Cabinet pulls are a convenient way to renovate your home cabinets without spending a large amount of money. Pulls are the C-shaped handles that are found on nearly every drawer or cabinet in every home. Installing cabinet hardware pulls is a quick way to give your room a new look without having to reface all of your cabinets with a new finish or veneer. Whether your renovations take place in the kitchen, bathroom or one or all of your bedrooms, cabinet pulls are by far the simplest instrument available to update your cabinet hardware. It is an effortless project that can add real value to your home.

I'd like to address a few techniques on how to install cabinet pulls in this article so that if you are in the market for some renovations and don't have a lot of money to spend but still want quality, this is the way to go.

One of the many decisions you will have to come to an agreement on when refacing your cabinets is whether knobs or pulls are more advantageous. Traditionally knobs are used but sometimes they are inappropriate or misused. When installing a handle on a sliding drawer, the more appropriate of the two would be the cabinet pull. For some people with disabilities grasping a knob is a difficult task. A cabinet pull offers a simpler way to open the drawer without using much effort as you can just slip your hand in the pull. It's a matter of which can do the job better. Knobs are better for overhead cabinets. Pulls are better suited for waist level drawers and cabinets. The only real disadvantage of a pull is the limited offering in styles.

The first thing you will need to do after you have decided on pulls over knobs is assess the quantity that you will need. Count the drawers and cabinets you wish to apply cabinet door pulls to and then recount. It can be a deflating experience to purchase your hardware only to find you didn't buy the right amount and it's even worse if you return and find there are no more in the style you chose. Making sure you have purchased the right amount can save you from this ordeal. You may wish to purchase extra sets in case you need to replace some in the future.

Once you have your count you need to measure the existing holes form the current hardware on your cabinets. Of course this is valid only if you are replacing existing pulls. I'll go into measuring new holes after this. Your pulls consist of two holes. Measure the distance from the center of one hole to the center of the next to determine what size pulls you will need.

If you cannot find an exact fit you may want to purchase some back plates. These will enable a secure fit when you drill new holes near the old ones. This is beneficial when the existing holes are right next to where the new hole needs to go and the hole's integrity is compromised.

This type of cabinet pull looks like a half cup. The cup faces away from you so that you can grasp it for better leverage when opening your drawer or sliding open a cabinet door. Find the material that matches the wood type of your cabinet. Choices include brass, bronze, chrome, pewter, silver, iron, nickel and others and range from $4 to $18 per pull.

While you might think of a knocker type ring when you hear ring pull, these types of cabinet pulls comes in both a fixed ring and a free moving ring. Like cup pulls, ring pulls work best with sliding drawers. They come in just as many materials but are typically more expensive than cup pulls with some as high as $78 per ring pull.

Bail pulls are handle pulls with swinging arms that move in two sockets like a ring pull. The only difference between a ring pull and a bail pull is that the bail pull is usually more flat than ring-like and they are fairly inexpensive averaging around $12 - $15 each. They are made of various metals similar to the other pulls.

Pendant pulls are single arm handles that hang from your drawer. These are a little on the expensive side topping out at $46, but you can find some that are less expensive. The thing to remember is that the more ornate a pull is the more expensive it will be. So with that in mind you can easily find a pendant pull under $10 per pull.

Just like they sound a bar pull is a single fixed bar that allows you to slide your hand between it and the cabinet to pull a drawer open. It's a simple design so that means it's relatively inexpensive at under $10 each. Typically these are made of stainless steel but you can find them in other limited metals.

After you've chosen your style and materials they are made from it's time to install your cabinet drawer pulls. If you are replacing the same size handles then all you have to do is fasten them in the same holes. If you need to drill holes in new cabinets or drill new holes, just take a chalk line and stretch it along your cabinets using a level to make sure everything is inline. Pop the chalk line and measure the holes to each cabinet. Give yourself about an inch and a half from each corner for the position of your pulls. Once you have your holes measured and drilled the chalk can be wiped off with a damp cloth. Then all you need to do is attach the cabinet pulls to the drawers.