WHICH WAY (opinion needed)

[afish]

  Before I start mortising in the pulls on the upper cabinets I wanted to get some opinions on which way the pulls (on the uppers the lowers are done already) look best horz. or vertical or if you think the pulls look funky vertical on the uppers with the bottoms horizontal.  The issue I have with the horz. placement on the uppers is the one cabinet next to the fridge the handle hits the fridge panel and since the pulls are squarish with some pretty sharp corners the handle will damage the panel in short order so I will need to limit the door but if I run the pulls vertical the handle misses the panel so its not an issue and would allow the door to open slightly more. 

 

[ChuckM]

I vote for horizontal, and will find a solution to deal with the fridge issue.

 

[afish]

Thanks, thats the way im leaning as well.  Blum makes a restrictor clip I just need to locate the right one.

 

[4nthony]

I like the look of the horizontal pulls.

With them being vertical, there are interruptions in all of the flatness, if that makes sense.

Are the smaller cabinets above the sink hinged at the top or on the sides?

 

[afish]

The small cabs are hinged to the side.  They are pretty high already so if I did flip up I would be the only one that could reach them to close them.  They wont get used much and are intended for items that only get used a couple times per year not everyday type stuff.  The old way was just a valance which just collected dust on top. That was a no go for me.  Im not a fan of cabinets that dont run all the way to the ceiling for that reason, I like the ease of installing said cabinets but not the functionality and or grease/dust collection aspect.

I will center the pulls on them however since there is 3 doors it means if I offset them to the pull side 2 are close together and the 3rd is far away and looks funky.  They are small doors so they still open easily even being centered. Just incase thats why you wondering.

 

[Michael Kellough]

I think that kind of pull should be vertical on swinging doors and horizontal on sliding drawers.

When horizontal on a swinging door, don’t you fingers rotate off the grip?

 

[rvieceli]

I agree with Michael on this. Vertical on swinging uppers with horizontal on drawers and slide outs.

Ron

 

[ChuckM]

What's the criterion again please?

"...on which way the pulls (on the uppers the lowers are done already) look best horz. or vertical (bold mine)"

 

[squall_line]

I prefer the look of the vertical on the swinging doors, personally.  The horizontal handles make the upper cabinets seem deeper than they are and seem to imply with the shorter uppers that they either pull out or swing up.  The vertical handles blend in and hide in the seams better, just like the horizontal drawer pulls tuck in the seams between the drawers and tuck in under the countertop once it's installed.

 

[Sparktrician]

I agree with Michael on this. Vertical on swinging uppers with horizontal on drawers and slide outs.

Ron

Make it three in support.  [smile]

 

[Crazyraceguy]

Tab type pulls always cause controversy. With the more common "wire" loop type pulls it is generally done as mentioned buy some of the others. Horizontal on drawers and vertical on side-hinged doors. Once or twice a year, we will get a job with wire pulls that specifies that they are all horizontal. It sometimes causes problems because it's just not "normal", someone will drill at least one door wrong.
Tab pulls are almost always mounted horizontally.
I like the horizontal mount in the pics you posted, except for the 3 doors above the window. The pulls are centered, which gives no indication as to how they open? I assume this is why 4nthony asked the question. "Are they hinged at the top"? They may indeed open easily from there, but it is not intuitive. Blum makes some really cool hardware for that, but in that high of a location, they would be quite a pian to deal with.

 

[peter halle]

Vertical and horizontal.

Peter

 

[afish]

Thanks everyone. (for confirming Im not completely crazy) Horz. on all ended up winning in the end.  That was how I originally intended. Actually, originally I was planning on continuous pulls but supply chain issues ended up overcomplicating that.  So I ended up with the tab pulls I knew the corner cabinet by the fridge was going to give me issues with the tabs but would have been no issue with the countinous pulls however I already had everything built before finding out I couldnt get them.  So, in an effort to simplify that problem I decided to just try and see what they looked like vertical and was kind of shocked I didnt dislike it as much as I thought I would. I was like am I crazy or do they not look that bad vertical? Thats why I decided to poll you guys. I guess there isnt one size fits all and It really is just kind of personal preference. Those over the sink doors open easily even with the pulls centered and it "looks" waaaay better.  I tried it both ways and it was a total eye sore the other way.  if it was 4 doors and I could have grouped the pulls 2 and 2 it would have been fine but it was throwing everything off. I already have them mortised in or I would take another pic to show but it was bad, real bad.  The doors are small enough it really doesnt matter where you grab.  As often as they will be used its even less of an issue and no company will be opening them so its a non issue and just went with looks and symmetry. 

 

[Stan Tillinghast]

Well afish has made his decision. I would have said that ergonomically vertical pulls are more natural for swinging doors; try having your hand vertical vs. horizontal and mimic opening a door. Whereas opening a drawer, one's hand is more naturally palm down in that case.
So for appearance, afish has something more pleasing to him; but for function, I believe the old-fashioned method has proven itself by use.

 

[afish]

I was surprised there was so many votes for the vertical. Its getting close now but some back ordered stuff is holding me up. its getting close but this supply chain bs really sucks. I have been waiting on that middle drawer for a month.

 

[luvmytoolz]

+1 for vertical for me too for the overheads, I think apart from the aesthetics, it's a more natural hand motion to open them.

 

[squall_line]

I live in a Mid-century home with loop pulls that are all mounted on a 45-degree angle.  In. Every. Room.  [blink]

Someone apparently didn't want to have to decide between H and V.  [big grin]

 

[RJNeal]

My vote is vertical on top and horizontal on the bottom
Good luck.

 

[mino]

On top cabinets the vertical pull is more ergonomic - it is easier to grab it by the hand blindly as it aligns with the natural position of the hand when raised.

On the bottom it is to the contrary. There it is easier to grab a horizontal handle for same reasons.

So, ergonomics - top vertical, bottom horizontal.

If/When you move to design for look/atmosphere above usability, then it is more artistry and depends on the look you want. There is no better/worse boundary there at that point. Just feelings.

EDIT:
In your case you actually have three scenarios:

"Ceiling" cabinets above the window => horizontal is better there as it makes it easier to reach
Tops - vertical per above
Bottoms - horizontal again, per above

 

[derekcohen]

The combination of horizontal and vertical makes for a poor match, a miss-mash. Keep them all the same, all vertical or all horizontal. I think horizontal blends in better and disappears, but vertical could do the same. The direction is personal.

Regards from Perth

Derek