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Meagan: Door hardware is the handshake of the home. It is the first thing that greets you and it tells you a lot about what you are going to see inside. So take a minute, look at the door hardware in your home. Do you like what it says about you? If not, you are going too really like where I am today. I am here at Baldwin, touring all that how to pick out the right door hardware.

I am hitting the road, searching for answers, and finding great design. It is a quest for beauty, function, and of course, inspiration.

How should somebody decide what of a door hardware they want, because you are going to the stores and it is just like a giant wall, and there is so much everywhere and there are too many decisions and there are all this different types and weird names that you do not know?

Male: In finishes and styles they are made up. It really boils down to three different things; first of all, it is your personal style. What type of house do you have? Is it colonial, it is traditional, is it rustic. Once you have nailed that down, then you start looking at those individual styles. Look at the finish. Are you looking for a bright brasslike finish? Is it more of a rustic finish or a nickel, a part nickel? Is it more a modern contemporary look? You want a rustic sort of cabin like. Why is it official? Is it a cape contact pole that you want to buy brass? Once you have narrowed down the finishes, okay, narrow down the colors, then you want to look at durability. If this is going to be any front door, it is going to be what represents your house for a extended period of time. It is the first thing that someone sees when they come to your house. You want tarnishing after three to five years; you would not want your house to look bad after three to five years.

Meagan: Is that a big problem with door hardware?

Male: It really is, depending on what type of finish you have on it. If you do not have what is called PVD on the finish and has an extremely strong PVD.

Meagan: What is PVD for somebody who does not know door hardware?

Male: We densely put another coding on the overall material to seal out all the weather, what it does; it eliminates the ability for air to get to the brass.

Meagan: Because otherwise, it would tarnish and look really ugly.

Male: Exactly, starts to tarnish, starts to change color. What you do not want to do is if you want to keep a bright brass finish, you want to have PVD on that. Especially if you are spending this kind of money, door offers a lot of money. And if you want it to last a long time, it is worth investing a little bit more to make sure they have the highest quality in your front door. In a durability standpoint though, look for recognized brand name. Unrecognized brand name will last only from the finish standpoint and only from the functionality. The last thing you know the knots start loosening up for the door not to completely latch, just gives a bad impression.

Meagan: And pretty a lot not to work, I mean that is a nightmare.

Male: If your lock does not work, that is a big problem that is right. You got to make sure that all mechanics are working.

Meagan: When you go to buy door hardware, all doors have different holes in them and different sizes---

Male: It is.

Meagan: What do you do, how do you go to door hardware place to pick it out.

Male: Well, there are couples of different places to shop hardware. There is a showroom which specializes in door hardware. And what they will have is they will have walls and walls of just door hardware. Or you could go to one of the big box stores and they will have your 40 foot display of hardware. There are couples of different ways to do it. The easiest way is if you were to take a photo of your door with a ruler next to it, you could take that to any showroom and they could fit you with exactly the right size hardware for your door.

Meagan: It is as easy as taking a picture. Did you hear that, just take a digital picture?

Male: That is right. So all you need to do with a ruler next to it and you could take that and make it sure what size is, what your---

Meagan: So tape a ruler to your door?

Male: Tape a ruler to your door, okay, take a digital picture of it and bring that to your showroom.

Meagan: You have to take off the hardware?

Male: It would help if you took of the hardware then we can see exactly where the hole would be but if you do not have that savvy to take of your hardware, take a picture of your door and we could help you from there.

Meagan: And that is all you need to know?

Male: That is all you need to know to start with, that is right.

Meagan: Buying a door knob is a set in the right direction, but common, if you really want to make a statement, you have got to deck out your door which means getting hinges, door knockers, anything that stands out. After all, this is the first thing people will see when they come up to your door and you want it to be a good handshake.

Check out my web site, AsktheDecorator.com. To discover more about this topic, read informative how to articles or watch other videos from my trip. You will find a variety of helpful decorating advice when you stop by.

Meagan: Door hardware is the handshake of the home. It is the first thing that greets you and it tells you a lot about what you are going to see inside. So take a minute, look at the door hardware in your home. Do you like what it says about... click to read more