Vintage door handles: the latest trends in retro handles

Vintage door handles: the must-have models!

In decoration, the vintage style has never been more current! The upcycling spirit, the notion of recycling and reusing objects gives pride of place to this style, which allows its enthusiasts total freedom! The interior door handle is the ideal accessory to accentuate the vintage touch of your décor. Take advantage of the unsuspected assets of this small door hardware item — easy to fit and available at an affordable price!  

 Discover a selection of magnificent vintage door handles that will help give your home a retro look.

Vintage door handles: our top 12 favourites!

Find inspiration among this selection of the best door handle models in an antique or rustic style!

The authentic vintage handle: the HINON handle

This retro door handle transports us immediately into the past with its natural and understated style. This handle with retro curves, on its round backplate, will win you over with its antique forms. The visible screws on its backplate accentuate its industrial and authentic quality. The rust finish gives it a singular character, irresistible for lovers of retro chic! This distinctive interior handle is also available in black. This model is ideal for enhancing rustic or retro interiors but can equally suit a modern industrial workshop-style atmosphere. This lovely handle with the charm of the old is crafted from a blend of ZAMAK and steel, which gives it its resistance and quality. Complete this original vintage handle with its matching locking rose (key or privacy bolt) if you intend this handle for the bathroom or bedroom door.

The retro door handle: Ref model ERIS

As if risen from the past, this retro door handle embodies charm and sensuality! The finely chiselled scrolls decorate the handle riveted onto its round backplate. The flow of spirals sculpted at the base of the lever interrupts only to resume along the edges of the rounded tip. The delicacy of the carvings is enhanced by the bronze patina colour. You might believe it was made of bronze or brass, but it is a modern material that brings this retro interior handle back into fashion. Indeed, zamak (an alloy of zinc, copper and aluminium) is frequently used by designers: it offers the malleability and flexibility essential to their creativity. It also guarantees the solidity required of any door handle. The handle will be operated hundreds of times a day: it must retain the same lustre as on the very first day of its installation. This vintage handle model is suitable for every room in the home. A living room or office in a classic style — but it can equally integrate a modern décor. This distinctive handle offers countless possibilities.

The vintage door handle: Model ref MALTA

This vintage handle is a true work of art! With its matt bronze finish that gives it its vintage look, it will win over lovers of the retro look. Its shape evokes a wave with three slender stripes in alternating dark and light colours. Its round backplate reinforces the sensation of a return to the past. Its matt bronze finish accentuates its baroque quality. This original door handle will find its perfect place in a vintage interior. This handle is made of aluminium, the ideal material for shaping its original line. Durable, lightweight and economical, aluminium offers a plasticity capable of producing varied forms. Beyond its beauty, this handle offers a major advantage: its affordable price! Design is within every budget! Remember to complete the retro style handle with a closing rose (with key lock or privacy bolt); the pair will form a harmonious ensemble.

The antique door handle on a round backplate – Ref Model CASCADA

Are you looking for an unusual door handle with a vintage look? Here is the interior handle you need! This retro handle will bring character to your interior. Its round backplate and its lever with elegantly fine grooved carvings give it an irresistible baroque quality. Besides the "cuero" leather finish that gives it its retro look, this door handle is also available in two other finishes: polished chrome, with its brilliant shine, and matt black, for its elegant and chic quality. The material chosen is neither brass nor bronze but zamak, a modern alloy of zinc and aluminium. This material is particularly appreciated by designers for its flexibility and robustness. Do not hesitate to complement this magnificent retro door handle with its closing rose, key lock or privacy bolt.

The antique door handle – Model ref Luxor

This interior door handle with a closing rose in a retro style proudly displays its vintage look. Its rounded shapes and arabesques drawn from the ancient world accentuate the classic character of these door handles. Its polished bronze metal finish makes this door handle, crafted in stainless steel, a timeless product. The raised ornaments of the scrolls and roses inspired by the fleur-de-lys are found on the rose that houses the lock. The ensemble produces a sumptuously chic effect! 

