Restyle a dresser by changing the handles: a step-by-step guide

Beige vanity cabinet fitted with two yellow OLALA cabinet handles, under a round mirror

Your dresser is sturdy, but it just doesn't feel like you anymore? Before repainting or replacing it, try the simplest fix: change its handles. It's quick, dust-free, and you see the result right away.

1. Pick your style

  • Solid: the same color everywhere, for a clean, graphic look. A bright color on a white or light wood piece always makes an impression.
  • Multicolor: one color per drawer, for a cheerful dresser, perfect in a kids' room or an entryway.
  • Gradient: from lightest at the top to darkest at the bottom (or the other way around), for a subtler effect.
  • Mixed shapes: handles on the big drawers, knobs on the small ones.
Two red OLALA cabinet handles on the wooden doors of an under-sink cabinet
Three POP cabinet handles on white drawers: glacier blue, pink and yellow
A single color, or one color per drawer?

2. Count and measure

Count the number of handles and knobs to replace, then measure the hole spacing (the distance between the two mounting holes). It's all explained in our article How to measure the hole spacing of a cabinet handle.

3. Choose your handles

  • OLALA handles: wavy shapes, 5 sizes (hole spacing from 96 to 256 mm), 19 colors.
  • POP handles: bubble-cluster shapes, 4 sizes (96 to 192 mm), 15 colors.
  • STIMULO knobs: 6 shapes, 19 colors, a single mounting hole.

Screws are included.

Close-up of STIMULO Donuts, Round, T and U cabinet knobs in bright and pastel colors

4. The makeover, step by step

  1. Empty the drawers and take them out if that's easier.
  2. Unscrew the old handles from inside the drawer.
  3. Clean the drawer front: now's the time to wipe away the marks around the old handles.
  4. Fit the new handles: hold them against the front, then screw them in from the inside without forcing.
  5. Step back and enjoy the result!
Pink STIMULO T cabinet knob on a half-open wooden drawer
Blue OLALA cabinet handle on a light wood door

If the holes don't line up

Fill the old holes with wood filler, sand lightly, then drill the new holes using a cardboard template: it guarantees perfectly aligned handles from one drawer to the next.

They restyled their furniture

Nothing beats real examples to get you started: here are a few makeovers our customers did with our handles and knobs, spotted on Instagram.

Craving some color?

All our cabinet handles and knobs are 3D printed to order in our workshop in Saint-Marcellin, France, from bio-based plastic, in the color of your choice. Free pickup-point delivery in France.