At last, a technological advancement that complements traditional hardware, instead of making it obsolete! True, these automatic swing door openers from Otodor mean that you don’t have to use the door handle if you don’t want to. Or, if you can’t – in the case of people with restricted mobility or hand motion. However, they do incorporate ‘ordinary’ door handles, and their images on the website are of doors with ordinary handles – avoiding that horrible blank look of a door with no knob. It’s sort of like looking at a face without any eyes, don’t you think?! Retaining the knob...

We have recently made some lovely additions to our catalogue, for those of you that are enthralled with ribbings, beaded edges, drooping golden petals and all things ornate and classical! Enrico Cassina is a traditional Italian hardware manufacturer that has recently joined forces with us – they have been trading since 1850. They were among the first in the Italian market to make hardware that was good for more than opening, shutting and locking doors … that was also a feast for the eye. They have a rich and proud history, not to mention a beautiful range of products! The Enrico Cassina ornamenture,...

This is a bit of a different shot for a blog about doors and door furniture … considering that neither is actually contained in the photo! But sometimes life is just as much about what is not seen as what can be. In this photo, we are at the door … or perhaps we are the door? Who knows. The beauty of a great black and white shot like this though, is that it makes you feel that you are actually in a colourless world, but one which is just as rich and vivid for all its different shades of grey as our Technicolor world is. Deep musings for a knob blog, eh? Photo credits: Il était une port…...

By far the majority of our customers at Architectural Classics are remodeling their homes - that is generally the time when you think about replacing door knobs, knockers and other hardware throughout your home. And if you are like many ‘can-do’ people with only medium-deep wallets, you are probably thinking about doing some of the remodeling duties your self. That is why we have chosen HGTV as the site of the month! HGTV takes the idea that ‘if you are going to do something, you might as well do it properly’, and makes it their own … both with regard to the quality...

Nowadays, this locomotive knob is a quaint and rather cute representation of how life used to be like in the olden days. It seems perfectly logical to have it on a door knob – sure it is unusual, but it also creates a traditional sort of character for a house. There are plenty of people that put antiques through their homes for this very reason (we happen to know a few of them!), and if you can’t put an actual steam engine in your living room, why not have the next best thing – a picture of one on your door knob. But if you think about the knob in the context of when it was minted, this...

We know that many of you have a bit of a romantic streak … at least I certainly hope I’m not the only one! There must be some of you out there that love the feeling of being swept up for a surprise kiss when you are concentrating on something else … or the aimless pleasure of letting your mind drift as you snuggle up with your partner on a soft couch. Strangely enough, the new range of hardware on the site from Bal Maniglie contains lovely echoes of those feelings! We recently added around 160 new products to the range from , a traditional Italian hardware firm located in the (very romantic!)...

Yes, I know – what the heck has leaving your bottle on the table got to do with doors? Well, this blog is inspired by the fairy doors of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Does that make sense now? Do you remember in Alice in Wonderland, where she had to eat the biscuit (was it a biscuit?), to shrink small enough to enter the door to follow the White Rabbit? Well, when she did, she left the bottle with the potion to make her tall again on top of the glass table. Which she couldn’t possibly climb … she was eventually washed through the little door into the middle of a dodo race! These little fairy doors...