Once the door decision is made, most people assume handles will be the easy part. Then they open a supplier's handle page and find fifty-plus options split across five finishes, four or five shapes, and a handful of sizes for each, and the "easy part" turns into its own research project.
We wrote a while back about comparing our seven door ranges before you order, and separately about the best kitchen door colours for different kitchens. This one picks up where those left off: you've settled on a door and a colour, and now you're staring at our handles collection trying to work out which finish and shape actually belongs on your cabinets.
Handles get touched more than almost anything else in the kitchen, so it's worth getting right. Here's how we'd talk you through it if you called.
The finish question comes first
Before shape, before size, settle on a finish, since that alone rules out most of the noise.
Brushed nickel is the finish we sell the most of, and it's usually the safe answer if you're not sure. It sits between silver and chrome, warmer than stainless steel but quieter than polished chrome, and the brushed texture hides fingerprints better than almost anything else on the market. It works with white, grey, cream and sage kitchens alike, which is why it's the default recommendation when someone asks us to just pick one. Our brushed nickel handles collection covers bar, cup and knob styles in this finish if you want to see the full range side by side.
Matt black has been the other big mover over the last few years, particularly on white, light grey and Cavallo's sage and fir green doors, where the contrast does a lot of the design work on its own. It reads as more contemporary than brushed nickel and tends to suit slab and handleless-adjacent kitchens as well as shaker. Have a look through our black handles collection for the full spread of bar, cup and knob options.
Brass and gold sit at the warmer, more statement end. Brass has come back into fashion on darker doors, navy, forest green, charcoal, where it lifts an otherwise moody colour scheme. Gold is a step brighter and more polished again, and it's usually the choice on higher-end schemes where the handle is meant to be noticed rather than blend in. Both are worth browsing properly rather than guessing from a thumbnail: our brass handles and gold handles collections show the full range of tones on offer, since brass alone can run from pale to quite deep depending on the piece.
Copper and chrome cover the two remaining common choices. Copper brings real warmth and works particularly well against oak, walnut and other timber tones, and you'll find the full range in our copper handles collection. Chrome is the cooler, more traditional option, closer to stainless steel appliances, and sits well in kitchens that lean more classic than contemporary; our chrome handles collection has the full spread if that's the direction you're leaning.
Then the shape question
Once the finish is settled, the shape decision is mostly about the door style you've already chosen and how your hand actually wants to use it.
Bar handles run in a straight line and are the most common choice across every door range we sell, since they suit both shaker frames and flat slab doors equally well. Something like our T bar pull handle is a straightforward example: a simple, contemporary bar that reads well on almost anything.
Cup handles sit recessed into the door and are the more traditional option, usually chosen alongside shaker ranges like Windsor or Chantilly where the frame and the handle are meant to feel like they belong to the same era.
Knobs are the smallest commitment, cheapest per unit, and the easiest to swap later if you change your mind on finish. They tend to look best on doors with a defined frame, so they're a natural fit for Harrogate, Windsor, Cavallo, Chantilly and Mayfair rather than the flatter Valencia range.
Pull handles cover everything in between bar and cup, and this is where finish tends to matter more than shape, since a sleek pull like the Serano bar pull handle can look completely different in brushed nickel versus gold on the exact same door.
Matching handles to the door range you've picked
If you've already read our range comparison, this part will feel familiar, since the same logic that separates the ranges also points toward the right handle.
Harrogate and Windsor, both traditional shaker builds in MDF, take cup handles and knobs particularly well, with bar handles as a safe fallback if you want something a bit more contemporary. Cavallo, with its woodgrain texture and wider colour range including the sage and fir greens, tends to look strongest with brushed nickel or matt black, since both finishes let the door's texture stay the star. Chantilly and Mayfair, our solid ash ranges, carry brass and gold well, particularly Chantilly's wider 93mm frame, where a slightly bolder handle doesn't get lost.
Valencia, our slab range, is the one case where the handle does more visual work than the door itself, since there's no frame to carry the design. Bar handles in a strong finish, black, brass or gold, tend to work best here precisely because there's nothing else on the door competing for attention. Levana doesn't need this decision at all, since the grip is built into the door and there's no separate handle to choose.
Getting the size right
Handle size is its own decision once you've settled on finish and shape, and it's easy to get wrong if you're going by feel rather than measuring. We've written a full guide on what size cabinet handles are right for different door and drawer widths, worth reading properly before you order rather than guessing and hoping for the best.
If you're still not sure
- Want the safe, universal choice: brushed nickel
- Want a contemporary contrast on a light or green door: matt black
- Want warmth against dark or timber-toned doors: brass or copper
- Want a genuine statement finish: gold
- Want the traditional, classic look: chrome
- Shaker door with a defined frame: cup handles or knobs
- Slab or handleless-adjacent door: bar handles
- Not sure on shape at all: bar handles, the safest default across every range
Ordering across finishes and ranges
You don't need to commit to one finish for the whole kitchen. Plenty of our customers run brushed nickel on wall units and matt black on base cabinets, or knobs on doors and a bar handle on the main drawer run for a bit of contrast. What matters more than consistency of finish is consistency of quality and hole centres across the run, so everything lines up and fits the same fixings. All our handles are sold with clear hole centre measurements listed on the product page, so it's worth checking that against your door width before ordering, particularly if you're mixing sizes across a kitchen.
Whatever door range you've gone with, from Harrogate through to Chantilly, our hinges, plates and fittings are sized to work with standard UK cabinets, so handles and hinges won't be the thing holding up your order.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What's the most popular handle finish right now? Brushed nickel, by a clear margin. It works with the widest range of door colours and rarely dates.
2. Can I mix handle finishes within the same kitchen? Yes, plenty of people do, brushed nickel on wall units and matt black on base cabinets is a common combination. Just keep the hole centres consistent within each run.
3. Do certain finishes suit certain door ranges better? Broadly yes. Cup handles and knobs suit our framed shaker ranges (Harrogate, Windsor, Cavallo, Chantilly, Mayfair), while bar handles in a strong finish work best on the flatter Valencia range.
4. Should I match my handles to my worktop or my door colour? Door colour first. Worktops change less often and tend to be more neutral, so the handle-to-door relationship is the one that carries the room.
5. How do I know what size handle to order? It depends on your door and drawer widths. Our separate guide on handle sizing walks through the proportions properly rather than guessing.
6. Do handles fit standard UK cabinets? Yes, every finish and shape we stock uses standard hole centres, so switching finish or shape later doesn't mean re-drilling your doors.
Still deciding on a finish? Call 0161 465 4007 and talk it through with the team, or browse the full handles, pulls and knobs collection to see every finish side by side.