Can you handle this? Ten types of designer door handle

The functional importance of the door handle is unquestionable. A closed door improves fire safety, obstructs unwanted noise and smells and is part of an efficiently heated home – ‘Shut that door!’ is a well-known winter catchphrase, and using door handles keeps fragile fingers safe from doors and fragile doors safe from grubby fingers. Both aesthetically and ergonomically, however, the stand-out form of a hardwearing door handle bookends our interior experiences, providing literal touch points in near-constant use. Here are some of the different types and styles for consideration.

Combining ease of use with plenty of design, material and colour options, lever handles naturally include movement in their form. For minimalism-seeking interiors, however, the door handle’s presence can be an outlier. Although they might not quite fit as comfortably in the hand, straight-line door handles like Radial from Olivari ensure the form slots into the surrounding minimalist interior instead.

Along with the handles they hold, baseplates come in all shapes and sizes. The key to baseplate choice is, ironically, the lock. If a door lock is required, then a separate matching rose can be added to keep the two elements connected but apart. Like the One Minimal door set from Jatec, which adds a lock rose to its no-baseplate handle. The longer Pull Handle YES! from M&T Manufacture, meanwhile, keeps both the handle and a thumbturn lock in one fluid form.

While the straight edges of a minimalist lever handle fit into the sleek edges of a minimalist interior, they’re not quite so easy on the sensitive muscles in the hand. Slightly curved handles such as Onda from Olivari or from Valli&Valli’s range are sculpted to provide the perfect compromise, matching the curvature of the hand without being too ostentatious.

If it’s ostentation that’s desired, however, then it’s ostentation you may have! Door handles may have been around for as long as doors, but before the industrial revolution, they were reserved for the rich. Door handles with antique styles such as the baroque-styled Barocco handle from Colombo design, or the more contemporary Victorian material contrast of porcelain, seen in the Dev Door handle from Groël, have opulent looks, yet still complement more modern interiors.

A well-hung door shouldn’t need a particularly strong grip to open, but door handles with more textured surface materials ask less work of the hand and wrist, ensuring more comfortable long-term operation. This Havana handle from DND Maniglie, for example, wraps a stitched leather case around the handle for a softer feel. For other contrasting materials, Karcher Design offers Torino door handles with a choice of leather, laminate, wood or carbon inlays.

Lever handles point away from the door opening, so we naturally use different hands to open and close them. Doorknobs, however, can be held by the same hand on both sides. Useful if only one hand is available. Turning the latch on a doorknob, however, puts more strain on the wrist, rather than the forearm. If a doorknob is preferred, the EK530 knob from Karcher Design combines sleek design with comfort in the hand, and enough grip to enjoy the turn.

Whether you choose a doorknob or door handle to open a latch, different systems have different levels of resistance. Too little, and opening the door feels like a weak handshake. But too much can cause mid- or even long-term pain. Instead of a latch, the Konzeva pull handle from M&T Manufacture uses a magnetic system where proximity, and therefore the strength of the magnet, can be adjusted post-install.

Doors with push/pull handles don’t rely on latches to stay closed, so clean-look slim-profile pull door handles like the Apm16 Handle from Former can be used. Heavier doors, however, such as those with door closers, need a handle that hands can wrap around, so users can pull with their bodies. Forms+Surfaces’ Tubular Door Pull, for example, has enough space behind for a large hand, yet its clean lines still look good.

For more exclusive entrances, fingerprint-operated door handles like FSB’s door pull with a fingerscan take on the role of handle, lock and bouncer all in one. The handle manages to integrate the fingerprint scanning technology into a standard-looking pull handle, so it’s unclear even how to get in, unless you’re allowed.

Along with the wrong people, doors are designed to stop the wrong environment – like a fast-moving fire – too. In a fire, however, doors are an essential means of escape. Emergency exit push bars like the Panic bar from HEWI are quick and easy alternatives to handles, and can feature luminescent bands to appear clearly, even in a dark, smoke-filled room.

Added to these current door handle options, emerging innovations like touchless entry, smart door locks and self-sanitising handles are making sure the future of door handles is secure.

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