Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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How To Install New Interior Doorknobs

Alternate post title: Come And Knob On Our Door. Don’t you love a good forced pun on a Wednesday morning?

Ever since we shared a bunch of doorknob options last week (and ordered the ones we liked the most), we’ve been waiting for them to arrive so that our upstairs doors could finally have some closure. Literally, we couldn’t close any of the doors. So when the box landed on our porch, we got right on installing them.

Knobs Install 1

Like many DIY projects, adding the new knobs was a bit more complicated than we anticipated. The latch assembly was bigger than the existing holes in our doors, so I had to use a drill to carve them out a bit wider. I tried a file at first (as the knob instructions suggested) but it took a lot more time and effort than using the spinning drill bit to chip away at it, so that became my preferred method.

  Knobs Install 2 Drilling Hole

I had to do that on every single door (all eleven of them), so it definitely added to the timeline (and mess) of the project. On five of the doors I also had to chisel out this notch a bit deeper because it wasn’t allowing the latch to stick far enough into the hole where it had to line up with the knobs.

  Knobs Install 3 Chiseling

So, what I thought might be an hour of work turned into a four hour drilling and chiseling marathon (oh DIY, you unpredictable beast, you). But in the end, it was time well spent.

  Knobs Before N After

I didn’t really realize how unfinished the upstairs hallway looked with all of the naked doors staring at us. Although I’m sure Clara will miss peeking through the open knob holes and making faces.

  Knobs After 3 Master

This is the best I could do to get all of the doors into one shot (the master bedroom – seen above – is behind me). Taking this shot was actually the first time we’ve ever been able to close them all since moving in, which has been especially nice for rooms like Clara’s (no more propping the door shut with a floor pillow for naps) and the bathroom (for, well, obvious reasons).

  Knobs After 4 Hallway With Labels1

We’re really happy that we went with the knobs with the big back plate too. They’re a nice traditional touch without looking overly ornate. Sherry says they’re like little exclamation points on every door, which is pretty accurate I think. They sort of quietly make a statement without being crazy and compete-y if that makes sense.

  Knobs After 1 Guest Room

And as mentioned in last week’s post, we opted to put versions without the back plate on the closets and bathrooms to save a bit of dough (they were $10 less). We ended up putting a plated version on the hall bathroom too, just so that it didn’t stick out among the other doorways in the hallway when you get to the top of the stairs. So the plate-less version ended up going on the attic door, since it’s tucked away beyond the laundry area.

There’s also a two-doored linen closet in the hallway (you can see half of it in the fourth picture), but we thought two of the plated doorknobs right next to each other would be too much for that, so it got the basic closet ones on it as well as all of the other closets, which is nice. It blends since everything is the same finish, and it’s sort of a subtle reminder that the doors with the back plates are rooms, whereas any door with a regular knob is just a closet (or the attic storage room).

  Knobs After 2 Guest Room Closet

Last week some folks wondered if/how these doors locked, so we snapped these detail pics. On the inside there’s a little button behind the knob that you can push to lock it, and it unlocks when you turn the knob from the inside. We like having locks around so Clara’s exposed to them and can learn about them (we worry she’d lock herself into her friend’s room or a hotel bathroom or something if she never learned what they were and not to touch them). And it’s nice to know that if Clara were ever to lock herself in, there’s a keyhole on the other side that pops it right open with a flat silver key (see that small hole in the photo on the right below?). We’ve stuck the keys in our junk-drawer for easy grabbing, but so far we have lived with the doorknobs for a few days and Clara has heeded our “please don’t touch that part” requests. Update: Thanks for the tips to put the keys on top of each door! We did that in our houses growing up, but these keys are larger and flat (sort of like a hinge) so they wouldn’t balance on the door frame.

  Knob Lock

Which is good because we don’t want any funny business going on behind closed doors around here. We already caught Burger playing with Clara’s old play mat. Sneaky chihuahua…

  Knobs After 6 Burger

So we’re glad that we don’t have a bunch of holey doors giving us the stink eye, but when it comes to furniture placement, window treatments, closet organization, and paint picks for the walls… let’s just say that we’ve lived here for two weeks and it looks like we moved in two weeks ago. There are still chairs and boxes in weird places, bare walls and mostly bare windows, and a whole lot to be done. But planning is the fun part for us. We’ve been brainstorming late into the night until one of us stops talking and we realize they’re asleep and we’re talking to nobody.

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Comments

  1. Dominique of Gusto & Grace says

    Wow. I love them. It is amazing what a different they make. I recently changed all the hardware on my kitchen cabinets and was shocked at how much more it made me love my kitchen. Thanks for the inspiration. Maybe I’ll tackle some doorknobs soon.

