Surprisingly, there was a time when homeowners couldn't wait to trade in their ornate knobs for faceless ones with smooth finishes of nickel, copper and brass. The engraved faces and glistening glass of the old style of door knobs was suddenly pass? and thousands of door knobs ended up in the garbage dumps of cities throughout the world.



If only we had known then what we know now. Today, antique door knobs are all the rage in designer homes. The more ornate finishes of homes, complete with crown molding, wainscoting and six paneled doors beg for the homier look of antique door knobs.

While original antique door knobs can now command hundreds of dollars on the open market, many manufacturers have jumped into the marketplace with replicas of antique door knobs as well as new designs that capture the age-old look many homeowners demand.

These new manufactures have helped make antique door knobs, at least replicas of them, much more affordable for those wanting to match their hardware with their d'cor. Not only can you find terrific looking replicas and new manufactures, but also you can find a wide assortment of other hardware, ranging from keyhole covers and thumbturns to skeleton keys and strikers.

Strikers, you say? Why replace those? Nothing destroys the illusion of the old school when something glaringly modern lies just beyond the edge. If you're going to redo a door by adding antique door knobs, there's no sense in having a modern striker on the door jam. Thankfully, designers have already thought this through and most antique door knobs have matching strikers that will work for nearly any door, even those that have a lock and thumbturns.

Before you buy a striker separately, make sure your antique door knobs don't already have them in the kit. Many new manufactures include the strike plate as well as the face plate, so you don't have to purchase the strike plate on the side.

However, actual antique door knobs usually don't include the original strike plate, so you'll probably have to buy one if you're installing originals.

While you can certainly pick up antique door knobs in brass, copper, silver or other more modern finishes, you may want to change the look entirely and go with something less common. One popular finish is hammered copper that has an oil-rubbed bronze finish to it. This look has a lot of texture and depth to it, giving it a turn of the century appearance.

The same is true with some patterned mortise locks. These use lost wax castings to create very intricate patterns with lots of visual interest. These work well with antique door knobs that have ornate designs on the knob, such as the face of a lion, a train or other artful finish.

Finally, you can always go with glass antique door knobs. Multifaceted glass knobs come in a number of colors and styles, something to match any modern home, looking for old-world charm in the little things that are so important when turning a house into a home.