When the hard part of choosing the ideal bedroom, kitchen and entry doors is over, the fun time of getting door handles arrives. What’s so difficult about that? You just explore what’s available on the market right now and get the round or square door handles of your choice. Right? Well, hold your horses. Pause to think about it for a minute and you will realize that there’s much more than meets the eye, when it comes to choosing door handles.
Things to know about door handles
When you buy doors, you don’t get handles, hinges, and locks too. They are sold separately. After all, this may be a main entry door, a privacy door or just a passage. In other words, your needs about door locks and handles will vary.
• Some are handle-sets, which include a lock.
• Some levers lie on a rose and some on a back plate.
And then, everything about the door is important to consider before you buy handles. Things, like the door’s material, style, purpose, weight, and size will affect your decision. For example, the majority of sliding glass doors utilizes flush pull handles.
• You can also find packs that include the handle, the latch, and the hinges.
• If you get levers, you need to consider on which side of the door you will place it – right/left-hand side.
Door handles are door furniture, consider your style
It’s not a coincidence that handles are considered door furniture. They decorate the door and affect the interior style and the exterior appeal. The excellent news is that the choices among door handles on the market cover all style expectations. What you need to do is to consider your own style and take it from there.
For instance, ornate door handles match in period homes but not in minimalistic interiors, where black or bronze handles will be more suited. Also, contemporary homes look at their best with matte finishes rather than polish chrome.
One more thing to consider is consistency. Unless there are different types of doors in the home – both hinged swing and French doors, you need to focus on consistency. It’s best to get the same door handles for all parts of the house – or at least the same style and color. And not just that. The color of the door handle must also match the color of the hinges. More often than not, this is the best choice for high aesthetic results.
Then, it depends on what you like. For example, you may love the stealth look of black on black – black handles on black doors. Or, the opposite. You may like contrasts. But the style must match.
Interior doors, can the whole family open them with ease?
Interior hinged doors utilize levers or knobs. Now, the right way to avoid disappointments in the future is to make sure the handles you buy can be handled by the entire family. Let’s see.
• Lever handles provide great grip and thus, are ideal for small children and those who diminished capabilities.
• Door knobs are functional, but not by all people. You need to grip and turn, and that’s not easy to do if you suffer from arthritis, for example.
Entry doors, handles for convenience and elegance
When it comes to entry doors, the locks are the more vital component. The handle is usually a decorative element. But it also provides the convenience you need when you want to grab the door and close it. Or if you have the habit of holding the handle while unlocking the door. It shouldn’t be too small, but it has to do with the door’s size too. You need to consider the scale and proportion here as well as the color of the door and all hues used for the exterior to get a perfect match.
