Houses become homes with the addition of personalized touches and high-quality features. When people are in the market for a new front door or a set of entry doors, they want to know they’re choosing pieces that can help them keep their property secure while also complementing the architecture of their home.

Subtle yet striking, the square angles and clean lines of modern-style doors and their fixtures provide safety and decoration all in one. As the modernist design style makes a comeback in today’s homes, you’ll want to be well-versed in all the benefits of modern doors. From various handle choices to lock styles that blend with the overall appeal of the door, modern details can give homes a timeless finish.

Why Is the Modern Look So Popular?

“Modern” is often one of those words with a catch-all meaning. There are numerous implications and connotations associated with the term, such as ever-changing contemporary trends, a specific style with clear definitions and examples and the somewhat obscure historical period known as modernity.

When we speak of modern-style doors, we’re referring to the modernist tradition of architectural style that flourished from the late 1920s to the mid-1950s, often referred to as “mid-century modern.” Modern door manufacturers pay particular attention to how doors were designed during that period and how they’re making a resurgence in current trends.

Modern door styles and hardware owe the return of their popularity to their fresh look and minimalist design. With bold, clean lines and sleek hardware, modern doors have a timeless allure that strikes a unique balance of subtlety, function and sophistication. However, there are other reasons why the modern style is so popular amongst homeowners today that go beyond aesthetic value.

6 Benefits of a Modern-Style Door Fixture

The first features you may notice on a modern-style door are the little details. Fixtures may be small, but they’re the characteristics that help the modern style effortlessly blend form and function, creating a significant impact. The many advantages of modern-style fixtures include:

1. Sleek Hardware

Depending on personal preference, modern-style door fixtures are typically less showy and involved than their traditional counterparts. Instead of angular lines and ornate patterns clamoring for your attention, the hardware on modern doors tends to be crafted from metallic materials with straight, defined lines and tasteful designs on the front and back of the door. While modern doors are often crafted from natural materials like wood or stone, metallic hardware provides subtle accents.

Modern-style door fixtures also tend to have less unessential hardware decoration, sometimes appearing tacky or cluttered. The modern look is ideal if you prefer an elegant yet unassuming style for your door and fixtures.

2. Advanced Security Compatibility

When discussing modern-style door fixtures, popular topics are aesthetic matters like the color, material and style of the door handle, hinges or locks. However, modern door fixtures have unique security options as well. Whether you’re looking for vertical locks, smart locks, single-cylinder locks or double-cylinder locks, modern door fixtures are highly compatible with any security system, owing largely to their simplistic designs and high-quality materials.

3. Balance Form and Function

In architecture, the modern style is traditionally an attempt to strike the perfect balance between form and function. With many other popular door designs, function and quality often take a back seat to how the door fixture looks. Alternatively, door designs may be so simple that the door’s only benefits are opening and closing and staying on its hinges. Neither of these options is ideal.

In contrast, modern architecture and door design value aesthetics but not at the expense of function, which typically results in subtly striking patterns and accents. At the same time, modern design allows more space for brighter colors than the contemporary industrial trends, so there is room for creativity and personality with modern door fixtures.

4. Sharp and Striking Lines

Modern-style door fixtures are bold without being the star of the show. Instead of competing with other design elements and the features of adjacent fixtures, they complement and enhance the appearance of those fixtures while looking great on their own. One way they do so is through their bold, clean lines and edges that deliver a sharp and striking characteristic to the door and blend well with almost any other design or fixture.

5. Increased Adaptability to Future Renovations

Since modern-style door fixtures are generally attractive and highly compatible with other designs, styles and finishes, they can prevent various headaches when it comes time for renovations.

Modern-style doors tend to favor earthy, neutral tones. Their fixtures provide a streamlined transition, in many cases blending right in and perfectly complementing future renovations.

6. Broad Range of Styles to Choose From

Despite erring on the unornamental side of design, modern-style door fixtures are far from monotonous. On the contrary, they come in various substyles and looks, depending on their materials, color, finish, and other aspects. From brushed or graphite nickel to polished chrome, the modern look is as diverse as it is complementary and sophisticated.

How to Give Doors a Modern Look

While modern-style doors and fixtures are highly compatible and complementary with various designs and patterns, modernizing a door does take a certain amount of finesse and discernment to ensure everything meshes together and achieves a sophisticated look. Since there are various types of modern-style doors and fixtures available, homeowners and designers want options for which modern-style fixtures and doors work best together and what those patterns mean for the existing door and door accessories they’re modernizing.

Furthermore, the type of door and the decor or overall design schematics of the adjacent rooms also factor into people’s modernization preferences.  For example, someone could install a stainless steel door for a home’s bathroom, but introducing that style into a residential space might make a house feel a bit like a public venue. Usually, modern stainless steel doors are more suited for entry doors. To that extent, modern design typically sources from natural materials and often incorporates industrial-type accents.

Likewise, modern door fixtures’ aesthetics should also complement the room that the door serves as an entrance into. While considering such factors, modernizing other outdated or clashing fixtures, such as the color, finish, pattern, door handle, lever, knob or trim around the door handle, could update a whole room.