    Reply

  2. Rishia O'Neill says

    Door knobs great ….YOUR DESIGN CHOICES ARE ALWAYS SPOT ON. What I find so engaging about the enterprise called younghouselove ….no matter what happens, you tell the real story. I thought I might have a little ‘accident’ I laughed so hard at your ‘well I might as well get that hardwood..”. With every project one encounters something unexpected, and as usual you took the ‘do it’ choice with the door knobs …as with the moving of 20 tons of hardwood..in the rain I always expect you both to show us how you do whatever, with what,, and to do it safe, and right… and hysterically post the outcome. Both of you have great sardonic wits..

    Now, for the real reason I post.. RIGHT ON PARENTS FOR TEACHING CLARA HOW THE DOOR MECHANISM WORKS 16 WAYS FROM SUNDAY!I shouldn’t be surprised, you two rock with Clara as parents. Smart little bean …she is now that much safer wverywhere she goes. So smart, all 3 of you! (:

    Reply

  5. Hilary @ My So-Called Home says

    Gosh… I love your house so much already. Such a sweet family home that you can grow into for a nice long time. I adore the door knob selection and that you guys are going just a bit more traditional in your design choices, much like your first house that I also adored. I’m also still amazed at how fast you laid your floors! We laid new floors in our house and it took us over a month! See the transformation here:

    http://www.mysocalledhome.com/2012/05/our-floors-before-after.html

    Keep up the good work youngsters :)

    Reply

  6. Mary says

    It looks very sleek and finished. – One thing I don’t understand is, why you don’t have “handles” (the L-shaped kind which you push down to open) but “knobs” (the round ones like you have, which you have to turn to open) in the US? I hardly ever really “grab” our door handles but hook a finger or elbow over or under. – Especially if I carry stuff… It seems so annoying to have to properly grasp the knob. – And burger is to small to open door handles anyway…? So do you actually prefer knobs or is there just no possibility to find handles?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh yes, handles are sold in many places as well (we had one of those options in our round-up last week). We’ve heard that some kids hang on handles more than knobs, but also that they’re extra convenient (especially with full hands). It was just a personal preference thing for us since we liked the look of these knobs and had knobs in our first two houses without any issues.

      xo
      s

  7. Caroline says

    Good choice, the backplates look really classy. Unlike me, as I sniggered through this post like a puerile teenager. See, I’m in the UK and over here ‘knob’ is common slang for (er, how do I phrase this nicely?) a man’s downstairs equipment ifyouknowwhatImean. So this title of this post conjured up a rather funny/disturbing mental image!
    I must go and remember to be an adult now…

    Reply

  8. Rachel says

    We taped a key to the inside of a hall closet door (which doesn’t lock) near our bedroom doors so anytime the door accidentally locks, we have a key within arms reach. Our nanny called me a panic one day because the nursery door had locked with the baby inside — it was nice to have a key right there rather than provide directions to a specific junk drawer.

    Reply

  9. Yadira Batres@Yours Two Make says

    I read your blog at work, so a lot of times I don’t get to read everything, for that reason if you have mention it forgive me, but did ya change the hinges of the doors too, they look so nice, black and crispy haha

    I love the Door knobs, I have always love that contrast of the white and dark tone almost black knobs, totally adorable.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Thanks Yadira! We did change out the hinges thanks to a contractor pack at Home Depot (they’re cheap in bulk there). That way we don’t have to worry about things getting ground down and peeling (we worried about that if we had sprayed the old ones since hinges sort of grind against each other when they open and close).

      xo
      s

  10. Lara says

    Hey and the kisses really are “Hers and Hers and His” in your house too (unless you count Burger – which messes things up so we wont).

    Reply

  11. Julianne says

    The doors look fabulous! For having moved in just two weeks ago, your place looks great…floors done, trim painted, door knobs and hardware changed, new furnace, new roof, etc. You guys are a machine! Can’t wait to see more. :O)

    Reply

  12. Emily R. says

    I am just in awe of the dramatic changes. Between the flooring, the white trim and the knobs the house (at least the hallway) have one from dated to classic. Great job guys!

    Reply

  13. feep says

    I’m certain my wife will want to do this in our house after she sees the pictures. I probably wouldn’t cry about the old generic shiny brass fixtures going away.

    Reply

  14. JenB says

    I’ve been wanting to paint the doorknobs (80s gold) in our house, but when someone earlier mentioned the light, rattly doorknobs in their house, I thought–forget painting, buy new! That’s something that I think is worth the money, now that I’ve seen what a difference it made in your house.

