Less Boy, More Man..Handles

Piece by piece the kitchen is coming together. I wanted to get a second opinion and a distance view myself before mounting my Soko Manhandles because they aren't at all a standard mount. I do wish it came with a template, but we made do with the H pencil and a nail set. The boy came over to assist in the form of reminding me to do stuff in the right order, holding a block of wood behind the door to prevent chipping, providing moral support and measurement doublechecks. Once you start the drill, there's no turning back. I got all three stickmen up and the two large handles on the big drawers before my nerves gave out. Although with IKEA cabinets, the worst thing that happens is you shell out $15-$60 for a new door and take 2-20 minutes to transfer the hardware. (Two for most of the doors, 20 for the trash pullout.) So far that hasn't been necessary. Wish me luck on the rest - 18 small handles.

Here's what we started with. Manhandles in shiny stainless (texture and colorant dulls it a bit) and Atlas Craftsman in brushed nickel. Sitting on the Wilsonart Milano Quartz countertop whose best and worst feature is you can't see if it's dirty.



I wanted this one for the trash bin.


A little crazy to put something worth real money on the trash you say? Well, not so much. Because I'm not as disciplined about using a trash bowl as Rachel Ray, so I open the thing about 40 times a day. And the way it's mounted with the drawer on the bottom means that a handle placed across the top would torque it a lot. A normal handle placed lower would look stupider than the strapping tape I've been using up 'til now. But a manhandle, a large climbing stickman, is mounted low enough to prevent torquing while I can still comfortably grab the head to pull it open.


The other two make quite the pair. They're on the pantry doors like so.


The upper one is climbing away. The lower one is in a bit of a bind.


And because I love the fool things, here's another shot. Along with all the stuff I haven't quite organized yet. But which will be easier to place now that I don't have to pry the pantry and big drawers open with my fingertips and a bit of friction. Cabinet boy particularly likes the way the shadows play on the doors, but I couldn't get a good picture with the flash off. Maybe later. But for now, Oh no, Mr. Bill!