Handles for kitchen furniture
Features and benefits
A kitchen set has been bought for more than one year, so it is very important to understand that high-quality mechanisms and fittings make the use of furniture long and comfortable. Handles of kitchen cabinets, being an important element of furniture accessories, are created not only for convenience. As stylish facial decorations, they give the kitchen façade a complete look and form the overall impression of the kitchen.
Kinds
A variety of forms and a wide price range of furniture handles offered by manufacturers of accessories, makes it possible to match them to kitchen furniture of any style.
One of the most commonly used varieties are overhead staples. Freely gripped by hand, brackets are distinguished by a U-shaped or arcuate geometry. Staples are securely attached to the door with two screws, the distance between the axles of screwing in fasteners of some models reach 480 mm. Staples are usually used on wide facades and large ends of deep retractable storage systems equipped with closers.
The doors of kitchen modules in modern style are often equipped with rail models of handles of simple geometric shape. Railing models are straight thin cylindrical slats with two legs-holders. Often installed models of handles have a distance between fastener axes from 96 to 608 mm.
The design of the handle-button resembles a fungus attached to the front plane of the cabinet with a single screw. These door buttons belong to the classic furniture, are rarely used in modernist models of headsets, but are actively used in such stylistic directions as Provence, country and retro.
The shape of the knob-buttons are round, ellipsoid, square and triangular with a flat or convex surface. There are fantasy models in the form of a ball, a flower, a star and animal figures. The buttons are used on narrow kitchen doors or front end walls of drawers of shallow depth.
Elegant mortise models satisfy the requirements of demanding customers who are not satisfied with the sticking details on the doors of kitchen cabinets.Handles are built into the door or the front of the drawer and completely merge with the shiny surface of the facade, without glaring. Ideal for furniture in a minimalist style. The disadvantage of such models is a rather complicated installation, which involves cutting out the deepening of the desired shape in the facade, so they are rarely used in kitchen furniture.
Connoisseurs of minimalist kitchen design solutions, who do not want to see unnecessary protruding fittings, should pay attention to hidden structures in which the handle maintains the illusion of an absolutely smooth facade. Visually invisible hardware is a vertical or horizontal chute located at the edge of the door, drawer, creating a small recess.
Profile models are long pieces of linear plastic or aluminum profiles, which ensure unity with the facade, tightly fitting to the bottom or side of the door, almost without protruding over the edge.
Other decorative types of products with a single method of fastening in the form of rings, drops and shells are quite rare.Such handles are inconvenient for capturing; they are more pertinent on the doors of antique cupboards and do not look good in the interior of today's kitchens.
Materials
All kitchen mechanisms, including facial decorative elements, are daily reused in conditions of changes in humidity and temperature fluctuations that adversely affect the appearance. Long and trouble-free operation of handles, preservation of their aesthetic appearance depends on the right choice of material. Modern pens are made of metal alloys, copper, aluminum and wood. There are also ceramic, glass and plastic models.
Eco-friendly wood products look good in ethnic style kitchen units. In an effort to focus on the interesting texture of natural wood, you can combine the handles with an absolutely smooth surface. It must be remembered that the tree does not have increased strength, the handles in the process of frequent use may be damaged.
The model range of front accessories of foreign and Russian manufacturers from such practical materials as aluminum profiles, metal zinc and aluminum alloys,valued by professionals and ordinary consumers for durability and resistance to corrosion, mold and mildew.
Elegant models of copper, brass and bronze are perfect for the facades of kitchens with different stylistic solutions, however, to preserve the appearance, they require careful maintenance. Beautiful handles with glass elements, with ceramics and porcelain are not difficult to care for, but such products require a certain margin of safety, low-quality products are very fragile.
The possibility of long-term use distinguishes handles with electroplated chrome-plated. Decorative electroplated coating is a thin layer of metal that protects against oxidation and increases the life of the product. The application of the chrome-plated coating after the thread serves as protection against subsequent corrosion at the points of fasteners.
The surface of inexpensive fittings is often treated with a metal sputtering method, as a result of which it looks better than expensive analogues. Remaining on the fingers during the inspection of the deposition particles, indicate a low quality indicators of this hardware,which, when exposed to negative kitchen factors, will quickly become unusable.
Colors and decor
Collections of furniture accessories, presented in a variety of colors and finishes, allow each consumer to choose any model of the handle to the kitchen set according to their own preferences.
Modern kitchens are dominated by decorative elements with a matte or glossy chrome coating. The geometric shapes of the chrome-plated decorative elements perfectly meet the requirements of the functionality and ergonomics of the furniture modules of stylish modern and high-tech kitchens.