Because such a wide variety of features can impact a space’s aesthetic, comprehensive knowledge of those design elements is essential. With those ideas in mind, it becomes easier to find inspiration for modern hardware, fixtures and finishing.

Types of Modern Entry Door Hardware

There are several things to consider when browsing entry door hardware.

In general, entry door hardware includes things such as an exterior lock, doorbell, door knocker and the handleset used to open the door. The handleset involves the door handle, knob (knobset), lever (leverset) and trim, but these types of hardware are not exclusive to entry doors. With that distinction in mind, an entry door can refer to a front door, an indoor garage door leading into the house, a back door or even a door inside the house that leads to a basement or basement suite.

Modern entry door hardware is unique in appearance and function when compared with other styles of entry door hardware. That said, here are some of the types of modern entry door hardware you may come across:

Modern Entry Door Locksets and Handlesets

Some examples of modern entry door locksets include handleset locks, knobset locks, leverset locks, mortise locksets or even keyless entry locksets and smart locks. Handleset locks involve a type of deadbolt and an elongated handle, usually below the deadbolt. Whereas many handleset locks involve a curved handle and ornate deadbolt that may stand out from the trim, a modern handleset lock will generally involve straight lines with all its parts blending in with the trim.

Aesthetically, the most popular modern entry door locksets are leverset locks, which involve a horizontal handle that is minimalistic in design and either a keyed deadbolt or a tumbler lock. In terms of convenience, however, smart locks and keyless entry locksets are the gold standard in modern entry door locksets and every other contemporary style. The most significant reason for this popularity is that these options nix the universal experience of people fumbling for their keys or locking themselves out of their houses.

Modern Doorbells or Door Knockers

A mid-century modern doorbell may have the aesthetics of current advanced smart doorbells or those that resemble a chrome-plated call bell that you might find at a throwback diner. That said, there is a wide range of options for such entry door hardware. As for door knockers, you are likely to find a simplistic design that can mesh well with almost any door and does not distract from its ultimate function.

Types of Modern Door Handles

We’ve briefly touched on modern door handles already, but they deserve their own section since they are the key fixtures on any door. When it comes to the different types of modern door handles, some are the ideal choices for style, others for convenience, and some for both. With that in mind, here are three types of modern door handles and some reasons homeowners with modern preferences may choose each one over others.

Door Levers

Levers are the most popular choices for modern door handles due to their naturally simplistic appearance and convenience for opening, particularly if you have your hands full, are wearing mittens or have dirty hands and do not want to make a mess of the handle.

In this way, levers are a great example of the modern ethos of balancing form and function. Door levers can also come in several different styles with slight curves or machining performed on them to give them a little more personality without losing that minimalistic, modern effect.

Doorknobs

Doorknobs are traditionally popular for many aesthetic preferences but less so with modern styles. While there are numerous modern doorknob options to choose from if that is your preferred type, neither the appearance nor the function will align easily with the sentiments most people value when using the modern style.

For instance, the minimalistic, straight lines that modern design favors are typically absent from doorknobs, which are usually spherical. Still, round doorknobs function well as long as your hands are not greasy, full or covered by mittens that have poor grip. With that being said, modern-style doorknobs often have a flat head and shallow knob to allow for designs that appeal to the aesthetic and functional values of the modern style. Doorknobs are generally better suited for older homes in terms of aesthetics.

Door Handles

Door handles are slightly more popular than doorknobs in the modern style but significantly less so than levers. There is more opportunity for door handles to accomplish the straight lines of modern design than doorknobs, but they are not as efficient in function or convenience as levers. Door handles are naturally more ornate and curved, but many designers and manufacturers craft them with straighter lines to appeal to the modern style.

Still, it requires more effort to use a door handle than a lever when you have your hands full. In general, you are more likely to see door handles on entry doors for that reason.

The Cost of Modern Hardware

The cost of modern-style door hardware varies according to several factors, including the quality of the materials used, the hand-feel, the anatomy of the door handle, and the overall style and finish.

If shoppers are looking on the budget end of modern door hardware, they can save money by opting for hardware sets that mimic the modern aesthetics of high-quality door hardware. These more affordable options are made from less durable and sturdy materials. In general, such hardware sets can be found for $100 or less.

Mid-range hardware sets, which are generally priced between $150 and $300, are crafted from solid-quality materials and have great function. Still, these pieces may lack some of the more superfluous attributes of high-end modern hardware sets. You may notice that these hardware options feature an inferior type of finish than high-end options or have a little less personality than you may find with high-end modern-style hardware.

When buying high-end hardware sets, shoppers can expect to spend between $400 and $800, depending on how much they want to splurge on quality or brand. In general, they’ll get high-quality materials, attractive finishes and innovative designs, but prices can rise quickly with more exotic types of wood or intricate machining on the fixtures. Moreover, shoppers should compare the different brands offering high-end hardware sets, as some may be higher-priced based on their renown alone.

Choosing Your Modern Door Supplier

Rockwell Security is a cutting-edge door hardware manufacturer and supplier. We’re committed to providing our valued clientele with highly elegant and sophisticated products that are matched in safety, security and sturdiness. At Rockwell Security, our staff has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to modern-style doors and hardware and would be more than happy to help you with any of your questions. We welcome you to contact us today to get started on finding the best modern door hardware options for your needs!

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