a bottom or top corner depending on the cabinet’s position.
- Upper (wall) cabinets: place the knob in the lower corner, 2 to 3 inches from the bottom edge of the door and 2 to 3 inches in from the side, since you reach up and pull down.
- Lower (base) cabinets: place the knob in the upper corner, 2 to 3 inches from the top edge, because you reach down.
The 2.5-inch mark from the corner in both directions is a reliable default that looks balanced on typical shaker and slab doors.
Placement for Door Pulls
Pulls follow the same logic but mount vertically on doors. Center the pull on the stile, running parallel to the door edge, and position it so the pull’s center aligns with that same 2.5-to-3-inch zone from the corner. For a taller, more modern look, some designers run the pull’s bottom (on uppers) or top (on lowers) a set distance from the corner and let the pull extend inward. The key is choosing one approach and repeating it on every door.
Hardware Placement on Drawers
Drawers are more forgiving because the hardware almost always centers horizontally. The variable is vertical position.
- Knobs on drawers: center them both horizontally and vertically on the drawer front.
- Pulls on drawers: center horizontally; place vertically in the true center for a classic look, or slightly high for a modern feel.
- Wide drawers (over 24 inches): use two knobs or two pulls, each centered a third of the way in from each side, or one long appliance pull centered.
Match your drawer pull length to the drawer width; a rough guide is a pull roughly one-third the drawer’s width.
Choosing Knobs Versus Pulls
Both work anywhere, but a common, clean approach is knobs on doors and pulls on drawers. Pulls give more grip and suit heavy drawers loaded with pots, while knobs read tidy on doors. If you prefer pulls everywhere for a uniform modern look, that’s equally correct; just keep the placement logic consistent. Whatever you choose, buy a couple extra pieces in case one is defective.
Making and Using a Jig
A drilling jig is what separates professional results from wobbly ones. You can buy an adjustable hardware jig for $20 to $40 or make one from a scrap of plywood.
- Set the jig for your chosen measurement, then clamp or hold it firmly in the door corner.
- Mark the hole center with an awl through the jig’s guide hole to prevent the drill from wandering.
- Drill from the front using a sharp bit sized to your screw, backing the door with scrap wood to prevent blowout on the back side.
- For pulls with two holes, always use a jig set to the exact hole spacing (called the “center-to-center” measurement) so both screws line up.
Test your jig setup on a piece of scrap or an inconspicuous door first. Measure the center-to-center spacing of your pulls precisely, since a 3-inch and a 96mm pull are close but not identical.
Understanding Center-to-Center Measurements
When you shop for pulls, you’ll see a spec called center-to-center, sometimes labeled “CC” or “hole spacing.” This is the distance between the two mounting screw holes, and it’s the number that must match your drilling, not the pull’s overall length. A pull might be 5 inches long overall but have a 96mm (about 3.78-inch) center-to-center spacing. Buy your pulls first, note their exact center-to-center measurement, then set your jig to that number.
Common spacings include 3 inches (76mm), 96mm, 128mm, and 160mm, and they are not interchangeable. If you ever replace pulls later, matching the center-to-center spacing lets you reuse the existing holes; choosing a different spacing means filling and redrilling. Keep a note of your spacing somewhere handy for future upgrades.
Handling Existing Holes
If you’re swapping hardware on cabinets that already have holes, you have two easy paths. The simplest is buying replacement pulls with the identical center-to-center spacing so the new hardware drops right into the old holes. If you want a different look, you can fill the old holes with a two-part wood filler, sand flush, and refinish before drilling new ones, though this shows on stained wood and works best on painted doors. For knobs replacing pulls, some homeowners install a small backplate that covers the old hole while the new knob screws through the plate, a clean cover-up that adds a decorative touch at the same time.
Handling Tricky Cabinets
Not every cabinet is a simple door or drawer. For a false drawer front below a sink, either skip hardware or add a decorative knob to match the run. On glass-front doors, keep placement identical to solid doors for visual consistency. And with inset cabinets, where doors sit flush inside the frame, you may need to shift hardware slightly to clear the frame edge when the door swings.
Take your time on the first few pieces; once you confirm the look you like, the jig makes the rest go fast.
Nailing correct cabinet hardware placement is far more about discipline than skill. Follow the standard measurements, use a jig on every hole, and keep your approach identical across the whole kitchen. Do that, and your hardware will look like it was installed by a pro, because it effectively was.