In the assortment of furniture stores there is a variety of models with decorative coatings, repeating the texture and metallic shine of gold, silver, bronze, brass and tin. On the doors of classic, resembling antique, kitchen sets, handles with ceramic inserts with painted flower arrangements and imitation of metal for antique bronze look great in models of rustic-style kitchens. The old look of the metal coating is given by using patination technology using special solutions.
Sophisticated unique models inlaid with rock crystal or with Swarovski crystals will undoubtedly decorate the interior of the kitchen room and attract attention with their chic look. Elegant furniture buttons and brackets with rhinestones are ideal for the doors of classic cabinets, will add brilliance and luxury to the strict dark and light facades of the modern style.
Today, manufacturers offer up-to-date fittings with inclusions from materials of a rich color palette: transparent and translucent plastic, acrylic, wood, glass and leather. Tasteful handles will be the final color touch in the unique design of furniture. Tone handles will be a harmonious addition to the kitchen. Bright contrasting color models, on the contrary, will make the necessary emphasis on yourself.
The strict form of furniture handles, brackets, roof rails or black drops perfectly matches kitchen facades built into loft-style rooms, which use simplicity in combination with elements of modern decor: shine of steel, large amounts of glass, cold gray wood, black or white plastic.
How to choose?
Choosing the appropriate accessories for the facades of kitchen modules, you should pay attention to the following points:
- the handles should not only correspond to the design of a specific headset and decorate the doors, it is desirable that their sizes correspond to the dimensions of the facades; vertical or horizontal placement facilitates convenient multiple opening and closing of doors and drawers;
- that the handles meet safety standards, it is necessary that their surface is smooth without defects in the decorative layer, there are no sharp edges and roughness;
- determining the convenience of gripping the bracket, you should use the width of the entire palm, and not a pair of fingers, focus on the required minimum center distance of 96 mm;
- When buying, it is necessary to pay attention to the coincidence of the metal shade with the color of the other elements of the headset and the kitchen interior, the combination of matte and shiny products in one headset, handles with gold and chrome plated will not be harmonious;
- the quality of the handles implies the same shade of covering the whole set, the absence of scratches and chips on ceramic and porcelain parts, the reliable fixing of medallions and rhinestones;
- too large handles visually overload the upper facades and the room as a whole, therefore for small kitchens it will be preferable to use compact facade hardware of a concise design.
In kitchen modules with a facade width of 600 mm, furniture craftsmen are advised to use long handle rails with horizontal fastening and centering length of 436 mm. The average door size of 350-450 mm dictates the installation of furniture handles with the distance between fastener axes up to 192 mm. On narrow lockers of 200-300 mm small samples are fastened with a distance of 96 mm or fittings in the form of buttons or drops.
How to hang?
In order to conveniently transport and avoid damage to furniture, kitchen fronts are usually delivered without handles. Knowing some of the subtleties, self-attach handles easy.
Depending on the type, door handles are usually fastened with 1-2 universal screws. The use of additional washers as a gasket between the heads of the screws and the door will protect the facade of glass, solid wood or high-quality plastic from pressure fasteners, damage to the door and handle, prolong the service life of the kitchen set.
Mounting the kitchen, you need to pay attention to the optimal distance between the cabinets adjacent to the corner, and the wall. When placed close, the cabinet door can not fully open. Or, if the opening angle is too large, the door handle will damage the wall finish. You can change the opening angle by setting the vertical knob instead of the horizontal knob. You can increase the distance from the wall to the cabinet by a few centimeters.
Interesting solutions in interior design
Against the backdrop of modern glossy facades, technologically advanced touch pens with LED backlighting look spectacular. The stylish accessories are made of special plastic, which diffuses the light that ignites from a light touch. Different LED-lighting systems are able to propagate light outside and inside the cabinet and are powered by a block of ordinary batteries attached to the inner surface of the kitchen door.
The simplest interior with an inexpensive kitchen set will be decorated with original designer furniture handles in the form of spoons, forks and knives.
Overview of the best manufacturers
European brand fittings from Italy (Eureka, Premiere Furniture, Colombo Design, Bosetti Marella, Besana), Spain (Estamp),Germany (Union Knopf) and Belgium (Metakor) are traditionally distinguished for their quality of work, verified ergonomics and unique forms. Used in the decoration of handles by Italian masters, mother-of-pearl, precious and ornamental stones, natural leather, make kitchen sets into works of art.
Optimal in terms of price and quality, furniture handles are provided by Boyard from Russia today. A wide range of products with good quality is offered by Polish manufacturers Gamet, Nomet, REJS. On the shelves of large centers selling furniture, IKEA, OBI and Leroy Merlin today presents a variety of furniture products for kitchen furniture of Russian and foreign companies in a wide price range.