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piscesgirl

Should door knobs match throughout the house?

piscesgirl
12 years ago

We want to replace the old cheap door knobs (currently brass color) throughout our house, however we have different metals and looks in different rooms.

Should door hardware match the other metals in the room or be the same throughout the house regardless of the rooms other metals and look?

For example we have oil rubbed bronze in the master bedroom and chrome in the master bath. Should we use a split finish?

What about different finishes in different rooms. I assume you would want to do a split finish or all the same. Wouldn't want different color door knobs in the same hallway! Thanks!

Here is what we have:

Main entry: Oil rubbed bronze

Kitchen: Satin Nickle

Downstairs Bath: Oil rubbed bronze

Back entry: Satin Nickle

Master Bedroom: Oil rubbed bronze

Master Bath:Chrome

Guest Bedroom 1(office): Satin Nickle

Guest Bedroom 2: Oil rubbed bronze

Guest Bedroom 2: Satin Nickle

Hall Bath: Satin Nickle

Comments (21)

  • patty_cakes
    12 years ago

    I don't see a thing wrong with using two finishes. My DD had the same problem in her home and ended up using two, and it's nothing you would even notice.

    Also consider using an oval knob style. It's smaller and much easier to grasp. ;o)

    Here is a link that might be useful: oval knob

  • folkvictorian
    12 years ago

    Yep, another vote for mixed finishes and oval knobs.

  • beekeeperswife
    12 years ago

    I am always the oddball I guess. I want them to match. To me it says you paid attention to details and not just decorated each space individually but rather had an overall plan for the entire space. Again, that's just me and what my crazy brain thinks. I think you should do whatever you like and what looks best for your space.

    Perhaps the only reason I notice is we did switch out all the ugly cheap brass knobs and replaced them with really substantial brushed nickel ones...that are now just a gift to the new homeowner... When we were house shopping I did look at the knobs and all the hinges....

  • palimpsest
    12 years ago

    I think I would do split finishes so that the knob inside the bathrooms matched the bathroom finishes and the outer knobs matched those in the rest of the house.

  • tracie.erin
    12 years ago

    I have two different door finishes - dark stained solid pine and white painted hollow core. I have satin nickel on the former and ORB on the latter. I'm hoping it looks like I went for contrast and purpose, as the stained doors are for the bedrooms, the white doors are for closets and baths. YMMV though - I have so many doors opening into my open kitchen/DR space (3 bedrooms, a bath, and two french doored closets!!) that I'm happy to have relieved the "apartment complex hallway" look somehow.

    If you don't do something like that, I would do the split finishes as palimpsest suggests.

  • piscesgirl
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    If we go with split finish, what color hinge should we go with? Should the room with the hinge exposed when closed determine the color?

  • Emily
    12 years ago

    I am another odd duck I suppose. I like them all to match throughout the house. Even if the door knob doesn't match the finish of the room, it coordinates with the other doors in the rest of your home. That is what I prefer though.

  • pps7
    12 years ago

    I kept all of mine the same. The bathrooms do have chrome fixtures but the door hardware is ORB. It looks fine-great even. I just wanted to keep it simple, but either way is okay.

  • palimpsest
    12 years ago

    The hinge issue is always a sticking point with split finishes, I guess. Most people probably have standard prehung doors with brass hinges and treat them as if they are invisible.

    The issue becomes that although the split finish knob may be chrome on the inner side of the door, the matching hinges would be chrome and if the door is left open you will see chrome hinges most of the time with whatever knob is on the outer side of the door. If the door is kept closed, it doesn't matter as much.

    I did split finish with a chrome knob on the inner side of the bathroom door and chrome hinges although the door is left open. However, the old brass hinges had corroded because of dampness in the bathroom so I wanted a chrome hinge. I don't know that a high quality brass hinge would have this problem.

    This all stems from when finished had to be maintained. Nickel, which was first, just had to be wiped off with ammonia, and chrome was maintenance free, while brass would discolor. Modern finishes have eliminated most of this so it becomes a matter of preference.

