I wouldn't get levers. Personally, this motion hurts my wrist. Aside from that, they get snagged on clothes.

As a general rule, I would get whatever finish matches your light fixtures in that room. For example, I used antique brass most places, except bathrooms. So the bathroom doorknob is chrome on the inside and antique brass on the outside. I'm not impressed with Schlage (we used it as temp hardware during construction). Emtek is very nice, but much more expensive (about $50 per set).

Do you have small children or pets you don't want bursting in? If so don't go with levers or you'll never have any privacy.

Levers for me. More convenient. Squeezing and turning a door knob sometimes sends pain up my forearm.

Definitely levers for me too. I always seem to have my arms full!

Levers here too. I like to be able to use elbows or knees when ares are full.

I vote for levers.

Love levers. So much easier to use.

Hate levers. Had them in a house we lived in once. Always catching a sleeve or something.

Levers here. I find that as I age turning a door knob handle hurts my hands. (arthritis) I also think they fit better in a contemporary home.

First, what's the finish you've chosen for lights, faucets, towel racks, kitchen cabinets-- that sort of thing? I'm thinking that what you gravitated toward there is probably your "default choice. Or if you've mixed-and-matched (which can look good, too)?

I sense that levers are a more contemporary look, but you can also have a contemporary look with the finish of the door hardware. I wouldn't say that brass or maybe even ORB (oil-rubbed bronze, I believe it stands for) are necessarily contemporary. The nickel or a brushed chrome or brushed aluminum would be, at least in my opinion.

Based on what others here have offered, do you think there are places where levers would be more useful?

And if you have a Lowe's near you, go check its selection, too.

Is the contractor giving you a deadline? There's such a variety of knobs/levers online-- you should surf the web. One place to look is Cape Cod Brass (don't let the "Brass" fool you!).

The darker finish you probably saw is oil rubbed bronze or ORB~~whether or not it *is* bronze that's been oiled to give the darker look is beyond me. I just know I like it, and used it thru-out my home when I built last year. I have the oval shaped door knobs and really like them cause they're more dainty. The door hinges are also ORB, as well as all plumbing fixtures. Because of the color it looks to be old and weathered, even though it's new. ;o)

Lowes has a line- I can't remember what its called!- that's sort of in between the quality of Schlage and Emtek. Sets are $35. Not quite as nice as Emtek, but they definitely feel a lot nicer, more substantial and robust, than the regular stuff at Lowes/HomeDepot. You might want to look at that.

By the way, I'm in the knob camp. I hate how levers catch clothing, and I just prefer the less builder-y feeling I get from knobs. BUT... good knobs. Our house came with standerd cheapos and I hate the way they feel. Slowly changing them all over to the nicer ones!

OK- I found the knobs.
They are Lowes Gatehouse. It looks like there are some cheapo gatehouse versions, but here's the one we got, in Satin Nickel. New lower price, too, yay!

Here is a link that might be useful: Lowes Gatehouse Satin Nickel Bed/bath knob

We have levers throughout our house. We like it that our grandchildren can open the doors more easily, but it's also true that privacy could be an issue! We like the contemporary look and the fact that you can open the door with an elbow if hands are full.

As my hands age, I notice a number of little motions around the house are getting harder, but the door levers are never a problem.

I don't get the privacy issue. Can you not just lock the doors either with a handle or a lever?

What am I missing?

We have a totally traditional house and have levers and they don't look modern at all. Funny story though. When DS was in college he came home one day and was trudging down the hall, as boys that age are apt to do, and caught the strap of his back pack on the lever handle of the linen closet. Because he was moving rather quickly, before he knew what was happening, it spun him around and slammed his face into the wall. When he called to tell me he was going to the eye doctor to replace the glasses that were just broken, he couldn't stop lauging. He's 35 now and we still laugh about it. That being said, I've caught the strap of my purse on DM's door knobs many times, so I think there are pros and cons for each. I did read somewhere that levers were better for the elderly and handicapped. Good luck!

I have levers on all main doors, but knobs for the linen closet and clothes closets. I don't get the privacy issue either. We have locks on bedrooms and bathrooms but not on closets. I have 3 kids and don't have any issues with them bursting in when they are not wanted; we just lock the door.

You can lock the doors, but unless you regularly do that, you're apt to get a surprise. My cats (not to mention the dogs) can reach up and pull on the levers and pop the doors open. At our old house we had a lever on the bedroom door and our cat kept barging in on us. Now we have knobs and they can't open those. Yet. I'm sure they're one day going to figure out how to turn a doorknob.

Replaced all of our (brass) knobs with (stainless) levers. Like the look, like the function.

Thank you everyone for all the comments and input! I decided that levers would work best with our contemporary condo. I went with Emtek for the quality, albeit a bit more expensive. We ordered the Turino in satin nickel and regular rosette, link below. It has a nice design feature to it without being too design-y. I didn't want one of the super plain levers as they remind me a bit of an office-type look.

Here is a link that might be useful: Emtek Turino lever