Do Door Knobs HAVE to Match?

If you find yourself in a situation where you need to replace one of your door knobs and can’t find one that matches your other doors, what should you do? Something that seems so simple actually poses a much bigger issue when wandering down the aisles of home improvement stores.

Do door knobs HAVE to match? The answer is no, they don’t have to match exactly door to door. But without any sort of theme or relationship between the type of door knobs, you might end up with an awkward-looking interior. Not ideal.

So while you don’t necessarily have to purchase 10 new matching door knobs, you may want to consider the option. If that’s not an option or you want to add some diversity to your house, there are a couple of good rules for buying different styles and finishes. 

Mixing it Up

Many designers say it’s not necessary to match door knobs. As long as they belong to a similar family, the finishes and colors can vary depending on the type of room you are entering and whether the door knob is on the inside or outside of the door. 

If your house is simple without a lot of contrast space to space, having different doorknobs might add a nice finishing touch to the look of a room. Your bedroom french doors might have a bolder handle as you open them to the garden outside. But your bathroom doorknob might be a little more simple as you don’t need a grand entrance to the bathroom. 

Likewise, doors that lead from outside to inside are much different than doors inside your home already. They call for different measures and different looks. That being said, there is a way to have them complement each other if done correctly. 

Subtle Differences

A split finish is an option for someone who wants to add a touch of diversity but not go crazy with mismatching all over the place. The split finish is when you pull a little color scheme stunt into your home. The handles or doorknobs will match regardless of where they are, but the finish will be different from the inside of the door to the outside of the door. 

Now typically with split finishes, it’s a shade difference, so you might have a darker nickel color on the outside and a lighter shade on the inside. Having said that, it’s not unheard of to have two completely different colors. It’s just a lot less common. 

The reason for having a split finish is to match the room the doorknob is in. It’s meant to be complementary to it’s setting rather than match what you can’t see. For instance, the outside of a bathroom doorknob would match all the other doorknobs you could see from the vantage point. So bedroom doorknobs, bathroom doorknobs, and closet doorknobs would match both in style and finish.  But on the other side of all those doors would be a different finish/color to indicate you are in a different room. 

Tip: The style of the actual doorknobs should remain the same in this kind of design. 

Blending

If you aren’t keen on having all door knobs being the same, then you are not alone. A lot of people like to have different weights when it comes to their doorknob and what meets the eye. There is a way of going about this, so things don’t look out of place, though, and it’s called blending. 

With a little extra research and possibly some trial and error, having different style doorknobs that compliment the room it’s meant for can look nice. Typically, you want to buy into a family with the same color, so you can tell they work together. So the doorknobs might look similar but have small different details to set them apart. 

Going a step further, if you’re OK with spending extra money and not loving what you are seeing from retailers, you can get customs doorknobs done. This way, an expert after having a good sense of your home can make doorknobs that work together but don’t all look the same. 

You might have a variation of three or four door knobs throughout your home. But if every different door knob is different, it might throw off everything, so it’s better to select a few designs then many. 

Reasons for Matching

Sometimes people have a personal preference for exact matching door knobs throughout a home, and that’s OK. There is a level of simplicity in not having to worry about tying together a theme. Sometimes is can also be cost affordable when buying in bulk. 

Some interior designers say that the doorknobs are what holds together a space. Already each room offers a unique space with different furniture, colors, lighting, and so on. They argue that a doorknob can stick out and cause more confusion about how the rooms tie in together. 

Size of the home

If you have a smaller home like a condo or a one-level house, than matching all the doorknobs makes sense. The eye may be able to see all the doorknobs at once or with just a few steps in any direction. This is when matching makes sense because too many different styles may seem out of place. 

The doors in a condo or smaller space typically match, minus the door to an outside deck or entryway. This might be the only time you want to switch things up. But for all the doors matching in the hallway leading to similar bedrooms, it makes sense to keep things consistent for the sake of not overwhelming the eye. 

Style

As mentioned, style can play a major role in what you do with your doorknobs. Sometimes a house might have a lot going on, which is a good reason to keep things more simplistic when it comes to finishing touches. Despite the size of the home, large or small, there are situations that may appeal to keeping it consistent. 

Example: Imagine a sleek home. Think polished all white everything with smooth surfaces from the cabinets to the granite countertops. Everything matches with each other, and nothing stands out. It’s one great masterpiece of symmetry. Some people might opt for a subtle change in the finishing’s, but a lot of people might want to keep the theme going. Therefore, all the doorknobs are a simple satin finish modern handle to every entryway regardless of where you are going. 

Cost-Effective

Buying in bulk is always worth the benefit if you are going to stick with the same knob anyways. If you don’t have to worry about matching prices with different styles and colors, then things become a lot easier in the process of picking the doorknobs. 

When you get into custom work too, the prices can go up and become unaffordable for some. Sometimes doorknobs just aren’t that important to a person, and they would rather their money go to something else. 

Final Thoughts

So, in the end, door knobs do not have to match. And there are ways of going about that so that it still looks classy and in sync with your home. It is just a personal preference on the money you want to spend, the style you are going for, and the time you want to put in when choosing the doorknobs.