Kitchen cupboard handles: how to choose and fit them

Choosing kitchen handles without the guesswork: the hole centres to buy by, how big, where they go, what 'brass' really means on a listing, and what to do about old holes when you change colour.

Updated 30 October 2026 · The Kitchen Resprayer

The short answer

Buy handles by their hole centres, the distance between the two screw holes, not by their length. Measure your old ones and match them, or plan to fill the old holes.

Size a pull at about a third of the door or drawer width, fit it near the top corner of base units and the bottom of wall units, and check the material line: brass-coloured often isn't brass.

Hole centres: the number that matters

Every bar handle fixes through two screws, and the distance between them is the hole centres. It's the only measurement that decides whether a new handle goes on without drilling. Measure from the middle of one hole to the middle of the other. The Handle Studio says a reading of 159 to 161 mm means a 160 mm handle, and a millimetre either way will still fit.

Handle	Overall length	Hole centres
IKEA BAGGANÄS	143 mm	128 mm
Wickes Benington	167 mm	160 mm
B&Q bow handle	190 mm	160 mm
B&Q GoodHome Hikide	352 mm	320 mm

From each retailer's listing, 30 October 2026. Other centres seen on listings: 96 and 224 mm.

Check the screws too. Handles typically come with M4 screws around 25 mm long (B&Q, The Handle Studio, Frelan), and IKEA says its BAGGANÄS suits doors 16 to 21 mm thick. A thicker door or a backplate may need longer screws.

How big, and where

Size

About a third of the width of the door or drawer, says The Handle Studio, or a third to two thirds for a more modern look on tall larder doors and wide pan drawers. Courtyard puts knobs at 30 to 35 mm across.

Base units

Toward the top corner, away from the hinges. Plank says 50 mm from the top edge; Adamsons says 50 to 75 mm; Dowsing & Reynolds say 2.5 to 5 cm in from the side edge.

Wall units

Toward the bottom corner, the same distances from the bottom edge (Adamsons, Dowsing & Reynolds).

Drawers

Centred and horizontal. Dowsing & Reynolds use two pulls or one longer handle on drawers 24 inches or wider; The Handle Studio puts hardware toward the top on drawer fronts taller than 30 cm.

Tall units

Two handles or one long vertical bar (Adamsons).

Before drilling

Mark every position with masking tape first (Adamsons), and leave room so nothing catches the worktop (Dowsing & Reynolds). If a door sits crooked once the handles are on, set the hinges rather than moving the handle.

Knobs, pulls, and mixing them

Dowsing & Reynolds say pulls suit drawers you open often or that carry weight, such as pan drawers, and knobs suit cupboards you open less or that sit high up. Their suggested mix is knobs on the wall units and pulls on drawers and base units, held together by one finish, such as all matt black.

What it's made of, not what colour it is

A listing's colour name tells you the finish, not the metal. Wickes' brushed brass Benington bar is aluminium, its antique brass knob is zinc, and Toolstation's knurled Kensington T-bar is solid aluminium. Solid brass handles, such as The Handle Studio's Jesper or Frelan's Hoxton range, say solid brass in the description.

Finishes age differently too. Courtyard describes unlacquered metal as a living finish that gradually changes and develops a patina with age and handling. That's the point of it, but it won't stay the colour it was on the day you fitted it.

What handles cost

Handle	Material	Price
B&Q bow handle, 160 mm centres	Aluminium	£3.99 each
IKEA BAGGANÄS, 128 mm	Stainless steel	£7 for 2
Wickes antique brass knob	Zinc	£6 for 2
Toolstation Kensington knurled T-bar, 128 mm	Aluminium, matt black	£8.99 each
Wickes Benington bar, 160 mm	Aluminium, brushed brass finish	£13 each
B&Q Home Luxe Co Howick knurled bar, 128 mm	Brass	£15.95 each
The Handle Studio Jesper, 128 mm	Solid brass, PVD satin brass	£29.80 each

Listed prices, 30 October 2026.

Multiply by every door and drawer: at these prices, 20 handles run from about £70 to about £600. For the other cheap changes that sit alongside new handles, see kitchen makeover on a budget.

Changing handles with a colour change

A new colour is the moment most people change handles, and the moment the hole centres bite. If the new handles have different centres, the old holes have to go. Trade2Base's respray cost guide says old handle holes are filled and sanded flush before spraying, and that moving handle positions means filling and re-drilling, so it belongs in the quote.

Fill

Use a filler that sets hard and takes paint. Ronseal High Performance Wood Filler, a two-part resin filler, cures in 30 minutes, won't shrink or crack, and can be sanded, drilled and painted (£18.89 for 550 g at Toolstation).

Sand and prime

Zinsser says rub filled MDF down with a fine abrasive (it suggests 120 grit) and prime with B-I-N or Bulls Eye 1-2-3 before paint. More in painting MDF kitchen cupboards.

Pick handles last

Choose the colour first, then hold handle samples against a painted door. Kitchen cabinet colours that won't date covers choosing the colour.

Trade2Base also notes that a painted finish chips first around handles, which is one more reason to get the size and position right. If you're having the doors resprayed, send two photos for a free quote and say in the note whether the handles are changing.

Where this comes from

All read 30 October 2026. Firms change their prices and terms; check the current position with them.

Common questions

Measure the hole centres: from the centre of one screw hole to the centre of the other. That, not the handle's overall length, is what you buy by. The Handle Studio says a reading of 159 to 161 mm means a 160 mm handle, and a millimetre either way will still fit.

On base units toward the top corner and on wall units toward the bottom, on the side away from the hinges: Dowsing & Reynolds say 2.5 to 5 cm in from the edge, Plank says 50 mm. Centre handles on drawers, and Dowsing & Reynolds put two pulls or one longer handle on drawers 24 inches or wider.

The Handle Studio's rule is about a third of the width of the door or drawer, or a third to two thirds for a more modern look on tall larder doors and wide pan drawers. Courtyard puts knobs at 30 to 35 mm across.

Yes. Dowsing & Reynolds suggest knobs on upper doors and pulls on drawers and base units, tied together by one finish, such as all matt black. They add that pulls suit drawers you open a lot or that carry weight.

That's taste, but as one kitchen retailer, Adamsons, pairs them: brushed brass or gold on navy or jade, matt black on grey, chrome or nickel on white or cream. Choose the cupboard colour first, then hold handle samples against it.

Kitchen cabinet colours that won't date

Often not at the budget end. Wickes' brushed brass Benington bar is aluminium and its antique brass knob is zinc. Solid brass handles, such as The Handle Studio's Jesper or Frelan's Hoxton range, say so in the listing. Check the material line, not the colour name.

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