FURNISHINGS : Getting a Handle on Doorknobs--the Home’s Jewelry

They may be small and they’re almost never talked about at cocktail parties, but doorknobs deserve a little respect.

The right door handle, whether it be a hand-painted porcelain knob with a delicate floral motif or a bold brass lever, can give a room or a home a positive first impression. Doorknobs should not be overlooked.

“We think of door hardware as the jewelry of the home,” says Don Coster of B&C; Custom Hardware in Laguna Hills, which has outfitted doorknobs and hardware for the homes of two presidents--Richard M. Nixon and Gerald R. Ford. B&C; stocks hundreds of doorknobs in a multitude of styles, from reproductions of baroque knobs to ultramodern boomerang-shaped levers in brushed chrome.

Some of Coster’s finer knobs even look like jewelry, especially those made of cut crystal and polished marble.

Steven Goldstein, owner of the West End West hardware store in Laguna Beach, can espouse indefinitely on doorknobs, from the virtue of mortise locks with built-in deadbolts to the different types of metals used in their construction.

In his showroom, he whips out a brass entrance handle from under the counter that has an ugly greenish hue. It’s 3 years old, but the moist and salty ocean air quickly corrodes the brass finish even with the manufacturer’s protective lacquer.

“This is what happens to brass after a couple of years. It tarnishes, it gets ucky-looking,” Goldstein says. “But it is still structurally sound.”

Many homeowners would discard the handle, but Goldstein says by stripping the lacquer with heavy paint or varnish remover and polishing the metal he can make the doorknob gleam like new.

While polished brass is still the material of choice for knobs despite its corrosive tendencies, door handles come in all kinds of materials, including chrome, oil-rubbed bronze and even heavy wrought iron for Spanish-style homes.

Some brass knobs come with a green verdigris finish so exposure to air isn’t a problem. B&C; has copper knobs with verdigris flowers and seashells etched in the metal.

For a more formal look, there are knobs made of fine porcelain in solid white or painted with blue and white flowers, pink roses and other Victorian designs. Clear crystal or Lucite is used for knobs that look like ice cubes or a sorcerer’s crystal ball.

Goldstein has seen doorknob styles come and go.

“It’s almost fashion, like double-breasted suits,” he says. He has been watching the trends since his boyhood, when he packed up door handles for the first West End hardware store his grandfather started in Philadelphia in 1930.

Sleek modern door handles have been in vogue for years. People like the simplicity of levers, which often combine brass and chrome in geometric shapes. Paddle-shaped brass levers have proven especially popular for French doors, and sometimes they’re used all over the house.

Recently, however, Goldstein has found his customers wanting the more ornate knobs.

“People think of them as Victorian because their grandmothers had them, but they can be in the Louis XIV-style or Italian provincial,” he says.

He has brass knobs and levers with intricate floral and scroll details that look like they belong in a French palace. One knob is in the shape of a sculpted lion’s head. There are plenty of buyers for a set of brass diamond-cut pineapple knobs that once sold only sparingly.

“A few years ago we couldn’t sell any ornate knobs. Now they’re coming back,” Goldstein says. “It’s a return to elegance.”

Door hardware sells for anywhere from $40 for a simple knob or lever to $600 or more for a front door entrance handle complete with lock and plate. Price fluctuates with the type of material and workmanship that goes into the handle as well as its size. Some entrance handles with massive plates measure several feet high.

Those in the market for new doorknobs should compare products from different manufacturers. Often companies produce the same style knob with varying degrees of expertise.

“A lot of new import companies have brought the standards up,” says Tim Moultrup of Moultrup Finish Hardware in Newport Beach. He likes Domus, an Italian brand, because the mechanisms are easy to install and tightly crafted.

Goldstein favors solidly built levers by Brass Accents.

“There’s nothing worse than a lever that sags,” he says.

When choosing a knob, hardware sellers suggest studying the style of the home’s exterior and the decor of the interior to pick a handle that blends seamlessly with its surroundings.

While a well-chosen knob might not draw a lot of attention, a badly chosen one almost surely will.

“Hardware is to be invisible,” Moultrup says. “You want it to be functional and disappear.”