Adding Character with a Vintage Door Knob
Adding little bits of character and special details get me really excited. It’s so important to the overall big picture of a space, and it’s one of my favorite ways to really make a room feel special. Those small details truly make a difference.
Since Anthony and I built and installed our new planked pantry door, I knew I wanted to find an awesome vintage door knob to replace our builder basic knob. Nothing was wrong with the original knob, but I knew something that had a bit more personality would fit the door much better, and it bring in those extra little details that I love. Little did I know, I would soon have an entire fixer upper house full of lovely vintage door knobs…
After we installed the plank door, I had Anthony install the regular door knob, but it never looked quite right…
It just lacked a little bit…
And then, once I saw the door knobs from the fixer upper, I knew one would find it’s way to our place. Plus adding character with a vintage door knob is the perfect way to bring in those small details. It was a perfect match for our door…
Here’s how we made it work for our existing door:
First, we removed the old door knob and I sanded down the circle groove it left behind…
Once I had it sanded and repainted, I gave the knob a good scrubbing…
And, as luck would have it, the door knob fit perfecting inside our builder basic knob guts 😀 …
The only problem was, the original door the vintage knob was installed on, was a bit thicker than our door, so the handle was really loose. Anthony marked where the knob would be tight…
Then, drilled and tapped a new hole…
Because the knob actually attaches to this rod by a screw, he had to tap the hole so that the screw would thread into the rod. Once he added the new hole, the knobs fit much better!
With a tight fit for the knobs, we drilled the holes for the back plates…
Then used the original screws to attach them…
And then we added the actual knobs…
That little tiny screw keeps each knob in place…
And because the knob itself is silver, we didn’t have to change out any of the current latch… woot! That right there was a pretty splendid little find. 😀
Here’s what it looks like all installed and pretty..
I love, love, love the detail on the actual knob and back plate…
It’s the perfect accent to our plank door…
And it all just basically makes my heart flutter…
Perfect little bits of character are starting to pop up all over the house…
And because I do have a bit of sentimental in me, I’m so happy I get to have a part of our fixer upper with us in our own home. Pretty perfect how that worked out! 😀
Darling! I love the detail on the door knob and plate!
I love it! Looks great!
Wow what a great find! Looks great.
it is all in the details and that is a great one xx
What a difference!! Love it!!! Now onto the rest of the doors, eh?
It totally makes the door!! Were there other knobs at the new house that you can use on your other doors?? I think the other doors feel left out!
Shayna….how did you get the Recipe on your chalkboard????
Its perfect! Just the right finishing touch ….
i love it. it does look so good on that door.
Little details make a big impact. Looks great.
Your hubby is amazingly handy!!! Intelligent beyond…there’s no way I’d begin to be able to do this. And is it harvest time??? So his busy time too? You’ve evolved so much as a decorator. I’ve followed you well not literally–that would require pretty long steps!!!- but just the way I’d have left my new home as is. But you’ve switched things up and fixed things up and have learned how to the point that your space in the heartland is tasteful, pleasing to the eye, and gives bits of inspiration. Love the doorknob. It really did add just that touch of wow
Hi! I bookmarked your serving tray you made a while back with the round wood piece you stained and attached the handles with drawer pulls….Can you eat off of that??? I have a few time to myself and was going to try this : ) I’ve never done any painting/staining that has made me think about food safety.
Hi Jaime! For the serving tray, I wouldn’t recommend directly eating food off of it, as the stain is not food safe. I have used it numerous times for serving, but the food is always on a plate, bowl, etc. For food safe, you would need to use coconut oil, or something along those lines. You can read more about that here: https://www.thewoodgraincottage.com/2014/04/23/how-to-clean-restore-an-old-cutting-board/
I hope that helps! 😀
Love everything about the door! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Where did you fond the door knob?