Vintage Doorknob Styles of Historic Homes
One of the most important, but overlooked, design features of a home is its doorknobs and hardware. As a whole, house hardware becomes the jewelry of a house, and, while functional in purpose, it can also serve to beautify the property and impress visitors. Older, historic homes in Kansas City have some gorgeous vintage doorknobs.
Doorknobs come in many shapes and sizes, and I created a Pinterest board with some of my favorite styles to share with you. What is your favorite doorknob style? I like the smooth, rounded clear glass knobs and also the black porcelain knobs. The wood Bennington knobs are very cool, but not a good fit for my Cape Cod home; they would look great in an old Craftsman home.
Vintage Doorknob Shapes:
- Oval
- Round
- Hexagonal
Vintage Doorknob Materials:
- Glass
- Metal
- Brass
- Porcelain
- Wood
- Milk Glass
Follow s a r a h Pretty Doorknobs on Pinterest
Unfortunately, not everyone appreciates doorknobs like I do. According to this NPR news story about doorknobs, it seems that the city of Vancouver, Canada, has banned the doorknob in favor of levers. Levers have a more universal design which improves accessibility, making it easier for people of all ages and ability levels to use them. I personally find levers to be institutional in appearance, and lacking in beauty and ornamentation. This new lever rule in the Vancouver building code applies to all types of buildings – residential, commercial, public, and private. Perhaps the Canadians are fine with this rule, but if a similar rule passed around here, I would be outraged if it applied to more than public government buildings. City governments should not have the authority to dictate what door hardware is purchased and installed in a privately owned residence, just as it should not be able to tell me what color of couch to buy. I hope that this doorknob ban does not become a trend.
