Where to Put Kitchen Cabinet Handles

Here's a simple guide on where to fit kitchen cabinet handles on your doors. 

I have to take lots of deep breaths before I dive in to a brand new renovation project.  Even this one as simple as it was.  You see, door handles can be tricky if you don't have a kitchen cabinet handles template, because you must drill holes in exactly the right place and do it blindly from behind the kitchen door.

However, if you're more of a part time DIYer and want to fit your own kitchen or utility, then flat packed ones are a blessing.  Why?  Because things are usually pre marked to set people up for success.  And this Wickes' budget Dakota range was no exception.  I must stress, this is not sponsored or associated with any brand in any way.  So here's how I fitted my kitchen cabinet handles using the ones that came with my kitchen units.

HOW I FITTED MY KITCHEN CABINET HANDLES

Before you do anything, always follow your instructions.  They may differ to these, but at least if you follow them and it doesn't work out, you can hold them accountable.

My units suggested resting the doors on scrap wood before drilling through it.  This is to prevent any tear on the good side of the wood as it as a coating otherwise it could be seen around the door handles.

So below, you can see I used a couple of clamps to fix an off cut of 8mm ply.  Or, you could lay the door on top of some scrap wood, but be mindful you don't drill a hole on say a nice table you're laying it on.  I also used an off cut of worktop to prevent me from drilling straight through to the drawer behind it.

Also, with flat packed kitchen cabinets, you should find some marks on the back of the doors as to where you should drill your holes.  However, mine were much fainter than these, so I used a brad awl which is sharp and pointy to make the marks deeper to prevent me from screwing on an angle or in the wrong place.

Then I needed to use  5mm wood drill bit and my Bosch comb drill to create holes for the screws.

Note, these holes are just to slot the screws, not screw them to the door.

And once you've got your two holes, I slotted the handle screws provided.

Then I lined the holes on the back of the handles with the screws, followed by tighening them with a hand held screw driver.

And that's it!

OTHER KITCHEN CABINET HANDLES AND DOORS

If you've bought completely different handles, you will need to follow the instructions that come with it.

Also, sometimes you may have a protective blue film on your doors that you need to peel off.  Make sure you remove these after you've fitted your handles.

More Fitting a Kitchen Projects

You can find my complete list of fitting a kitchen projects here.