I can absolutely sympathize regarding ending up with some appliances handles you don't love. I chose a DW with a beautiful straight handle. Love the performance, love the look. I chose a range and refrigerator for their function, size, and price, but they have the undesirable (to me) bow handles. I wish I could replace them. I'll definitely check out the link that IowaCommute provided. Thanks! I agree that it's harsh to criticize the OP. Sometimes it's not feasible to get every single thing you want within a budget. Just because you purchase an appliance based on function and price does not mean you can't investigate options to improve the aesthetics.

deee - the walk would never be used. The door is used all the time. Just that there is a quicker easier way to get there by our normal walkway that provides a straighter path and allows easy wheelchair/walker access. I guess my original mention of that wasn't clear enough. I don't feel that the $1K+ that a concrete walk or flagstone path (even more expensive) or pavers (super expensive) would cost is money well spent for US at this time. For that curb appeal I can live without, but I still want it to look nice, but absolutely need easy maintenance. We don't have time to maintain gravel, mulch, or compacted granite paths as they all will have weeds within a week where we are at, so I guess I'm looking at options on what to do without to still have it look nice. I got some great ideas here. Just put a landing there with flag stones and let grass grow in between or fill the space in with plants seems to be some common ones and very workable as well. Jan - sure sounds lovely and I wish we had the time to maintain something like it as I would love that too. We will eventually have a gazebo style on the stock pond that is going to be on the side of the house. We just need our little one to be born and grow much older before we dare having the pond that close to the house. There is one the next lot over that has me worried enough. I'm considering checking with the next builder that will be starting a new house in the neighborhood to see if they could get us a concrete walkway for less while doing another house foundation or driveway, but I can't see spending the money unless it is much lower. Wish we had unlimited funds .....

Ajsmama: The door pics look really nice, with a smooth look. I learned from mostly Minwax literature and some forums that I'll need pre-stain treatment to solve the grain/absorption problem with woods like pine. Then I was just going to stain, and with a final coat of poly. I wasn't sure where sanding would come into the picture, probably just sanding off the dusts/specs that got trapped in the poly. I am not even sure what I can do with the raised grain with a water based paint/stain. The raised grain on the trim (after being painted with glossy latex paint) was just about impossible to sand down. I suppose it's not terrible being trims, but for doors that may just make enough difference to matter. I am using a 150 grit paper. I was thinking of using small foam rollers to apply the poly, if not the stain, for an even finish. However, that's just a thought in theory: in testing on sample drywall/wood blocks, smoothest finish with anything water based paint/finish could be achieved with those high density foam rollers, much more easily than brushes. Of course, these are the plans from someone who has no experience and learned from very scattered materials. I see here that there's a 4th step before coating with poly, to "use shellac as a sanding sealer". I'm not sure how that works, how to apply (I imagine coating and sanding, assuming shellac is a softer material than poly to sand down for a smoother finish?), or what exactly shellac is. I'm just that far off the curve here. :P Magnaverde: I just learned how oil based may achieve a superior finish. I asked around in the store and nobody could tell me the difference between oil and water based other than that water dries faster and doesn't smell. That made it an easy choice, as it is getting pretty cold here and opening window to vent VOC will be tough. Given that, I'm wondering now how difficult will it be to sand down the grain if I use water based stain/paint, to achieve a similar result to oil based paint/varnish/stain? Also if done properly (with pre-stain treament and all), is staining the pine with those grains acceptable, and in what color/finish? I suppose "naked door" with poly is nobody's cup of tea here. :) I'm not sure if a sketch of the room's dimensions will help visualizing the door better than a picture of one corner. Here it is: As you can see the apt has a very odd layout that cannot be salvaged easily. The door in question is the one to the top, next to the window/mock sofa. Most of the furniture are in maple/natural/pine color, as they were modular and simply carried over from the apartment rental days (new furniture may be in order). I haven't sketched up the trims though, but they are 4" base trims with 3.5" door casing, the largest I could get without going to the lumber yard for some much fancier versions. The trims and casing are painted in benjamin moore's "superwhite" in glossy finish. The front door (right hand side) at the end of the corridor is finished in white. The closet (center of the apt) has a bifold pine door that will be finished the same as the bathroom door. I'd appreciate any ideas/opinions with the door finish, again. I'm thankful of all the help here. This is so much more than I imagined I'd get in return to my question, which was originally thought to be as simple as a door knob finish. :) The question with the door had always been a bit nebulous to me, and it's just now began to clear up. Thanks guys.

Not sure if you want to stay with a traditional style, if not, Ikea's Borghamn handle is 1 9/16" wide and so might just have the right spacing to fit your existing screw holes. They're modern with a slightly rustic vibe, so, not sure that'll work with your doors, but if they would fit, it would eliminate a backplate. Sorry, my photoshopping skills leave to be desired...