Start with the Door, Not the House

It is easy to assume the door matches the house, but entrances are replaced far more often than façades. Before you buy anything, look at the door itself: its width, the number of panels, whether the upper panels are glazed, and how the whole assembly sits beneath its fanlight or porch. A Georgian door is typically six-panelled and relatively narrow, set in a shallow reveal with a slim fanlight above. Victorian doors are usually four-panelled and heavier, with glazed top panels and mouldings you can feel with a fingertip. Edwardian entrances go broader again, with more glass, squarer proportions and a lighter, airier feel.

Then measure. Note the door thickness, the position of the existing lock and handle holes, and the height of the letter plate from the ground. Buying furniture that lands exactly on the old fixings saves you filling and touching in holes, and it keeps the door's original holes doing the work they were cut to do. Take a photograph of the whole entrance from the pavement — proportions you cannot judge with your nose against the door become obvious from six metres away.

Georgian: Restraint and Symmetry

Georgian detailing is disciplined. Furniture should be plain, well proportioned and placed on the centre line of the door. A centre door knob is the correct fitting — not a lever handle, which is an anachronism on a door of this age. Solid brass is the traditional choice, and unlacquered brass is worth considering because it will darken and mellow rather than staying aggressively shiny.

• Plain round or oval brass knobs, roughly 45–55mm across
• Simple ring, urn or small ball knockers in brass or black iron
• A slim horizontal letter plate, set centrally and mounted with slotted screws
• Discreet brass numerals, or a painted number in the fanlight

What to avoid: lion-mask knockers, ornate finger plates and anything chrome-plated. Georgian work earns its elegance from what it leaves out.

Victorian: Weight and Confidence

Victorians were not shy. Door furniture from this period is heavier, more sculptural and often blackened. Cast iron and black-japanned finishes sit naturally alongside cast or pressed brass, and mixing the two was entirely normal. This is the era of the lion-head knocker, the substantial letter plate with a decorative flap, the bell pull and the long finger plate screwed below the handle.

A four-panel door with bolection mouldings can carry more visual weight than a Georgian six-panel, so resist the urge to scale everything down. A knocker of around 150mm across the base, a knob of 55–65mm diameter and a letter plate 250–300mm wide will look correct rather than fussy. Keep the finish consistent within the run — if the door has black iron, the letter plate should be black iron too, with brass reserved for the knob and finger plate.

Edwardian: Lighter, Brighter, Broader

Edwardian entrances loosened the corsets. Doors are wider, glazing more generous, and stained or leaded glass often runs the full height of the upper half. Furniture became lighter too: slimmer knobs, simpler knockers, and Art Nouveau flourishes in the form of sinuous curves, stylised flowers and elongated teardrop shapes.

Brass dominates here, and polished or lightly antiqued brass suits the era better than blackened iron. Look for subtle asymmetric detail, but stop short of anything with a strong whiplash motif — a little goes a very long way, and an over-decorated handle on an otherwise plain door reads as pastiche. A simple oval knob, a modest ring knocker and a gently shaped finger plate will usually be enough.

Plates, Numbers and Letterboxes

The supporting cast matters as much as the knob. Door plates — finger plates, push plates and kick plates — protect paintwork and add authenticity, and they should be sized to the stile they sit on. A plate that overhangs the moulding looks instantly wrong.

• Finger plates sit below the knob or handle; Victorian and Edwardian examples are often taller than they are wide.
• Push plates belong on doors with no outside handle, and should align with the lock centre.
• Knockers should strike a plate, not the paint; a strike plate saves the timber and looks deliberate.
• Letter plates should be no wider than the door's top rail, and ideally share the vertical centre line with the knob.
• Numbers in cut brass, black enamel or glazed ceramic tile all work; choose one style and keep it consistent.

If the number needs to sit on the wall rather than the door, place it at eye height and keep the fixings as few as possible.

Finishes and Fixings

Solid brass, cast iron and bronze age honestly; brass-plated zinc and thin pressed steel do not, and they will pit within a few seasons. If you want the patina of an old door without the maintenance, antiqued or aged brass gives you the colour immediately and simply needs a wipe with a dry cloth. Never use abrasive polish on antiqued finishes, as it strips away the very effect you paid for.

Use slotted screws in brass to match period fixings — cross-head screws date a door instantly — and align the slots vertically where you can. Check your spindle and lock centres before ordering: 8mm spindles and 57mm lock centres are common, but older doors can be anything. Where new holes are unavoidable, drill into the door edge or stile rather than the visible face, and fill the old ones with a matching timber dowel. Finally, remember that a door is a working thing: hinges should be adjusted, the letter plate should not foul the internal flap, and the knob should turn without a groan. Get those right, and the styling looks effortless.