06 / Journal

Door handles are the most-touched element in your home. Yet, at the planning stage, they’re also some of the most overlooked elements. The bathroom lever you reach for multiple times each day, the pull on the front door you touch each time you enter your home, and the privacy turn in the powder room. Each experience can feel like a delightful design choice if done right, and a daily annoyance if it’s done wrong. This guide covers how to choose door handles for every room in your house: your kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, wardrobe and entry.

• Why Hardware Decisions Differ Room by Room

• Kitchen Door Handles

• Bathroom Door Handles

• Bedroom and Wardrobe Handles

• Entry and Front Door Hardware

• Frequently Asked Questions

Why Hardware Decisions Differ Room by Room

A single finish can carry the design direction throughout your entire house, be it solid brass, matte black or another choice. The handle type and form, on the other hand, should vary. Every room has its own brief for interior door handles. A kitchen door is high-traffic and lever-led; bathroom doors need privacy and humidity resistance; wardrobe doors are light and decorative, and an entry wants weight and presence. Match form to function, and the finish will tie the home together.

Kitchen Door Handles

The kitchen door is one of the most-used interior passages in the home. It may open into a butler's pantry, slide into a cavity, or run from the hallway. The handle is touched many times on a daily basis, so it needs to perform and look good.

Lever Handles vs. D-Pulls (Pulls) for Kitchen Doors

Two forms dominate kitchen passage doors. Lever handles are ergonomic and latch-engaging, the functional choice for a door that constantly opens and closes. D-pull levers provide a cleaner architectural profile, and suit restrained, contemporary joinery. Cavity sliders can’t work with a projecting lever and need a flush pull or finger pull instead. Make your selection by looking at the door type first, then by style. As a rule of thumb, levers suit traditional styles and D-pulls (pulls) suit contemporary styles.

Best Finishes for Kitchen Hardware

Three finishes are most suitable for kitchens. Solid live brass is a living finish that deepens with daily contact and ages over time, developing a beautiful patina. Matt black electroplated over a solid brass base brings a grounding contrast to white, timber or deep-colour joinery. Brushed nickel is suited to cooler colour schemes and provides an architectural effect, pairing well with stone bench tops. All three perform well on interior doors. Look at the colour palette of your cabinetry to determine which finish is best for you.

Bathroom Door Handles

The bathroom door is unlike any other. It’s a privacy door needing a lock function, and is situated in the most humid room in the house. The durability of the finish on bathroom door handles is more important here than anywhere else in your home.

Why Solid Brass Is the Preferred Bathroom Finish

Solid brass is the most reliable bathroom finish. Unlike hollow or plated hardware, it resists the humidity and temperature cycles that wear lesser materials down. Electroplated matt black and matt white over solid brass also perform well with regular care.

Privacy Sets vs. Passage Sets for Bathroom Doors

A passage set is a lever without a lock, which is fine for your kitchen, hallway and most internal doors. A privacy set has an additional thumb-turn or push-button lock on the inside, with an emergency release on the outside. Bathroom doors always need a privacy set. Before finalising, confirm if the lever type you have chosen is available as a privacy set. It can be matched with a privacy turn in the same finish.

Bedroom and Wardrobe Handles

Bedroom hardware adorns doors that are opened a handful of times a day, and can be as decorative as they are functional. The finish should suit the bedroom's own palette while remaining cohesive with the rest of your home.

Knobs vs. Handles for Wardrobe Doors

Wardrobe doors are lighter than passage doors and are hung on hinges, bi-folds or sliders and normally suit smaller-scaled knobs and handles than entry or passage doors. Knobs work well on single-hinged wardrobes. Smaller lever handles or D-pulls suit wider double-hung wardrobes. Bi-fold and sliding doors need a flush pull recessed into the face. Always scale the hardware to the door.

Matching Bedroom Hardware to Your Palette

Bedroom hardware should complement the materiality in a room. Solid brass and oil-rubbed bronze suit timber wardrobes and warm-painted joinery. Matte white or black fit cool palettes in coastal and contemporary bedrooms. Nickel adds architectural contrast against stone and tile.

Entry and Front Door Hardware

Entry door handles are the first and last thing you experience in a home. Hardware here works at a different scale than interior handles. It’s typically taller, heavier and more architectural, setting the style for the whole interior. It also has to perform outdoors.

Entry Pulls vs. Door Levers: What's the Difference?

Entry pulls are fixed handles with no latch. They allow you to pull the door open and require a separate lock. They offer the most architectural presence and suit heavy timber, glass or pivot doors where the pull is the statement. Door levers engage a latch and are more functional, suited to standard hinged entry doors.

Choosing a Finish for Your Front Door Hardware

Entry hardware is the most exposed surface in the home, exposed to UV, rain, coastal salt and daily temperature changes. Solid brass and solid travertine are the most durable material choices. Solid brass ages into a deeper patina. Solid travertine offers weight and a subtler finish and matches stone and timber facades. The Lo & Co Prism collection in travertine and marble is crafted for this kind of statement. Whichever finish you choose sets the tone for the rest of the home.

Frequently Asked Questions

What type of door handle suits a bathroom door?

A privacy lever set, which is a lever with an internal thumb-turn lock and external emergency release, best suits bathroom doors. You can combine it with a matching privacy turn in the same finish.

Should bathroom door handles match kitchen handles?

They should belong to the same family of finishes, but don’t need to be identical. A solid brass kitchen lever and a solid brass bathroom privacy set look cohesive, even if the handle shape is different.

What's the difference between a passage set and a privacy set?

A passage set has no lock. A privacy set adds a thumb-turn or push-button lock on the inside, with an emergency release outside. Privacy sets are used in bathrooms and most bedrooms, and passage sets are used for kitchens and hallways.

What size handle should I use for wardrobe doors?

The handle size should be smaller than that for passage doors. A knob suits a single-hinged wardrobe, and a small lever or D-pull suits double-hung wardrobes. Flush pulls are best suited to bi-fold and sliding doors.

Do entry pulls require a separate lock?

Yes. Entry pulls are fixed and need a separate lock. Choose the pull that provides the most outstanding architectural statement for your front door.