Personally I like levers, because even though I am fairly young, I have developed tennitis in my wrist and turning knobs is a bit painful. I know universal design recomends levers over knobs. As far as brass vs nickel, I am slowly changing mine to nickel.

We're transitioning from knobs to levers as we remodel our way through the house. The levers are not only easier to use, but look much more elegant. Another nice touch is Lutron switches, wallplates and receptacles. These can be bought in a wide range of satin colors. You won't match paint exactly, but the satin finish in "stone", for example, takes on the color of the diffuse light in the room. I also like the wallplate design which hides the usual screw heads.

Another vote for levers: you can open them with the corner of a laundry basket, your wrist, forearm, knee, even a foot if you have good balance!

If you are the sort of person who frequently bumps into things or have small kids in the house, look for the levers where the end bends in towards the door...

I have Omnia brushed chrome levers thoughout my house. I like them alot, especially when my hands are full. It's a simple matter to open a door with my elbow, without having to set down whatever I'm carrying.

If you go with levers, be sure to get a really good heavy duty brand. Cheaper brands or models often have less-than-sufficent strength springs which will cause the levers to droop after a while. A good commercial or architectural grade will have sufficiently strong springs to prevent any drooping. You definitely get what you pay for when it comes to levers.

Hope this helps.

James

My first choice is for egg-shaped knobs. Aesthetically I prefer them over levers, and the shape makes them easy to manipulate.

Second vote is for levers.

This is interesting to me. I was all set on knobs in our new place, but some good points are made about the advantage of levers. They are just so fancy! I am kind of a plain girl!

Keep in mind that pets and little kids can open levers. May not be an issue, but it's something to keep in mind. (My parents complain because the cat doesn't close the door behind her.)

depends on your decor but I like satin chrome/pewter, and levers do look better, however, if you have any tight corners, levers are slightly more likely to catch on your clothing etc.

Levers definitely look nice, though.

Before you spend the extra money, I would go to Home Depot or somewhere and compare the difference in ease of operation. Some good points have been made about opening doors with elbows, etc, but for pure efficiency of motion, I don't think you can beat a plain knob. Unless you have a strength issue and need the extra "leverage" I would vote for knobs in most places. A knob you can open with your fingers only, while a lever has the whole arm involved, plus the knob is easier to grab. A lever to open a door seems like overkill.

Of course, if you're going for style, well, what's a little extra effort if you like the look... not to mention the appreciation you will get from any orthopedically challenged visitors.

One point about egg-shaped knobs, which I love. I've caught my hand/fingers in the space between the knob and the door frame on more than one occasion, since the knob is longer/wider than a round knob. I won't buy more.

We recently remodeled our entire house. Before the remodel, our house had knobs. We now have levers, and not only are they easier to use than knobs, it goes well with the minimalist look we like - open and airy, not too much furniture, and clean lines.

Rdowns said something about levers being too fancy - they don't need to be! We selected a straight and simple design with slightly beveled edges, all in satin nickel on the main living space and bedroom doors, and chrome levers in the bathrooms to match the fixtures. They are elegant without being too fancy.

I find levers to be easier to clean than knobs,too!

I love levers, we've got them on most of our outside doors (in a simple modern steel style). They're easy to use even with thick gloves on, and can be opened with an elbow if your hands are full of grocery bags.

When we added an exterior door to the master bedroom, the handle style we'd used elsewhere was discontinued so we went with a knob. Much harder to use than the levers, it bugs me.

levers are ADA compliant, and knobs are not. i don't need things to be ADA compliant (yet!), but it seemed a good reason for us to go the lever-route when we remodelled. never regretted it.

I love the look of both levers and knobs, but I'm going to use round knobs in our new house. I'm doing so for two reasons. I think it goes with the slightly old-fashioned look of the two-panel doors we're choosing. And also (mostly) because my cat and dogs can't open the doors with knobs, as they can with levers.

I get so tired of putting the cat in a room to tuck him away when we'll have exterior doors open or lots of visitors, only to find the door open five minutes later. He hangs on the levers and pulls the door open. And yeah, like fori's parents, my cat doesn't close the door behind him, either.

The dogs only accidentally open the doors with levers. They aren't quite as smart as the cat. But they get lucky sometimes and manage to open a door they're not supposed to when they jump at it enough and their paw happens to hit the lever handle.

Silly beasts. But yeah, many choices in my house are pet related, down to the carpet color and flooring choices and of course the dog shower in the mudroom and the cabinets for pet food and pet supplies.

if you have or plan on having children go with knobs... kids can easily operate levers and get into rooms where they dont belong... and there isnt anything to out over them to make them child proof like knobs.

I have Schlage brushed nickel eggs because I have seasonal arthritis in the small hand bones. I don't like the look of levers all over the house, for narrower doors the standard width lever looks disproportionate. For arthritics or carpal tunnel issues...I think the eggs are actually better if your grasp is reasonable (doesn't have to be normal!), because you open them with a wrist rotation only. For levers, if you watch other people, many of them grasp the lever and then extend their wrist (bend backward at the wrist - bad) while rotating and pushing downward with their arm and shoulder - I conciously avoid doing this. The idea of levers for ADA had several reasons, including individuals with no grasp who could get their hand over the lever, and the fact that in many cases wheelchair-based people are pulling downward (not pushing downward).

As a separate issue for a house with small children, I recently read an article where running children had impaled their eye on the lever. This report was from a third-world country with straight levers, evidently tapering to a fairly sharp point.