We did thumb bolts on all bedrooms and baths. Our hardware (Omnia knobs) didn't come with the privacy option. The only way to lock the door is through a thumb latch. There is a little plate you can pop off the back to unlock them (I asked the same question!) I debated whether to do it on the children's bedrooms but didn't want to have to add them later. I figured there may be times where they want to lock their doors (getting dressed with visitors/friends in the house) . . . I think it is reasonable to do either though. We plan on being in this house forever and I know when I visit my mom I often lock my door while getting dressed as there is always a child wanting to wander in and who knows where the rest of the household is! They have locks on their doors now (just turn latches in the knobs) and they don't usually lock them, unless they are trying to get away from their brothers and lock them out (my youngest will do this occasionally!).

Yes, thieves can drill through a deadbolt in a matter of minutes, BUT they're going to look a bit suspicious walking up to your door with a power tool, and they're likely to be overheard. If they want to break into your house, they're more likely to use a "bump key", which can be seen on You-Tube and purchased from eBay. No, they're not so likely to break a window or sliding glass door. Those double-paned glass items are much more substantial than you might imagine, and they do make a big noise -- also, they leave a big, visible hole that people can see. In contrast, if they bust open your lock, they can still close the door and carry out their evil deeds in private. So, pretty much, if a determined professional burglar has chosen your house, he's going to get in. What's the point, then, in having a lock at all? They keep out the casual burglar, the teenager who's roaming the neighborhood after school looking to score some beer and enough money to fill his gas tank -- and, speaking only for myself, I have never known anyone personally who's been the victim of anyone except a casual burglar. For those casual burglars, you don't have to do a whole lot to keep them out -- you pretty much just have to make it look tough to get into your house so that they'll go on down the road and choose a different target. My personal thoughts on what's important: - If you MUST have a pier glass next to your front door, make it a single glass and place it on the hinge side. The longest-armed burglar can't reach across your whole door to get to the doorknob. - Make sure your back door isn't too private (so many plans these days feature a recessed back porch, providing burglars plenty of privacy). - Avoid double French doors, which are pretty easy to kick in. Instead, choose sliding glass doors (which can look just like French doors) or French doors with only one operating side. - Be sure your garage door is secure. Burglars love to get into the garage and then break into your garage-to-house door at their leisure. And don't skimp on the garage-to-house door. My in-laws bought a house that had only a simple little bedroom door in this spot! It provided essentially no protection from robbery, and they changed it before they slept in the house the first night. - Plant holly or other thorn-y bushes under your low windows. - Lots of thieves will go on down the road if a dog is present. - I personally don't put any stock in alarm systems. They do nothing to prevent the burglar from breaking in, and since most burglars are in and out of a house in 5-10 minutes, it's unlikely that the police will arrive while the bad guys are still inside your house. Yeah, you might get a picture of the criminals, but they're unlikely to be as stupid as that guy on the TV commercial who so conveniently looks right at the camera and is wearing very distinctive clothing. Your real burglar is more likely to be wearing a hoodie or a hat to hide his face. What MAY help is having signs that say you have an alarm system; that may make the burglar move on to an easier target. One final thought concerning fire and getting out of the house: Yes, if you couldn't use the door during a fire, you could absolutely break a window -- throw a chair through it or whatever -- but in a crisis situation, when you have less than a minute or two to escape, would you think of it? Maybe I would, maybe I wouldn't. I wouldn't want to count on it. I was once in a fire during the night at summer camp, and I remember another camper screaming, "Fire" . . . and then I was outside. I ran under my own power. I was literally outside before I was even awake, and I don't remember how I got there -- don't count on being rational in a fire.

Yep - your second picture. What I was trying to say is that the lock itself is easy to use. It turns easily and locks just fine. However, if you're trying to use the pull (to open the door, or pull it out of the wall pocket), it isn't all that easy or intuitive. The pull is the tiny piece that is jutting out at the end in your picture. It folds down and lies flat, and then the whole piece can be pushed into the interior of the door too. If the whole assembly is pushed into the door, you sort-of have to know where the pull is. If you push on the top of the pull the bottom pops up (like what is shown in your picture) - but if you don't know that, you are faced with an entire pull assembly that is flush with the door itself. It is spring loaded, and it comes out when pushed upon very easily - again, you just have to know how to use it. :) I hope that makes more sense? The lock is easy to use. The pull is really small though.

Thank you so much everyone! aliris19, you used these on french doors and they work OK? We have a bunch of sets of french doors and I was not sure if I should use crystal knobs on them or not. countrygirl217 those are pretty but I will NOT be buying them after your review! Thanks mtnrdredux. I checked White Chapel but did not see any glass ones on there. Maybe I will have just the bathrooms lock, and the guest bedroom. The master has 3 doors to it (conservatory and double doors leading in) and I don't think I want all of those locking. Thanks palimpsest for clarifying what a mortise lock is. I don't think I want that, I don't want people being trapped in rooms or creating extra labor for people! Thanks nyc_sport. I am in love with the anthropologie ones, what scared me was that the one review said that the hardware was very hard to find. Since I don't know anything about the inner workings of door knobs, I was afraid I'd be unable to find it. Maybe I will order one and get it to my GC and see if he or his installers can just get the lock set if I can't find others I love as much that aren't mortise locks. It's crazy how all of these little decisions like door knobs turn into huge and complicated decisions! I'm so appreciative of everyone's help here!