Decorative Doorknobs

by Lauren Ragland

Sometimes when in a public place, you're disgusted by them - maybe you don't want to wrap your hand around that tarnished, worn-down, unpleasing-to-the-touch doorknob. But what about the doorknobs in your own home, or more importantly, your customer's home? Your client will come into contact with them probably more than any other decorating object in the home. Now, let's take a look at those portals through the home.

The accessibility and infinite variety available through e-commerce makes finding the perfect doorknobs and pulls as easy as browsing through a magazine. Whether you're decorating in colonial American, Victorian, French, modern or antique style, there is a doorknob out there that will fuse with the entire home. The initiative is to draw our aesthetic towards a tastefully decorative piece, one we notice and appreciate.

Create unity and smooth the transition from one room to another by placing the same style doorknobs on all the doors of the main rooms. Imagine a classic porcelain knob in an ivory, mahogany or ebony color. Distinguish the secondary rooms - bathroom, laundry room, sunroom, or study - with special knobs, such as emerald crystal, silver chrome or milk glass. Specialize a child's room using a royal blue knob with festive, multi-colored squares on it, or stars and strips; perhaps floating petals for a girl's room, and baseballs and bats for a boy's room.

• Tip: For a front door, give it flare and individuality by using reproduction doorknobs with skeleton keys, or wrought steel knobs with levers. Create modern simplicity in the kitchen with small chrome pulls. For a homemade flare adorn the cabinet pulls with beans, beads, small plastic fruit or coins.

Whether you search the web, stop by a home improvement store, or mix and match knobs from a boutique or antique store, decorative doorknobs are a fun and easy way to give a facelift to a familiar setting.

Matt Fox from Home & Garden TV suggests three easy steps to replace knobs:

1. Decide knob placement. Make a cardboard template and take measurements/calculations so it works for all the doors and drawers that are the same size.
2. Make a hole in the template where the knob should be drilled with an awl or nail. Place the template on the door; mark the hole and drill.
3. Attach the knobs securely.

When purchasing new knobs, have the dimension of the thickness of the doors and drawers with you. Sometimes the screw that comes with the knob isn't long enough to go through the board.

Doorknobs are a small touch that can be a relatively inexpensive way to reinvent any living space. Make sure to keep in mind that they should also conform to the mood and harmony of the living space. People should notice them and appreciate them, but the decorating has failed when they stand out not for their beauty but for their discordance with the rest of the space.

Good luck and remember, never forget the little things.

Reprinted with permission from the Sheffield School of Design

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