During a recent home-decorating adventure, I have become addicted to Pinterest (again), and regularly find myself sucked into the home décor category while planning our DIY projects to come.
Pinterest is a rabbit-hole of sorts, where I quickly go from browsing curtains, to cabinet hardware, to DIY flooring, and then suddenly “Aww a pig in a hat!”
In a recent rabbit-hole event of mine, I came across a new appliance finish from GE – slate. It’s not stainless steel, it’s not black, nor white – but a beautiful matte blending of the three and I’m kind of in love with it.
Door Hardware Finishes in Design
This got me thinking – how are people using hardware finishes in their corporate branding?
How did I go from refrigerators to corporate branding?
Without boring you the details of my convoluted thought train, consider for a minute the amount of time your design team has spent building the image of your corporate brand, down to the smallest of details.
But does that corporate branding extend to your door hardware?
This is the first impression of your brand and can set the tone for their experience with the location and your brand as a whole.
Unfortunately, this detail is often overlooked, and sometimes left to the discretion of individual general contractors and/or locations.
It’s important to note – most manufacturers offer door hardware in a variety of decorative finish choices that, when selected correctly, coordinate with other design elements of your corporate branding.
Depending upon the brand, there are a variety of finish choices, but most manufacturers carry these as standard choices.
These finishes extend to lever sets, closers, and other door hardware in order to ensure the branding you’ve chosen is carried throughout your facility.
Door Hardware Finishes – The BHMI/ANSI Standards
For easy referencing check out this table of the most common BHMA/ANSI door hardware finish codes and their US equivalents. These codes are easily recognizable between vendors/manufacturers and will assure you’re getting the exact door hardware finish you expect.
I’m particularly fond of antique brass and satin nickel. What’s your favorite door hardware finish?
How are you approaching door hardware finishes? Are they a design aspect, an after-thought, or deemed the responsibility of individual stores? Will your approach to door hardware finishes change after reading this post?