Apr
07
Replacing Your Front Door Hardware? Start With The Finish.
The other day a couple was in our store looking at for their home at the beach. Now, we carry a lot of different styles of brass front door handlesets including dozens of really nice brass door locks from Baldwin Hardware so I was pretty sure I could find something they’d like.
They both agreed they would like to have brass because they liked the look and had exterior lighting, doorknobs and bathroom fixtures throughout their house. But the husband said he wasn’t sure brass was the right choice for the front door because it would probably tarnish outside in the salt air and he didn’t want to have to deal with polishing it constantly.
“Couldn’t we choose another finish for the door hardware?” he asked.
His wife looked at me as if to say, “Help!”
She knew that when you’re replacing door hardware, choosing the finish is absolutely the most important design decision that you will make. Consistent finishes among your doors, cabinets, faucets and lighting really says a lot about your decorating savvy so you don’t want a mish-mash of different looks. The front door should set the tone for the rest of the house and if the rest of the house has a certain brass finish the entry should too.
The problem was, the husband was right. Brass finishes from most manufacturers will start to tarnish pretty quickly, especially at the ocean.
Luckily back in 1994, Baldwin Hardware decided they were tired of dealing with tarnished brass, too. So they went to chemists who then developed a brass finish that is guaranteed not to tarnish, even in saltwater environments.
“When was the last time you bought a brass handleset?” I asked.
He admitted that it had been quite a while.
So I showed them the Baldwin handlesets we carry in polished brass with the “Lifetime” finish those chemists developed back in the mid-nineties. They agreed that the finish on the style of Baldwin brass handleset they liked was close enough to the brass they had in the rest of the house.
“But if this handleset ever tarnishes,” the husband told me, “You’re coming to the beach and polish it yourself.”
I smiled and told him there was no way I was going to wait a lifetime before I went back to the ocean again.
Dan Walsh says:
September 2nd, 2010
Those Baldwin Hardware handles sound well made, I thought all brass tarnished and only has a thin lacquer on them, once sharp keys or nails scratch the surface the water gets in and ruins the brass ?
I will look at stocking them here in the UK as we are near the sea, sounds like we may get a call for some ?
James Cook says:
August 16th, 2011
Thanks for the post as “Replacing Your Front Door Hardware? Start With The Finish..” This information is very useful for me.
Josh Adams says:
October 13th, 2011
Baldwin is by far the best way to go probably my favorite door hardware brand out there!
jan says:
November 1st, 2011
I love brass furnishing. Its nice to know someone finally figured a wasy to make them tarnish-free. As a kid I always had to help polish brass & I hated it.