Knobs for me

Levers

Levers. Thumb latch for front door.

By lever do you mean a lever handle or a thumb latch?

lever

Levers to make it easier for the young and old.

Knobs. They are less prone to grab stuff as you walk by and don't look so institutional.

levers, more comfortable to use.

I much prefer knobs.

Levers are SUPPOSED to be easier to use for children, the elderly, and those with handicaps to manage but I find that I constantly catch things (purse straps, belt loops, jacket pockets, etc) on lever handles. I have ripped a hole in more than one outfit after having had some part of it get snagged by a lever door handle as I walked by.

And, even for the "handicapped" levers are not always the best option. My 84 y.o. father must use supplemental oxygen to breathe. That means he has the plastic tubing (cannula) that runs from the concentrator to his nose to contend with when he moves around his house. AND, when he is on his portable unit, he also has a power cord that connects the external battery to the oxygen concentrator. These two things CONSTANTLY get caught on lever door handles whenever he walks by one. (Not fun to suddenly have your oxygen cannula ripped from your nose and from around your ears!) Round knobs don't seem to do this to him. This has been such a problem that we recently removed all the lever handles from the doors in his small apartment and replaced them with simple round knobs.

The lever handles are stored away so that I can put them back when he moves out.

Knobs. Levers catch on stuff.

I have knobs, my son has levers.

(My son also has two Aussies that are too smart for their own good. They've learned it's easy as pie to open the doors themselves!)

Knobs. They look better.

Levers, don't love the look but can open the door with my handles full.

If you use cylindrical hardware the knobs work fine but the levers eventually sag so it is wise to use mortise hardware for interior and exterior lever handles which is quite a bit more expensive than cylindrical hardware. It is also wise to coordinate the choice with the door supplier so they don't arrive set up fir the wrong hardware.

For exterior door hardware you will probably want to use the mortise type for its additional latching/locking features as well as durability whatever knob you choose.

I'm with Bevangel - my purse, jacket and other things always get stuck on lever handles. Can't stand them.

Also hate those thumb-latches - if your house shifts over time, they can be difficult to open.

We are doing the triple point lock system on the entry door which is what I think Renovator is speaking of. If you do that, levers are the only option, at least the companies we are looking at. I prefer knobs, but husband likes levers, so I conceded on that point!

You could live in Vancouver, BC, where doorknobs have been BANNED in new construction.

Oh wait, is this poll for what we have or what we would recommend? Not that it makes a difference in our case. Other than the front door, our exterior doors are swinging French with multipoint locks and as with harringk, knobs were not an option.

Levers. I just like the ease of use and look. I do occasionally snag item on them but not enough to switch. We had levers at the old house and plan to have them installed this week at the new one.

Levers, definitely. I like minimalist hardware, and minimalist perfectly smooth knobs are a pain to operate. Levers I can open with my elbow.

Knobs. Prefer the function and the look for exterior and interior. My clothes, jackets, purse straps, baby feet... you name it... have been caught up in levers. They drive me nuts. I am clumsier than most though - so maybe this is rare?

Lever... much easier for my arthritic hands.
Only got one pocket caught once in all the years we have had them.

Knobs.

And here I thought I was the only one destroying clothes and being stopped short by the occasional lever handle.

(In Vancouver, while you must build with levers, there's no prohibition on replacing them with knobs. Not yet anyway.)

I don't have a problem "catching myself" on levers, but if you want the function of a lever without this issue, you might consider this:

I have a lever on my classroom that's kind of a "reversed staple" or a letter C. That is, it doesn't stick straight out at the end, so it'd be impossible to catch anything on it.

I prefer levers but do not have any, and so I have not had the experience of catching things on them. We have levers at work, however, and I've never caught anything on them. Knobs can be slippery and difficult to turn.

Levers. Knobs are too difficult to open with my mittens on in winter. Though I agree, front doors need thumb latches! Classy and beautiful, and easy to open even in mittens!

Wow, great responses everyone. I'm thinking of levers on exterior doors, glass knobs on all interior doors, except for the bathrooms, which will have levers. The glass knobs I am buying for some reason do not come in a locking version. Hence the different knobs for the bathrooms.

(My son also has two Aussies that are too smart for their own good. They've learned it's easy as pie to open the doors themselves!)

Yep..us Aussies are quick to catch on...............We really dislike being penned up/locked in.........chained up is even worse.....or...shudder...crated!.....:(

OK, enough of that...:).....Lever for this older ....Aussie.

any recommendations for nice looking lever for front door?

am going with brushed nickel.

found the schlage but it really looks kind of puny for a front door.

thanks,

I ordered an Emtek Hamden handle set. I ordered the helios lever for the interior. I'm sure they make handle sets with levers for the exterior part too. Build.com had the best price for my Emtek if you go with them, FYI.

Has this been resolved yet?