How to Choose the Right Vintage Door Knobs for Your Period Home

When decorating a home, you’ll likely be overwhelmed with choice. The larger items – like your sofa and your dining table – are often much easier to choose than the smaller finishing touches. You might find yourself obsessing over a tiny detail such as a cupboard pull or light switch covers.

If you’ve decided to replace your door knobs to achieve a more authentic finish, the next step is to choose the right style for your home. With a range of materials and finishes to choose from, it can be difficult to know what will work best for your interiors.

We’ve put together this simple guide to help make the choice a little easier. There are lots of factors that could guide your decision, from the period of your property to your preference for materials. We’ll also share our tips on how to mix and match styles in your home.

Identify the period of your property

If you want to make sure your design choices are in-keeping with the period of your property, you first need to identify this. In the UK, you are most likely to be living in one of the following:

• Georgian property (around 1714-1837) These homes have large windows, high ceilings and grand entrance ways. They are often very symmetrical. Georgian homes are typically detached, semi-detached or multi-storey townhouses.
• Victorian property (around 1837-1901) Built during a time of the expanding middle class, these homes are commonly terraced, with brickwork porches, narrow hallways and bay windows.
• Edwardian property (around 1901-1910) This short-lived period was heavily influenced by The Arts and Crafts Movement. These homes offer inhabitants more space, with wider and brighter rooms. They also commonly have a wooden porch frame.

Sticking with style features of the period makes it much easier to achieve a cohesive look.

In a Georgian property, look for brass styles with simple reeded details. This style reflects the sense of luxury and sophistication of the time, while also being enduringly practical. Brass does not rust and instead develops a stunning patina that is further enhanced by the reeded detailing.

For a Victorian property, look for a beehive design in either brass or wood. The beehive was incredibly popular during the Victorian period as a way to show off wealth in a subtle and sophisticated way. It demonstrates a greater level of workmanship that has gone into the design.

For an Edwardian property, look for dark wooden designs, such as the popular bun style. The Edwardians appreciated simplicity in design, and the dark wood contrasting with a brass rose plate is the perfect example of this.

Consider existing hardware

A simple way to streamline the process of selecting the smaller details for your home is to look at other finishing touches. These things often blend into the background, but by choosing matching or complimentary styles, the overall look becomes more intentional.

Look at things like your door hinges, light switch covers and plug socket covers. You can then match brass with warm-coloured metals, nickel with cool-coloured metals and wood with darker materials like black nickel or matt black.

You might also choose to avoid certain materials to prevent overload. For example, if you have dark wood flooring, you might avoid wood in your door knobs to help shift focus.

Follow your heart

While there might be plenty of design rules you can follow, it’s also possible to simply follow your heart and choose a design that you feel drawn to. Perhaps you love the warm patina of brass, or the soft touch of wood. Remember that rules are there to be broken, and it’s your home. You’re free to decorate in a way that feels authentic and inspiring to you.