How to choose your interior door handle?

Practical guide to choosing your new interior door handles   

Interior door handles are among the most frequently used fittings throughout the day. Door handles blend into our everyday décor. Yet we do not give them all the attention they deserve. Interior handles are generally considered objects fulfilling a strictly defined role — that is, serving to open and close the door. However, a latch can be a genuine decorative object in any home, flat or room. All it takes is making the right choice. 

Are you looking to renovate a room in your home? Searching for an original and stylish decorative effect for your new kitchen? A small piece of hardware will help you perfect your interior décor: it's the interior door handle! It's best not to make the wrong choice when selecting the design handle that will highlight the new style of your room. 

How to choose your interior door handle?

In this article, we guide you through the selection of your interior door handles. Nothing could be simpler! However, several technical and aesthetic criteria must be respected so that you can be fully satisfied with your new design interior door handles. Let's get started!

Do you have questions about choosing your new handles?

• Which model of interior handle to choose at the best price? Lever or escutcheon?
• What is the most premium material? Bronze, brass, porcelain or zamak?
• What are the standards you need to know?
• Should I take into account the technical parameters of my lock before buying the handle?

If you are lost, we are here to help. At Milla Handles, we are passionate about decoration and DIY, and our experts are at your disposal.

The vocabulary of door handles

Here is the first thing you need to know:

• door handle
• latch 
• door handle (lever)
• lever handle
• door knob
• pull handles (or baton handle)
• recessed cup handle for sliding door
• window handle

These are synonyms used to describe a door handle in all its forms.

The decorative accessory not to be overlooked

Interior handles are one of the smallest decorative hardware items and are often the most overlooked, even though they perform a vital role in interior decoration. Admittedly, interior door handles serve a purely functional purpose, as they are operated countless times a day. But the handle actively contributes to interior design.

Rule number 1 for selecting the right handle is to create harmony between your design door and the interior handle, without neglecting the furniture handles or drawer knobs. The aim is to match the opening knobs to your interior style. 

Do not forget that the door handle is an essential element for closing and opening the doors of your home. It must meet the technical requirements of the joinery, furniture and other fittings related to your interior environment.

The different types of interior door handles

Whether your style is classic or modern, there is a wide variety of door handle models available.

1/ Long plate handles in a classic style are the most common. Thanks to their long rectangular plate, they protect the door against knocks and fingerprints. They can be fitted with a key in I, L or lock configuration (make sure to measure the centre-to-centre distance before choosing a long plate handle).

2/ Plate-mounted handles on an escutcheon can be round, square, rectangular… Their style is modern and suits contemporary interiors. You will find a very wide choice of this type of door handle on the MILLA Handles website.

3/ Door knobs or pull handles can come in various shapes — square, round, rectangular, triangular… they allow the door to be pulled open. The locking mechanism can be integrated into the knob to secure the door. Here is an example in our shop HERE

4/ Recessed door handles for sliding doors are inserts that integrate into the pocket door to create a grip and guide the door as it opens or closes. The shape of the handle can be round or square. A locking system can be installed.

Door handle materials

Interior door handles are made from various materials that ensure quality, safety and decoration.

Here is a quick comparison:

  * The most common materials at an affordable price are PVC or nylon, stainless steel and aluminium. 

  * There are other more premium materials such as zinc, bronze, brass, nickel, wrought iron, glass, porcelain, wood, or the newcomer zamak (an alloy of zinc, aluminium, copper and magnesium) — ideal for dressing the doors of a contemporary kitchen.

Materials and designs

The choice of accessories will satisfy everyone's tastes, both in terms of the materials from which the handles are made and their shapes.

They can be made of steel, brass, nickel-plated, chrome-plated, powder-coated or even gilded. They are also made of glass or crystal. Increasingly, different materials are combined in a single handle — for example, a rosette or a panel in steel and a handle in wood (or "wood effect"), porcelain or resin. The most popular are aluminium or zamak handles (premium handles).

Thanks to modern methods of applying external coatings, they can convincingly resemble handles made from more premium materials such as chrome, nickel or brass. Often, the handle and the escutcheon can also differ in their finish — for example, one element is polished and the other brushed or satin. Handles whose grip is partly chrome and partly nickel-plated are also very elegant. You can also purchase handles with crystal inserts, for example. In the video below you can see handles with chrome, nickel and gun metal finishes: 

The choice of handles also opens up an extremely rich range of designs on the market. Most of us opt for handles with very simple shapes, based on an elongated rectangle, an arc, a sphere or an ellipse. Their advantage is their timelessness and universality. More avant-garde shapes, such as drop-shaped handles or open handles — for example in the shape of a delicate frame or a ladder — are also popular. Handles styled on historical and classical motifs remain very popular. These handles feature flowing lines and are decorated with ornaments. We can therefore easily match them to the interior style and the other elements within it, such as the furniture arrangement.

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