Planning

Decide On A Finish.

If you are planning to redecorate or upgrade your home and want to replace your door furniture, there are things that you need to take into consideration.

One of the first things to decide is what finish you would like your new door furniture to be. You could choose from any of the following;

Brass: Available in Polished, Satin or Antiqued.
Chrome: Available in Polished or Satin.
Glass and Crystal Porcelain
Real Bronze: Available in Rustic, Antique or Polished.
Imitation Bronze
Stainless Steel: Available in Polished, Satin or Duo
Black Antique
Satin Nickel
Aluminium
Coloured Nylon

Our homepage is laid out by finish to help make your selection process easier.

Budget Your Project.

Once a finish has been decided, you may wish to calculate what budget you have available to spend. Most finishes have ranges to suit all types of budgets but some materials are typically more expensive than others. Grade 316 Stainless Steel, Real Bronze and some authentic period styles are all at the upper end of the cost scale but if you want to keep costs down, and still end up with the same desired effect, you could alternatively try substituting these materials for something similar. e.g. Use 304 grade stainless steel where high corrosion resistance is not required, Satin Chrome is similar to Satin Stainless Steel and Imitation Bronze is a fraction of the cost of Real Antique Bronze. It may also be possible with some materials, e.g. brass, to choose from an economy range. The days of plain and rope effect brass have long gone and there are now many styles, most at very economical prices.

Sometimes environmental factors affect the material you need to use. If for example you live near the sea, door furniture needs to be corrosion resistant. In these circumstances it would be wise to choose handles from either the Everbrite or PVD ranges, which offers a guarantee against attack from the weather, or alternatively a marine quality 316 grade stainless steel. These materials would be more expensive than standard brass or chrome furniture but would last a lot longer.

Consider A Style.

After the finish, style will be one of the next things to consider. There are many different styles available to choose from, but it is generally a matter of personal taste. Occasionally outside influences may effect what style of door furniture you wish to choose:

The type of property you live in will often dictate the style and sometimes even the finish of your door furniture. If for instance you lived in a converted barn, to fit in with this style of the property, you may wish to choose Black Antique door furniture. If you lived in an old Victorian style house, and wanted to fit door furniture relevant to that period, your choice would be limited. You would need to consider door furniture that was currently available, and also used during the Victorian period. You can find help with style ideas on our following web page: Door Furniture Styles

If you have previously had back plate furniture and wish to change to a round rose style, you must be aware that the new type will not cover the fixing holes from your old handles, and this also applies to handles whose back plates are different sizes. All visible holes will have to be filled and painted or varnished to match the rest of the door.

You may have matching door furniture all around your property, but one set has broken, you will need to choose a new set to match the old or possibly need to replace all your handles! If your door furniture has been on the doors for a long time, then finding a set to match up might be harder than anticipated. At Door Furniture Direct we offer a service where we can supply door furniture that has been made to your own specification. This would be of great use where you need to match up a set of handles that are no longer available, or even if you wanted door furniture that was unique and individual.

The type of locks fitted to your doors can affect the style of door furniture you need to use. If for example there are rim locks fitted to the outside of the doors, then you cannot use door furniture with a long back plate. You must choose rim furniture, which are usually supplied as knob type handles. Review Your Locks And Latches. If you are purchasing new doors as well as door furniture then remember to buy suitable locks or latches. If you are using existing doors then you have to take the following points into consideration:

• Are the existing locks and latches in good working order or do they need to be replaced?
• Does the finish of the face plates and receiver plates on the existing locks and latches match the finish of the new furniture? If the answer to this is no then you can sometimes purchase new plates individually rather than having to replace the entire lock.
• Are the existing locks/latches suitable for the new furniture? If you are changing from door furniture with levers to mortice knobs then you have to consider the length of the lock/latch. Mortice knobs need to be placed further from the edge of the door than standard to prevent your knuckles from scraping on the door frame when turning the knob. Longer latches will facilitate this requirement.
• You will have to consider whether the existing lock/latch is strong enough for your new door furniture. Some door furniture is supplied unsprung and so require a heavy-duty latch to supply the extra spring action needed to return the lever to the upright position. You should check whether your new door furniture is sprung or unsprung at the time of purchase.
• Another thing you might wish to consider is security and privacy: If you are replacing door furniture on a bathroom or bedroom door then you may wish to use either bathroom or privacy handles. If you do purchase this type of furniture you will need the relevant lock or latch to suit.

If you do need to renew locks and latches try and get replacements that are as close to the originals as possible. This will limit any cutting out or filling that may become necessary.

Compliment Your Style And Finish.

When purchasing new door furniture you might also like to match up other items. Things to take into consideration include the following:

Hinges: If fitting brass handles, you could compliment them by hanging the door with brass hinges. These could be polished brass or satin brass depending on the finish of your handles.

Electrical Fittings: Light switches, plug sockets and telephone sockets etc could all be selected to compliment the finish of your door furniture. There is a large range of electrical fittings available in many different finishes, so matching these up to your handles couldn’t be more simple. Just visit the electrical accessories section of our store.

Window fittings: If you are fitting chrome door furniture to your home then it makes sense to fit chrome window furniture too. We offer a range of window furniture to compliment each finish of door furniture material.

Cupboard knobs: Cupboard knobs can also be bought to match up with whatever finish of door furniture you have chosen.