Door knobs and bathroom fixtures

13 years ago

I have two questions I need help with. #1 is it ok to my bathroom fixtures not match doorknobs? All my door knobs are dark oil rubbed bronze. But, I want all my bathroom fixtures faucets, lights, towel racks, and so to be brushed nickel (matte finish NOT shiny) #2 If we do the nickel fixtures, should cabinet hardware match doorknobs or fixtures. I am thinking definitely fixture color. You opinions greatly appreciated. Do you need more details? Photos? Help help lol!!!!

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PRO

Ironwood Builders

13 years ago

Carolyn, we began the "split finish" for rooms based on designers and architects requiring it to match historic interior details. There are many finishes we no longer see, as mass production and low end design took over the marketplace post WWII. Have you ever seen a "Jappaned" finish? I've had to reproduce it. Popular from the turn of the last century up until about 1925. I was having custom plating and polished or satin nickel pieces restored 22 years ago...and that is contemporary compared to the real stuff I had to duplicate. You and I both recall the amount of polished brass we put in...but what about statuary bronze? Or antiqued copper? Did that too. So my processes are rooted in history...and when I close the door to the bathroom...which always seems like a good idea...I'm looking at all matching hardware...not a random black knob in an otherwise fitting room....faucets, accessories, cabinet knobs, light fixtures, HVAC registers, angle stops, pipe nipples and escutcheons....and door knobs and back plates. Maybe too matchy-matchy for some...but there isn't really a substitute for attention to detail. The gospel according to Mies Van der Rohe.

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Comments (11)

rinked
13 years ago
Fixture color. The shape is less important (unless it's really off).
PRO
Dytecture
13 years ago
It's more important for the door knobs of the bathroom to match the rest of the doors in the house. The bathroom fixture could be a different, especially if it has a different design theme.
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PRO
Carolyn Albert-Kincl, ASID
13 years ago
If your plumbing fixtures are brushed nickel, then I would do your cabinet hardware in either brushed nickel or chrome. I'm not a fan of oil rubbed bronze (ORB) doorknobs but if that is what you have and it's not in your budget to change them right now, then go ahead and do the bathroom fixtures and cabinet hardware in brushed nickel. When budget allows, change the doorknobs throughout the house to brushed nickel.
PRO
Ironwood Builders
13 years ago
We frequently do a split finish for a bathroom, sometimes multiple rooms. If you want to match the satin nickel in the bath, buy three new satin nickel hinges and change the ORB hinges out (if the door swings in to the bathroom). Buy a satin nickel knob to match the make and model of your existing knob and change out just the decorative latch plate, strike and bath side knob. Usually it's just 24 screws to pull out and put back. Less than an hour, even if you have to read the directions. On a recent job we had three bathrooms, each with a different finish on the interior while the rest of the hardware in the house was oil rubbed bronze.
PRO
Carolyn Albert-Kincl, ASID
13 years ago
Ironwood, do you then end up with brushed nickel only on the inside of the door to the bath? When the door is open, and it opens inward, then the ORB knob would be inside the bath, wouldn't it?
User
13 years ago
I would match your door knobs to the rest in your house and your cabinet hardware to your finishes in your bathroom. In general though I am not opposed to mixing finishes within the actual bathroom, so I don't think you necessarily need to match the cabinet hardware to anything as long as it's complementary. There are ideabooks on this. But to simplify, I agree with your instinct to match the cabinet hardware to your other bathroom finishes.
PRO
ILLUMINATIONS LIGHTING
13 years ago
The door knob is one very little part of the bathroom. If everything else is satin nickel, the satin nickel will "take over" the look. I almost always match the faucet with the light fixtures. As far as the cabinet hardware, I personally would match those to the faucet and the light fixtures. It will help to "seal" the satin nickel look in there. You can see in the picture attached that they used nickel in the bath even though the door knob (bottom right hand corner) is bronze.
kphone
Original Author
13 years ago
We are building this house, it is not a matter of replacing anything. But, I love my oval shapped oil rubbed bronze door knob threw out my house. They were one of the first things I picked out. They are not changing :) they match the light fixtures in the rest of the house and the kitchen faucet. They also look fantastic with our wood stained five panel doors!!! But, I don't like the dark faucets in the bathrooms. I want to keep my dark door knobs but have nickel fixtures in bathrooms. That's ok right.
kphone
Original Author
13 years ago
Illuminations lighting, thank you that's exactly what I am thinking!!!!!
PRO
ILLUMINATIONS LIGHTING
13 years ago
You're welcome, and remember too that, if you can close a door, you can do anything in that room. It doesn't have to go with the rest of the house. You can always "play up" a color by adding more of the color. So to play down the fact that you have oiled bronze door knobs, just don't use that color again in the room. And in the photo I attached, you can see that in this instance, they actually go nicely with the cabinets! :)