Charlotte Moss wishes people would pay more attention to the hardware on their doors.
“It’s one of those items that sometimes gets left to the end” of renovations, said Ms. Moss, the well-known interior designer. “To me, it’s equivalent to a buzzkill when you spend all this money decorating or building a house and forget about those details.”
While doorknobs are relatively small, they have a “huge impact” on the way people perceive a space, she said: “It’s like a woman putting on jewelry. If you’ve got a great dress on and put on a pair of terrible earrings, that’s the first thing everybody’s going to notice.”
As it happens, Ms. Moss has recently been thinking a lot about the parallels between jewelry and door hardware. Earlier this month, she introduced a collection of cuff bracelets based on archival patterns from the architectural hardware company P.E. Guerin.
Whether you’re accessorizing an outfit or a door, she said, when you choose pieces that are appropriate yet distinctive, “it just notches it up and takes things to a different level.”
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Is the hardware made of a material that will work with other things in the room? “You have to think about the plumbing fittings, the light fixtures and the hardware together,” Ms. Moss advised. “There should be harmony in those finishes.”
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Does the door need to lock? If so, buy what is called a “privacy set” of knobs or levers. Those referred to as “passage sets” are for doors that don’t require a lock.
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Will the hardware fit your door? Doors are drilled in various ways, requiring different types of latches and rosettes. Measure carefully and, when in doubt, defer to a knowledgeable sales assistant, Ms. Moss said.
L029 Estate Lever
Bauhaus-inspired lever from Baldwin
From about $170 a pair at Build.com: 800-375-3403 or build.com
Modern Disc Crystal
Circular crystal knob with modern rectangular rose from Emtek
About $102 a pair at MyKnobs: 866-695-6627 or myknobs.com
Edge Set With Ore Knobs
Slender escutcheons with rock-shaped knobs
From $657 a pair at Rocky Mountain Hardware: 888-788-2013 or rockymountainhardware.com
Vica Lever
Minimalist levers by Annabelle Selldorf
From $672 a pair at Katonah Architectural Hardware: 212-813-9680, katonahhardware.com or vicadesign.com
Studio Line 1208
Made-to-order T-shaped door handle
From about $550 each at Nanz: 212-367-7000 or nanz.com
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