I put Emtek levers throughout my whole house, hinges too.
However, on the front door, my sales person/designer said Baldwin is the very best for exterior application - so that's what I used there.

The Emtek lever style was Cortina, in oil-rubbed bronze. I have a 1950s colonial style home. They look (and function) great!

Baldwin and Schlage have the same parent company.
I used Baldwin on our entry door - I liked the styling better - Schlage had more security code options than BB.

Baldwin used to be made in West Reading PA - but will be moving to Mexico.

I got good deals at the local Baldwin Brass Store in West Reading PA - They were lower than the internet prices. - The name is weird - The Compleat Baldwin Brass Store - but the peeps are nice.

The other question - how often do you lock you BR doors - we never do but we are DINKS

phylhl, thank you very much for your information, which is very helpful. Where did you buy your Emtek levers? Got them from online order? Oil-rubbed bronze is very nice, but might not be compatible with my ranch style house. I don't know if brushed nickel levers in all the doors (about 10 in all) would be too cold or fine. The semi flush ceiling lights I'd have installed in each bedroom would be oil brushed bronze.

a2gemini, thank you very much for your response. The sales lady at Lowe's told me Baldwin and Kwikset have the same parent company, and their locks can be rekeyed by the customers themselves within 30 seconds.

I have two elementary school kids, and I always lock my bathroom door. I am thinking of putting a privacy lever or keyed lever in my master bedroom.

I bought nearly everything through a local kitchen/bath showroom. they gave me contractor pricing so every last knob, hinge and lever came from there.

I was seriously considering the brushed nickel, but was advised for my style home and age that ORB was the better choice. I tend to agree. You see brushed nickel very often now in the newer homes, even though they are basically a traditional style. I think you can go either way. Once they all match (and be prepared to plane some doors and fix chipped paint) and the doors are in good shape you'll love the look. I do have bathrooms with other finishes like polished nickel and brushed nickel, so having the bronze light fixtures should be fine. There's a lot of mixing and matching going on these days, best if there's a rhyme or reason to it.

I put privacy levers on most bathrooms, the master bedroom, but not the kids' bedrooms. I also put dummy levers on the closet doors which needed them.

We have a tax-free weekend in my state so I was able to plan ahead and place the order for the motherload during the tax free weekend.

Just a note to the wise, if you purchase Baldwin Hardware compare the finish to other products that will be on the same proximity as NOBODIES finish will match Baldwin (they use different standards than all other hardware companies in the US).

Millworkman- not totally true - our Waterstone faucet and Colonial use the same AB finish as our Baldwin... The Baldwin store told me that the numbers match other companies. Maybe not true for all finishes - but I did see the same finishes in Colonial and Baldwin.

phyll - what state has a tax free weekend - I have to go visit!

I was referring mainly to builders hardware, hinges, flush bolts, cremones, and window hardware. Plumbing is not really something I am familiar with.

phylhl, thank you very much for your detailed information. I will have all the interior doors changed to two-panel arch top smooth surface ones. Master bedroom and office would have solid core, and others would have hollow core. Thanks for your helpful comments, I will go for the brushed nickel.

I went to a local door shop today, and saw your Emtek Cortina lever in their brochure. It's the most expensive series and costs $70 plus each for the passage or privacy lever and $130 plus for keyed lever. They do look very nice and heavy-duty. Your choice made sense. The privacy lever might be more suited for master bedroom than the keyed lever which can accidentally lock yourself out.

millworkman and a2gemini, thank you very much for your comments on the Baldwin finish. It does look a little shinier than ordinary satin nickel, but that's fine. Their styles look very nice.