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Match front door hardware to interior door hardware?

15 years ago

All of our interior doors will have satin nickel hardware. Our exterior porch lights are a dark bronze. My first inclination is to match the front door hardware to the lights. But we have double doors to an office that are within a few feet of the front door. I'm worried that it will look odd to have bronze on the front door and satin nickel on the interior door. A friend has suggested that I should mix and match---doing the outside of the front door with bronze and with satin nickel on the foyer side of the front door. I don't like that idea so I'm stuck with choosing one or the other. All suggestions will be appreciated.

Featured Answer

meldy_nva

15 years ago

FWIW, and possibly unfortunately, I agree with your friend. The short moment when the door is open isn't sufficient to justify matching the satin nickle inside; and IMHO, metals within eyeball range should be at least of similar color. One sees (even if not consciously studies) the exterior lights and exterior knobs as a decor unit, and upon departing, the room's interior knobs (whether cabinet or several doors) are a different unit.

I realize the SET of mix/match knobs looks strange while it's in your hand, but honestly, once installed, I don't think anyone ever stands at the door's edge in order to eyeball the interior and exterior knobs at the same time. I suspect you'd have to work hard to name any m/m sets in your present world, and yet there are likely to be many (especially on bathroom doors).

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Comments (6)

flseadog
Original Author
15 years ago
Thank you, Meldy. I should have mentioned that our door must open out according to local code because we are in a hurricane evacuation zone. Do you think that will make a difference in what metal finish I should use?
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I think brushed nickel looks great with any color scheme, so you can't go wrong there. I also know that this is one of those things that I overthought at one point. Unless your house is a showhouse or going to be in a home decor magazine I think it's fine to replace them as the budget permits. It's truly amazing how you just get used to some things in your house over time. And no one is going to leave your house thinking, "Oh my gosh, can you believe it? Their doorknobs didn't all match! The horror!" Of course it would be nice to have the wherewithal to replace everything in a house whenever we wanted to, but that's just not realistic, and we have to remember that we LIVE in these houses. They aren't going to be perfect all the time and that's OK.
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It is completely a matter of personal taste. Do what looks best to you. There are no rules. However, we usually try to match the INTERIOR hardware of an exterior door to whatever is used with the interior doors. There is no need to even try to match the EXTERIOR hardware of exterior doors.
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Black to match the front door hardware and be done with it. The polished chrome on the interior doors and the black on the front door will compliment each other nicely.
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IMO the plain jane doors are what belong in a MCM home but I replaced all of mine with pixelatted glass doors I think the door you chose is more modern farmhouse so keep that style in mind when choosing hardware and I do not like the ones you show they are IMO too curvy .I think if budget is the issue why not just a simple door knob in whatever finish you like. As for the exact one I need to see your space .
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meldy_nva
15 years ago
No, imo, there are two scenarios. First scene: The visitor approaches and sees the exterior doorknob/lights, then you are graciously holding the door open, and the visitor will be looking at you, not peering down/back at the interior doorknob (which may have your hand covering anyhow) as s/he enters; and the other scene is that someone opens the door from the outside to enter, in which case they look at the exterior knob as they reach for it and then look into the room/foyer/hall they are entering.

I guess this shows I do a bit of people-watching, lol. But if you watch too, you'll see that "approaching" bodies look at the knob, door, and entryway (in reverse order); while those passing or already-passed through the doorway pay no attention to what's on the opposite side of the door.
Ron Natalie
15 years ago
We intend to do exactly what you are suggesting. All our interior door hardware will be satin nickel. The exterior hardware will be oil rubbed bronze. Emtex has no problem spliting the finishes.
oruboris
15 years ago
Unless the light in question is very near the door, I'd probably use the nickle on the outside.

I have a couple somewhat yellow ORB lights on the front porch, but well back from the door. The light for over the door is antique copper, and the exterior door and bell hardware are Emtek ORB, which has a strong copper under-tone.

So I'm not too deeply into matching. Seems like everyone is trying to create an 'old house' look, but having all the finishes match perfectly works against that, IMO.
brutuses
15 years ago
Our front door has antique polished brass on the inside and outside and the french doors from the foyer start with nickle and crystal. I think that is such a small insignificant thing to think about. Who actually notices things like that when they are busy looking at furnishings, etc.?

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