Alternate post title: Come and Knob On Our Door. Who doesn’t appreciate a forced pun on a Wednesday morning?
After sharing a roundup of doorknob options last week and ordering the ones we liked best, we were eager for them to arrive so our upstairs doors could finally have some closure — literally. Until the box landed on our porch, none of the doors could close, so we got straight to work installing the new hardware.
Like many DIY projects, this one proved more involved than we expected. The latch assemblies on the new knobs were larger than the existing mortises in our doors, so I needed to enlarge those openings. The instructions recommended a file, which I tried at first, but it was slow and tedious. A rotary drill bit made short work of the excess material and became my go-to tool for the rest of the doors.
I had to do that on every one of the eleven doors, which added time and dust to the job. On five doors I also had to chisel the strike plate recess a bit deeper so the latch could sit far enough into the frame to align properly with the knob.
What started as a task I expected to finish in an hour turned into a four-hour session of drilling and chiseling. Still, it felt worth it once everything was installed.
Until the knobs were installed, the upstairs hallway felt oddly unfinished with all the “naked” door openings. I suspect Clara will miss making faces through the holes, but having functioning doors is already a big improvement.
This is the best wide shot I could get of the hallway with all the doors closed (the master bedroom is behind me). It was the first time since we moved in that we could shut every door, which is especially handy for rooms like Clara’s — no more propping the door with a pillow for naps — and for the bathroom, for obvious reasons.
We chose knobs with large back plates. They add a traditional touch without being overly ornate. Sherry jokes they’re like little exclamation points on each door — understated but purposeful. The finish and scale feel balanced and cohesive without competing with the rest of the hallway.
As mentioned in our earlier post, we saved money by using versions without back plates on closet and attic doors, although we installed a plated version on the hall bathroom so the doorway wouldn’t stand out at the top of the stairs. The attic door, tucked past the laundry area, ended up with the plate-less knob. The two-door linen closet in the hallway also got basic knobs rather than two plated ones side-by-side, which would have felt excessive. Because all knobs share the same finish, the mix still reads as intentional: plated knobs tend to indicate rooms, and plain knobs are for closets or storage.
Some readers asked how these knobs lock, so we took a few detail shots. From the inside there’s a small push button behind the knob to lock the door; turning the knob from the inside unlocks it. We like that Clara can see and learn about locks in a safe way — we’d rather she understand how they work than be tempted to fiddle with them in unfamiliar places. If a child ever did lock a door, the exterior side has a small keyhole that opens easily with the supplied flat key. For now, the keys live in our junk drawer for quick access. Update: readers suggested storing keys on top of the door frames; in our case the supplied keys are flat and large so they don’t balance well there.
We’re glad to have solid, closable doors again — no more holey stare-downs. That said, in terms of furniture placement, window treatments, closet organization, and paint choices, it still very much feels like we’ve been here two weeks. There are chairs and boxes in odd spots, bare walls and mostly bare windows, and plenty left to do. The planning stage is where we enjoy spending our evenings, brainstorming late into the night until one of us nods off and we realize we’re talking to an empty room.
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