Thanks, Mongo. I know that all such rules of thumb are not hard-and-fast -- I just wanted to make sure I was understanding what you were saying correctly. In our case, these are standard 30" white-painted paneled wood interior doors, with two bedrooms, a smaller hall linen closet, and the bathroom in question in close proximity around the landing at the top of a stairway. Only the closet opens out into the hallway; the other three open into the rooms. It's just my wife and I in the house except when we have guests, so most of the time, all the doors (except the linen closet) are open -- meaning the eye sees the hinge leaves rather than the knuckles. So I'm thinking the outer doorknobs and hinges should all probably match, even though that means when someone uses the bathroom and closes the door, from the inside, the knuckle will not match the other hardware in that room. The split-finish hinge would solve the problem, but even with all the "what's a little bit more money to do it the way we really like?" rationalizations I make during renovation projects, I don't think I'm ready to splurge on big bucks for this! Although... ;) -- Eric

Thanks for your input! Fori - I would think glossy would show fingerprints too but yes, I'm sure that's what she said and even on the company's website it states they don't recommend the matte on dark finishes because of that. Louis - There are many other colors but I am pretty set on the black/honey combination. The table top and chair seats(which will get most of the use) will have the honey finish and the table base and chair frame will be in black, which they call ebony. I'm thinking the satin finish may be the safest finish of the three options...

Palimpsest, thanks for the lead on Schlage and Emtek. I've just been looking for Schlage split finish hinges, and I'm not finding any matches. Do you recall what web site you found them at? Even the Schlage web site doesn't seem to mention this. And when I look for Emtek hinges, I'm also not seeing anyone offering a split finish hinge. Where did you order yours? Pattycakes, I'm definitely open to different opinions on this. Here's my situation, and you tell me which you think is more odd... At the top of my stairs, there's a hallway landing with four doors nearby: two bedrooms, the guest bathroom, and a hall linen closet. All the decor is going to be brushed nickel *except* the guest bathroom, with is being done in all oil-rubbed bronze. The door to that bathroom opens into the room, which means that when the door is open -- as it is 95% of the time, what you see in the hallway are the leaves of the hinges attached to the door and door frame. When you're *in* the bathroom, with the door closed, that's when you see the pin or "knuckle" of the hinge. So when you're in the bathroom with the door closed, it would be best to see an oil rubbed bronze hinge pin, to match the other fixtures in the room. When you're in the hallway and the door is open, if the hinge is oil rubbed bronze, then it will be the only one of the four doors in the area showing bronze instead of nickel. To me, that seems strange. I'd think that if, from the outside, it matches all the other doors, and from the inside, it matches the rest of the bathroom, that would be the most elegant solution. If you're picturing it differently, I'd welcome your thoughts -- and whether it should match the inside (bronze) or outside (nickel) finish. -- Eric

There is one way to try and remove the dents. First you will need to get all the finish off the top. Then take a damp wash cloth and an iron, laying the washcloth on the dent and setting the iron on just the dented part. That will cause the wood fibers to absorb moisture and swell. It would take an experienced furniture restorer to determine the stain/finish combination. But you could try by using a stain you think is close and wiping it on with a rag---that allows you to control the amount of color change more easily. A regular varnish would be my choice for a finish.