    I think there are ways to set "consistency" even if the finish is not identical throughout the house. Historically hardware would vary even within a room, sometimes based upon a hierarchy of which doors were primary and which were not as important. Some 19th and early 20th c. houses would have brass on all the "good" rooms, earthenware and iron on the kitchen, closets and bedrooms, or brass on everything except glass knobs on the bathrooms in and out.

    I think as long as there is some kind of recognizable "system", that looks intentional, you will be fine. If it gets too random, it looks as you just replaced them with whatever as they wore out, especially in an old house. The reason I think there should be some system rather than having it be decor based, like drapery is, is that it is attached to the house so becomes part of the architecture, more than it is just a decoration.

  • lolauren
    12 years ago

    I like them to match.

    Now, I would expect knobs in 110 year old house to not match... and that could give the house lots of darling character. However, for my newish house, it would bother me.

  • Bumblebeez SC Zone 7
    12 years ago

    I like everything to match throughout the house. I don't mind, say, one door that has a different specialty knob as an accent, but otherwise, pick the main color metal used throughout the house and use that for the hinges and knobs. The other metals become secondary accents.

  • mtnrdredux_gw
    12 years ago

    I think it is a matter of personal preference.

    I do like them to match ... one of the things I liked about doing a whole house reno and addition at once was the continuity of palette and finishes. So it was an important detail for me, in fact I put in all antique white ceramic hardware.

    That said, we have a pre-existing pseudo-indoor-outdoor space with something like 10 sets of french doors and a few solid doors. They had lovely brass hinges and levers, and I didnt think the antique hardware would look right (ye olde poolhouse?) so I kept them as is.

  • Arapaho-Rd
    12 years ago

    Knobs/hinges on the inside of bathrooms are polished chrome to match faucets, outside bathroom knobs and rest of house will be ORB.

  • nini804
    12 years ago

    We just built a house last year, and my ID said that while it was perfectly fine to mix finishes from kitchen to bath to whatever as far as plumbing goes...but that she preferred picking one finish for door knobs and hinges throughout the house.

  • kswl2
    12 years ago

    "They had lovely brass hinges and levers, and I didnt think the antique hardware would look right (ye olde poolhouse?) so I kept them as is."

    Lol! I like matching hardware too, but your example just proves there's always an exception, mtnredux :)

  • CaroleOH
    12 years ago

    I have matching orb hinges and lever door handles. Chrome faucets in all the baths, satin nickle faucet in kitchen. Orb cabinet hardware in baths and kitchen.

    I think it looks more cohesive to have all the door hardware matching throughout the house. But that's just me - as you can see there's many different opinions here, so go with what you think looks best as there's no right or wrong answer with this one!

  • Bonnie Ross
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I have ORB in my hallway and satin nickle in my bathroom. I decided on split finish for the door levers but not sure what to do with the hinges. If I go with satin, the hinges match the lever in the bathroom when the door is closed but when the door is open, you see the satin hinges in the hallway when the door lever is ORB. Just don't like the look - maybe white hinges (the same colour as the door) would look better. Do they even make white hinges?

  • schicksal
    9 years ago

    IMO I match them throughout the house (same finish / same knobs) unless there's some kind of vintage thing going on. Like our 95 year old house - it has a bunch of crystal reproduction knobs, a couple of originals, and a few painted steel ones for closets.

  • Sharon Veltre
    2 years ago

    I am in the process of having my kitchen renovated. I have my basement door in the kitchen. Does it have to have the same finish as my hardware on my kitchen cabinets?

  • HU-512710891
    last year

    I used ORB on all my doors because it matched the cast iron front door and I wanted consistency in doorknobs and hinges. Open kitchen, den, and dining has all gold hardware and fixtures; laundry and guest baths have chrome hardware and master bath has polished nickel hardware.
    Sometimes I debate going to all black door handles and hinges, but the ORB is very dark and almost looks like black 😂 what do you think?

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