Handles or knobs for interior doors?

[demotedreally]

We are getting panel doors in all rooms as part of our Reno of a 1950s house. I need to choose handles apparently. Should I get handles or knobs?

Any recommendations of places to look, styles or actual products?

Handles everytime, not a fan of knobs! Well not strictly true

I like the interest this discussion has caused.

We don't have any internal doors at the moment or indeed a properly finished roof so we have no heat to keep in. But I would never shut a door, only push it too. I didn't know this might be strange!

I've just realised I do shut the kitchen door when I am burning food often

Tbh I’m surprised at how clean this thread has remained

Handles - knobs are difficult for some people, always seem to come loose and are a pain with hands full. Unless you deliberately have someone you want to keep out - toddlers and clever dogs.

For a third option, I'm considering pull handles with a roller latch on a particular door (so the handle is less prominent). No reason it couldn't be all doors.

Could be the best of both worlds, easy to push close/open. Hookable to pull open with hands full, but without anything sticking out to catch on.

I've just realised I do shut the kitchen door when I am burning food

That's the one most often needing to be elbowed open, IME, due to full or dirty hands.

Knobs.

I've never once caught my pocket on a knob (he he) but do all the time on handles.

I've not had different so am not used to wanting to open doors with my elbows.

We are not door-shutters in any room except bathrooms. But when DD was little it was great to shut the door and know that she couldn't reach the knob and it was harder for her to open, so didn't need to faff with stair gates.

Door handles are x100 more practical. I love the vintage look too but have given up on style over substance after being practically trapped in a bathroom with a sprung brass door knob, and I don't have a weak grip! You need a longer door latch for doorknobs so there is space around them for fingers, otherwise they are even more annoying. There is plenty of choice of styles of handles.

We went for knobs. In our style of house they look so much better than handles.

But having seen our elderly relatives struggle with the bathroom door. I do think that handles would have been more sensible for the long term. Especially on bathroom doors where your hands might be a bit wet and you can't get away with just not closing the door fully.

This is it, I have two dearly beloved elder family members who would loathe admitting they were struggling with handles.

In that @kegofcoffee (love your username, i now want a keg of coffee), I think the Bakelite knobs with backplates would look far better with our style of door, in fact I know they would look amazing, but I don’t want to be the person who inadvertently locks my mum in the spare room or loo because she doesn’t want to admit she can’t open the door. Sigh!

but then again I think I am obsessing over the details and if anyone comes into our newly renovated house and says ‘but you didn’t optimise your door hardware in a period appropriate way’ then THEY will be the knobs.

DD is left handed and has broken her bedroom door handle several times plus a couple of others on occasion as she seems unable to do it left handed...

I vote black knobs.

I did have this thought as my post "black knobs" was submitted.

Oh no! I have a left handed DC too.

Oh god knobs are just too challenging fnar.

I don't quite understand that. I use one hand (or elbow)to open a door from one side, and the other hand to open it from the other side, doesn't everyone?

@ErrolTheDragon I don't understand either. She is the dippiest of children though. But that is her explanation 🤷‍♀️

Our black beehive knobs have locked all of us in a room at some point. At least one door has its knob taken off at any given point in time. They are the bane of my life, I cannot wait to replace them with handles!

I'd have thought twisting a knob was a more 'handed' action than depressing a lever handle, though again it's clockwise one side and anticlockwise the other. I
Maybe it's more something to do with which way that door opens.

Right I have ordered a sample of our chosen door handle. Plus hinges, a bathroom lock and a tubular bolt! More flipping expensive than the doors themselves!

Just knobs!