    Off topic..does Clara ever ask to go back to the other house? I can see my 3 year old asking when we were going home. I always wonder how these little ones process this kind of thing. It seems like she just rolls with it!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We actually anticipated a little bit of that, but leading up to moving here we did a lot of fun things at this house (ex: painting fabric with her out on the deck, painting castles for her birthday party together on the kitchen floor) so I think that helped her associate this house with lots of good/fun things. Then once we moved she said “I don’t want to go to the old house! All my toys are here!” (it really helped for her to see it empty I think- there was nice closure with that for all of us). Ever since then she has said “we’re going back to the new house, right?” when we’re in the car headed home every few days or so – just to make sure. So glad she likes it here!

      xo
      s

  15. Nikki says

    LOVE the doorknobs! They were my favorite of your options, and especially nice that they were one of the less expensive ones. So glad you went with those!

    Reply

  16. Donita says

    LOVE LOVE LOVE those knobs!!! We have paneled doors, in an old house and need to replace the knobs. This might be our pick. ;-)

    Reply

  17. Chrystina says

    First of all, I really like the idea of having the closets have different hardware – I wouldn’t have thought of that and I’m going to try really hard to make a mental note. Second of all, I keep thinking about that scene in Full House when Uncle Jessie is trying to remember the lyrics to the Three’s Company themesong on the radio show. Third of all, you guys don’t happen to have any tips for what to do about a front door that swells in the summer making it SUPER hard to close and open, do you? I read that it might have to do with the fact that the bottom of the door isn’t sealed so it picks up moisture, but I’m not 100% sure how to go about fixing this. I figured maybe you guys had experienced it. Also, if you made it this far in reading this comment, thank you.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh man, swollen doors are the worst! What worked for a bathroom door with that problem was to open it wide and use an electric sander along the top of it, over and over until we got it smaller. Then paint the edge where you sanded (to seal it in, so it stays un-swelly). Hope it helps!

      xo
      s

  18. Meleah says

    Love your knobs! That sounds kinda creepy, but I mean that in a not creepy way. They look very substantial, even more so than they looked on the previous post where you were picking them. I plan to show this to my hubby when he gets home. This post will really help me convince him to invest in new knobs for our house. On a side note, we purchased our new home in October and had to put a new roof and furnace in too. I guess those are two items that get neglected.

    Reply

  19. Anne G. says

    I love the end of your post where you mention talking late into the night until one of you realizes you’re talking to yourself! It reminds me of when I was in High School and would talk to my best friend for hours and one of us would inevitably fall asleep. Thanks for the smile and happy memory on an otherwise dreary Wednesday! (I also love the sneaky chihuahua shot…makes me wonder what my dog is up to at home right now!) Even if I didn’t care about DIY I’d still read your blog because it’s just so fun and always makes me happy.

    Reply

  20. Andrea says

    Maybe you’re just hiding the boxes from us, but it certainly doesn’t look like you moved in 2 weeks ago!! We’ve lived in our house almost 2 years and I finally broke down and painted our trim white a week ago so you’re miles ahead of us. :)
    I love the traditional look of the knobs with the plate but discounted it for my house because there was no lock. So thanks for showing the photo that it does indeed have locks!

    Reply

  25. Lori says

    The knobs look beautiful!

    Had to let Sherry know that Zulily is having a white ceramic extravaganza for the next two days. Some cute stuff on there!

    Reply

  26. Laurel says

    they look great! on a related note…so this is a funny story…i took off all the old ugly brassy doorknobs in our new house to ‘ORB’ them–inspired by your DIY ORB-ing in your last house. then i went into the bathroom to take a shower, and shut the door, and didn’t know how to get the door open without a doorknob on it! i was in there for 3 hours. i finally got the latch open with the pointy end of a teasing brush, but i was ready to settle in for the night–my husband was out of town til late that evening and i didn’t have my phone! i kind of feel like i know what it’s like to be in solitary confinement now, just with lots more lotions and cleansers : ) good times…

    Reply

  28. Liz says

    They look awesome, like they were always meant to be there! Now I want to change out all of mine. I’d only have 3 to change because I live in a 2 bedroom condo with only 1 bathroom, and all my closets have sliding doors. The only thing is that I rent, so it’s not worth it for me to invest anything in my current place. :(

    Are you guys planning on switching out all the light switch/electrical plug plates? I did that in my condo right when I moved in (the original ones were this horrible beige-y/yellow colour – that Home Depot actually still sells!), and it made a HUGE difference.

    Reply

  29. Melissa says

    It’s so smart of you guys to work on the upstairs areas before some of the downstairs stuff. It seems like the private rooms in a lot of homes get left until the living, dining, etc. are more complete. I know the nasty carpet was a big reason for all of this, but it’s still cool that you’re going to have some nice changes to look at when you go upstairs for the night.

