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fairytalebaby

Front door hardware...wanna shop for me? I'm overwhelmed...

17 years ago

I'm probably going about it the wrong way--but I'm looking for a handle set for our front door and I've been googling things like "black entry door handle"...and I haven't found much. I did find some gorgeous ornate black set but it was $800 and that's a little out of our budget.

I can't think of what I want, can't picture what might look good...is anyone willing to look online for me and post some ideas? I'd really appreciate your input.

Here's a picture of the house, and closeup of the front door. The reason I was thinking of going with black is because we've got black wrought iron scroll work within the privacy glass of the door.



Thanks so much...

Comments (11)

  • 17 years ago

    Fairytale - First, beautiful home! Second, I know what you need! And, I know from experience. I removed all the doorknobs in my house and replaced them.
    Check out Baldwin doorknobs. I am including a link below, I've personally ordered many doorknobs and the site below is WAY cheaper than Home Depot, (Home Depot is practically 1.5x the price; I know this from experience, too.)

    You mentioned wanting dark/black wrought iron looking hardware, I would suggest Venetian bronze, which isn't bronze at all. It's a soft black. I think the Baldwin Satin Black is too black.

    On this site, scroll down, you'll see the front door sets. I like Tahoe and Boulder for your front door.

    Hope this helps! Good luck!

    Here is a link that might be useful: Doorknob site

  • 17 years ago

    What color is the door going to be? That will certainly affect the hardware choice.

    Also, I am guessing that the black in the glass isn't all that visible a lot of the time from the street, between the glare on the glass and the shadow of the porch. You might think about ORB as an alternative, which would be a bit warmer with all your grey and brown tones.

    You may also want to consider what color light fixtures you will be putting by the door - find something you love for that first, because it will be easier to find hardware than a light fixture that you love.

  • 17 years ago

    I'm also probably going to order my handle set from the same site that kiki posted, and I haven't decided yet, but the salesman who sold me my doors and windows suggested Emtek as a more affordable but high quality alternative to Baldwin. We're going with the mortise lock since our doors are quite large, and these are even more expensive!

    The link below shows the different Emtek styles and colors available. I like the ORB and flat black.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Emtek handle sets

  • 17 years ago

    kiki, thanks for the link--and the compliment! I like the Tahoe and Ashton models...just can't get past the idea of going with something other than black because of the wrought iron scrolls! This is truly a decorating downside of mine because I look at something and think it HAS to match...when in reality I know it's all about complimenting and coordinating.

    Les...thanks for the response. I "think" the front door will be painted red. I have this vision of these Cracker Barrel rocking chairs on the porch and a matching red front door to give the house a punch of color against all the gray and tan.
    Here's the link to the red chairs (which may end up looking bad but right now it's all I've got pictured).
    http://shop.crackerbarrel.com/online/shopping/Product.asp?cat%5Fid=62&sku=239418&mscssid=WW2KLQ8DRBGB9MHMA7SR7KGSA0TF8J34

    ******By the way, the rocking chairs would be on the porch MINUS the Georgia bulldogs decal******

    Here is a link that might be useful: red rocking chair

  • 17 years ago

    Cute rockers, but I would be inclined to do the rockers in a white to match the trim, and then put colorful cushions on them. Let the front door be the punch of color in the red, and then repeat in the cushions, the flowers and plantings, etc.

  • 17 years ago

    Oh, ORB, I forgot about that. I DO like the oil rubbed bronze (ORB) finish. A friend of mine has it in her house. It's great looking in person, almost antique.

    Yes, yes, the Ashton set would look nice on your front door. And, I LOVE a red front door. (I have one!)

    Keep us posted...share progress pics.

  • 17 years ago

    What a beautiful house! You must be so excited.

    I can't help you with the doorknobs, but I did want to mention that if you have a big dog you might not want the lever type of handle. My GSD learned to open our front door by pushing down on the lever with her paw, and she let her silly self out onto the street. Our door opened inward so I don't know how she did it, but she did. We had to change back to a round handle, which she couldn't open.

  • 17 years ago

    We ordered Baldwin and are very happy. We also have a couple of other brands in our french doors, but Baldwin on the front. Their finish is supposed to stay bright and fresh. We hope so!

  • 17 years ago

    We have Emtek in the Dark Bronze. It's pretty but it does scratch when you fumble around with keys in the lock.

  • 17 years ago

    I should say that our Baldwin is brass and hopefully never needs polishing. We rarely use our front door and the area is covered like yours, so it sees little weather.

  • 17 years ago

    We bought a Baldwin entry set, as well. Baldwin is very good quality. We went with "Satin Black":

    Outside:

    Inside: