Oil Rubbed Door Handles

Light or Dark or both?

 Choosing the right finish for your door handle can be a challenge. While the English language may provide innumerable ways to describe the color of a patina and while images of pieces in situ obviously help, we often find that perception of color and noun use are incredibly subjective. Moreover, the finish of the patina in our opinion should not be monotone but should allow for variation without which the patina piece will look dull and the beauty of the bronze alloy will be lost. 

Images are useful guidelines. 

The cabinet hardware pages of our website show each piece in a light and dark oil rubbed patina. 

As you can see from the above image, each piece has different flat and recessed sections and since the fluid patina settles in the recesses 2 different pieces finished with the same chemical patina may appear quite different. Smooth surfaces will slough off the patina so our contemporary cabinet pulls are light sand blasted to roughen the surface so the chemical can adhere.

Highlights 

Our patina artist has honed his craft over the years to create subtle beautiful finishes. The nose, toes and and tail tip of the gecko are very gently buffed as are the wing tips of the butterfly to re-expose the golden bronze beneath the patina.

Choose both?

Our door sets create a mix and match option used to full advantage recently by the talented Georgina Rice.To continue the plated nickel finish of the Willow pieces in the bathroom she designed while keeping the bronze tones of the hallway we plated the Willow knob in an enamel and oil rubbed the exterior knob.

Below you will see how the Willow knob set has been used to achieve a split finish knob set.

Contemporary Door Handle Meets Art Nouveau source

We have added a new video to our video gallery and now have 2 videos that show the full range of door handles that use tree motifs. The latest video is short but still manages to show the three dimensional nature of this iconic handle which is shown in brushed stainless steel and as a handle set, with one left and one right tree.

The video shows the fluid nature of this sculpture and the close up shots focus on the depth of the details in the leaf, root and canopy areas of the tree design. By panning across the tree trunks and up the profile of the canopy our video director, Jeff Jenkins, has been able to capture the shadows cast by the leaf canopy. The video was shot very simply using mainly natural light and this in conjunction with the dark ash doors gives the video an old moody black and white quality.  The mood of the video is in contrast to the medium of stainless steel which it often pegged for more contemporary settings.  By shooting the video this way, Jeff Jenkins shows us how thin the line is between the older rich and colorful style of Art Nouveau and the current trend towards monochromatic linear designs. 

See Collection

While the Hedgerow tree is shot in stainless steel, for those preferring the warmer tones of bronze, fear not, as this piece will always be available in the timeless medium of bronze.

All of our work is designed and made in Los Angeles and can be seen by prior appointment at our studio.

The cool beauty of stainless steel hardware

We spend a lot of time talking about and sharing our collection of bronze hardware, and for good reason.  This warm metal is very popular because it works with almost any design style and is certain to please both your hospitality and residential clients.  While bronze is popular, stainless steel fixtures can have the same impact on projects, especially those done in a contemporary style. We offer several stainless steel collections but, of course, custom hardware can be cast in the metal of your choice.

Sleek and modern

Our Ergo collection is not only sleek and modern but ergonomically designed to fit the hand comfortably, making it a perfect choice for hospitality and commercial projects.  The unique design is also ADA compliant.

Texture and color

The architectural hardware pieces in our Morphic collection have a textural quality that is both beautiful and interesting.  A powder coated accent color is an option we debuted at the 2014 HD Expo, giving designers the ability to further customize the pieces for their clients.

Organic

A combination of modern and textural, our appropriately named Texture collection offers a little of both.  The contemporary wave pulls are suitable for both residential and commercial projects, and while the chiseled collection is not cast in stainless as are the other items we have shown, it will add a bit of rustic elegance to any door, drawer or cabinet.

Bronze, brass, stainless or your own custom combination of metals---your choice of metal finishes for hardware can add a personalized detail to your next hospitality, residential or commercial project.

You can view our entire collection of stainless steel and other custom hardware items at www.martinpierce.com.