Vintage interior handles – Ref FADO

This handle with its highly elaborate form is a true product of luxury craftsmanship. With its delicately cut lever whose rounded shape, echoing the round backplate, gives way to a slender handle displaying perfect symmetry of the knobs at each end. Its premium finish makes this design handle ideal for pairing with antique furniture in a bedroom as well as in a classic living room. Once again, its appearance misleads us as to its material: this door handle is made of zamak (an alloy of aluminium, copper and zinc), whereas one might have expected brass or chrome-plated steel. Do not hesitate to complete this handle with its matching closing rose!

Premium antique brass door handle – Model FUSILLA

This antique door handle is of Italian manufacture and made from 100% Italian brass. It is a premium handle endowed with a strong personality and a refined finish. These brass handles are handmade with extreme attention to detail. These interior door handles meet the needs of the most discerning clients. A lover of quality — this design interior handle is made for you! Of retro style, it adapts perfectly to modern interiors, creating a timeless modern-retro style that is very on trend.

The door handle on a longitudinal backplate – the retro handle par excellence

Everything about this classic handle is reminiscent of the vintage style! The longitudinal backplate with its two visible fixing screws at the rounded cut-out tops, housing a classic lever with an aged look. Its silver or aged bronze finish, well showcased by the escutcheon plate, reinforces the rustic aspect. It evokes a classic décor such as a living room with antique tiling reminiscent of porcelain, furnished with a wooden wardrobe or an antique chest of drawers. This product will enhance a wooden piece of furniture with aged metal locks.

Vintage window handles: the old iron espagnolette

The rustic espagnolette is making a comeback. This old iron model will elegantly dress your windows and French doors, or even your kitchen cupboards. This handle with its aged look will give a vintage character to your kitchen handle, echoing your antique furniture. By its shape, design and finish, this handle fully embodies the vintage style!

Vintage door knobs

The door knob is typically an antique door handle. The oval white porcelain knob was used to open the doors of our great-grandmothers! Even if today the door knob has largely modernised, it remains an ideal type of handle to enhance your vintage décor. The knob is no longer made solely in porcelain but in brass or zamak — malleable and ultra-resistant materials. The knob also offers the advantage of allowing the interior décor to be entirely coordinated by using the same model as a furniture knob, installed on the door of a design wardrobe, or as a drawer knob on an antique chest of drawers. No vintage chic without a touch of gilding! This gold metal knob can echo mirrors, chair legs or gold light fittings! Gold should be used sparingly to ensure the overall look remains chic!

Vintage recessed handles – Ref model Mandelli

The recessed handle (or cup handle) fits on sliding doors. There are two types of sliding door:

• The surface-mounted sliding door: the door slides along the wall;
• The pocket sliding door: the door is recessed into the wall, which is hollowed out for this purpose.

The recessed handle comes in all styles and, naturally, in the purest classic style such as the selected model. The shell-shaped handle or the more classic door knob illustrates the breadth of the product range. The cup handle can also be used as furniture handles, on wardrobe doors or on a drawer. It can even be used to give a piece of furniture — such as an antique wardrobe — a new look and bring it a vintage style! Like the other handle models, the vintage recessed handle can be paired with its locking system (key or bolt). The gold finish accentuates the vintage character of this recessed handle. Let us recall that gilding is an integral part of the retro style! Do not hesitate to choose your brass or gold metal handles to add a chic touch to your décor!

Vintage pull handles

Let us not forget the pull handle, also known as a bâton de maréchal! This handle can perfectly enhance the vintage atmosphere of your swing doors. Just like the door knob, the pull handle allows you to envision a total vintage look: a handle placed vertically on the wooden door or on the glass door, and the same handle placed horizontally on the drawers of your kitchen furniture or on the doors of your wardrobes.

Discover all our articles and tips on handles and door hardware accessories on our blog!

• Find technical guides: how to fit a door handle? How to remove a handle? The different materials used for handles or the handle glossary (you will find everything about centre-to-centre distance, the cylinder, backplates, roses…)
• Take advantage of our décor tips: How to create a vintage atmosphere at home?, our selections of the most beautiful black handles or white handles. Which handle for a white door? Or design handles with locks…

Learn everything about the world of handles with the design door handle specialist!