Meet The Place for Your Perfect Antique Door Knobs

Finding cool door hardware isn’t hard, especially if you like clean modern designs, but what if you want something that is positively vintage? Finding antique door knobs (or replicas for a fraction of the price!) is something that can be tricky. Most of your normal door hardware companies don’t hit the vintage door knob out of the park, but I found one that totally does!

Obviously being the most special building in the entire world, the Merc couldn’t have just normal hardware. I mean the doors themselves were such a statement, I needed something that was the perfect companion for them. My search came to an abrupt end when I fell down the design rabbit hole that is Nostalgic Warehouse with their massive combinations of vintage style door knobs and backplates. If you can dream it, chances are they’ve got it. I couldn’t have found a better partner for this important design decision at the Merc.

Each door knob can be configured to reach your anticipated antique level. They have hundreds of combinations, from the long simple New York backplate (the one we went with!) to the heavily detailed Egg and Dart plate. They have got so many options, and then you throw in the knob selection and your mind sort of explodes. Precision cut crystal, smooth porcelain, and perfectly finished metals make up almost 30 knob options. Imagine the possibilities folks!!

Antique Nickel Door Knobs

For all of the interior doors (and after loads of back and forth) I finally chose the New York Plate and oval Homestead doorknob in Antique Nickel. Though the Studio plate in Antique Nickel and Black Porcelain knob, and New York plate and knob in Unlacqured Brass were some seriously stiff competition. Which one would you have chosen?!

Antique Brass Door Knobs

We ran into a challenge with our front doors. If you remember, we bought them from an antique store and gave them a serious makeover (if you havent seen the before, you’re in for a treat!) One of the updates we made was filling in the old mortise locks. That made it so we could easily use standard knobs. Welllllllll that would have been great and good, except our door thickness (2″) is thicker than standard doors, so it presented a little bit of a problem. FORTUNATELY Nostalgic Hardware has a sister company called Grandeur Hardware that specializes in this exact scenario.

Something that was really important to me was matching the original letter slots. So instead of going with Antique Nickel like our interior doors, I chose Vintage Brass. It was one of those things that I went back and forth on (gosh isn’t there so much of that in a renovation!??!) but ultimately the brass won because I just couldnt give up on the original mail slot.

The knob I chose is a sectional set, which means that the knob and deadbolt are separated. They are in the Fifth Avenue collection, so the backplate style is the same as Nostalgic’s New York Collection. One thing that is SUPER important to note is that Grandeur’s sets are made from solid forged brass, they aren’t plated. They have a few different handle styles, I chose the C handle. Its simple and vintage and absolutely perfect for the Merc.

Having installed many a door knob in my days, I will say that these were a little bit trickier to install than the basic ones from Home Depot. But the instructions are clear and easy to follow, they just aren’t a plug in 2 screws and you’re done kind of knob.

I think the feel of the knob is a big deal. You know when you’re grabbing something that is solid, and when you’re grabbing something that is hollow. These knobs feel substantial, especially the exterior ones.

Doorknobs (and doors!) are one of those things that are easy to overlook, but a simple step outside the basic style will pay off 10 fold when it comes to making your home feel custom and special. Whatever style your house is, I guarantee that you will find something that you love at Nostalgic. Its impossible to not fall into their world!