    Reply

  30. Carla says

    I have not read all the comments, so forgive me if this has been mentioned. But I am wondering if you have gone ahead and purchased doorknobs for your downstairs (in case the model is discontinued by the time you are ready to order). I would hate for you to put all this effort in to having nice matching hardware only to be surprised. They look nice! We inherited the “dinosaur” handles in our house (referring to comments in your last doorknob post); I thought I would hate them but I absolutely LOVE them. They are so handy when trying to open a door with full hands. And as we grow old our arthritic hands will appreciate them (universal design elements are becoming quite popular as our population grays).

    Reply

  31. Sarah says

    Love the classic-with-a-nod-to-modern look!

    The Clara-proofing comment got me thinking, did you ever baby proof you last house?

    We are about to start but are struggling with what is really needed versus looking like a Safety 1st product showroom.

    Any tips?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Just like we like to decorate/DIY as we go, we took the same approach with Clara, so we didn’t add anything until Clara got big/mobile enough (and interested enough in certain things) to attend to them. Outlet covers went on as soon as she was crawling/walking, but we actually never put locks on cabinets (dangerous cleaners went into upper cabinets, but she never opened our kitchen cabinets other than one door that was “hers” full of old pots and pans and a plastic strainer and a spoon). We didn’t have stairs so there was no baby gate, and she waited a really long time to walk (14 months) and then had a lot of control (wasn’t tipping over or anything) so we didn’t even put bumpers on things (having a padded ottoman for a coffee table helped too).

      xo
      s

  32. Alice says

    Looks great! Did you guys buy new hinges or spray-paint them to match the knobs (if so, with what?)? They were brass before, right? Sorry if you already covered this! Thanks :)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      New ORB hinges from Home Depot (they come in a contractor pack so they’re cheaper, and that way they won’t chip if the hinges grind together everyday).

      xo
      s

  33. Marc says

    I watch for you guys on my blogroll EVERY DAY! YHL has become my go to, read it every day, favorite blog. Thanks! I am looking forward to the new house remodel as much as I enjoyed reading the other one!

    Reply

  38. Chase says

    Aaaand now I have the Three’s Company song stuck in my head. But I LOVE your doorknob choice, well done! And the floors are beautiful. That is turning into one good-lookin’ hall!

    Reply

  39. Charlotte Langdon says

    As ever, love how such a tiny change makes such a big difference. However, mostly felt the need to comment as your forced pun is much more amusing from a British perspective… The verb ‘to knob’ in Britain is incredibly juvenile slang for *ahem* the act of making love, particularly from the male end. Therefore, your title conjures up quite disturbing/amusing images haha. Apologies for this crudeness but thought you may also be amused.

    Reply

  40. susan says

    Do ya’ll plan on painting the walls different colors, or will ya’ll be sticking with white walls? I’m noticing white walls a lot lately with splashes of color in the accessories instead. I like the clean look of white walls, but I also like color on the walls…..I’m undecided. Just wondering what ya’ll will do with this house.

    Reply

  41. Lindsey says

    That was the perfect choice! You have both taught me so much about how changing out hardware can really make a space yours, which I applied to redoing my bedroom earlier this year.

    My nephews are double trouble makers and since our house never came with the keys to the locks, I just put a chopstick on top of the upstairs doorjamb since our locks are just those push-to-unlock kind.

    Reply

  42. M.C.@ ThousandStoryKitchen says

    You guys have done such wonderful upgrades in so little time! It amazes me. I love these doorknobs, they really add character and remind me of older homes. Can’t wait to see the next steps in turning this house into your loved home!

    Reply

  43. Michele from IL says

    The door knobs look very spiffy! Of course, I’ll be singing the “Three’s Company” theme song all day now……….ha!

    Reply

  45. Leigh says

    I love the look of the new door knobs. I also love that Clara heeds to the “don’t touch” rule. My son has locked numerous doors in our home; his fav door to lock is the bathroom. Our keys are flat so they lay nicely above the doors.

    Reply

  46. Carrie Lea says

    5 years in my house. 5 years of hating my brass knobs (I don’t know why that made me giggle) and gold hinges. Next thing to save for needs to be knobs. It’s seriously amazing the difference it made.

    Sort of buzzkill but we had a tornado 2 years ago and it was very sad, all of it. But I was super sad about all the houses that had old heavy wooden doors and beautiful moldings and cool glass doorknobs. I know that stuff is just stuff but I hate to think of those things sitting in a landfill now.
    Man, I am a fun sucker.

    Reply

  47. Ruthy says

    Wow! These look great! I’ve been on the hunt for a mid century modern starburst door knob for our front door with no luck….I didn’t even consider what a difference interior door knobs make! Btw…any idea where I could find that starburst door knob?

    Reply

  48. Kaity says

    These look great! It’s great that they have keys. We were been locked out of our bedroom, a bathroom, and the whole house when Mr four started playing with locks. That was an embarrassing trip to the real estate agent.

    Reply

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