Door Hardware Finishes
Finish is the decision most people spend the longest on, and the one that's hardest to reverse once the handles are on the door. This page sets out every finish family we stock, what each one actually looks like in a room, which ones change over time, and how to pick a finish that suits your environment. Use it to narrow down before you shop, then follow the links through to see what's available in each finish.
On this page
Living finishes vs stable finishes
Every finish falls into one of two camps, and knowing which camp you're buying into prevents almost every finish-related surprise down the track.
Stable finishes
Plated, PVD-coated or powder-coated finishes designed to hold their appearance. Polished Chrome, Satin Chrome, Brushed Nickel, Polished Nickel, Brushed Gold PVD and Matt Black all sit here. They arrive looking a certain way and stay looking that way with routine cleaning. Most carry a finish component within the manufacturer warranty — on Iver, for example, Polished Chrome, Brushed Chrome, Polished Nickel and Brushed Gold PVD carry a lifetime finish manufacturer warranty.
Living finishes
Uncoated or lightly coated solid brass and bronze that oxidise with air, moisture and hand contact. Polished Brass (unlacquered), Raw Bronze and similar finishes darken, mellow and develop a patina — deepest where hands don't touch, brighter where they do. This isn't a defect and it isn't reversible without refinishing. It's the intended behaviour of the material and it's why living finishes are excluded from finish warranties across every brand we carry.
Before you choose a living finish
Patina is uneven by nature. Two doors in the same house will age differently depending on light and traffic. If a uniform, unchanging look matters to you, choose a stable finish. If you want hardware that records use and settles into the building, a living finish is the point.
Browse by finish
Each finish below links through to everything we stock in it — levers, knobs, entrance sets, pulls, hinges and accessories.
The default for contemporary and Hamptons-influenced interiors. Reads as a graphic outline against light doors and disappears against dark ones. Shows fingerprints and dust less than polished finishes, but marks show as shine rather than smudge.
Shop Matt Black →Warmer and softer than chrome, with a fine directional grain that hides fingerprints well. The most forgiving all-rounder — it sits comfortably with both warm and cool joinery and doesn't date the way high-shine finishes can.
Shop Brushed Nickel →Chrome's warmer cousin — a mirror finish with a faint golden undertone rather than chrome's blue cast. Traditional and period interiors where chrome reads too cold. Marks readily and wants regular wiping.
Shop Polished Nickel →Bright, cool and highly reflective. The hardest-wearing of the traditional plated finishes and the most common specification in bathrooms and commercial fitouts. Fingerprints are visible but wipe clean easily.
Shop Polished Chrome →Chrome's cool tone without the mirror. A matte, low-glare surface that suits high-traffic doors and wet areas where polished finishes look busy. Very low maintenance.
Shop Satin Chrome →Warm gold tone with a brushed grain, sealed under a PVD coating so it holds colour rather than patinating. The look of unlacquered brass without the ageing — the right choice if you want warmth but not change.
Shop Brushed Brass →Solid brass, bright and golden on arrival, darkening steadily to a deeper amber-brown. Handled areas stay brighter where skin contact polishes them. Excluded from finish warranties by design.
Shop Polished Brass →Brass darkened and relieved at the wear points to suggest age from day one. Continues to deepen in service. Suits period restorations, heritage joinery and dark timber doors.
Shop Antique Brass →Deep brown-black with warm undertones that emerge as the surface wears. Available across our range in several treatments — raw, rumbled and pre-aged — each ageing at a different rate. The most characterful option we stock.
Shop Bronze →Tumbled to a softly irregular, hand-worked surface with a muted grey-silver tone. Reads as aged without being a living finish — it holds its appearance and carries a lifetime finish manufacturer warranty on Tradco.
Shop Rumbled Nickel →A dark gunmetal grey — softer and more dimensional than matt black, with a metallic depth that catches light. Works where black feels too flat against dark cabinetry.
Shop Graphite Nickel →Specified by grade rather than look. 304 covers most interior and sheltered applications; 316 adds the corrosion resistance needed near salt air. Cool, industrial and the standard for commercial and coastal work.
Shop Stainless Steel →Choosing a finish for coastal and outdoor doors
Environment overrides aesthetics on external doors. Salt-laden air attacks plated and coated finishes at the edges and fixings first, and no finish warranty covers corrosion caused by an unsuitable specification.
Rule of thumb
Within roughly one kilometre of surf coast, specify 316 marine grade stainless steel for external hardware. Further inland or on sheltered elevations, 304 stainless or a quality PVD-coated finish will generally hold up. Whatever the grade, external hardware needs rinsing with fresh water regularly — stainless resists corrosion, it doesn't ignore it.
The distinction matters more than most people expect, and getting it wrong is expensive to fix. Our 304 vs 316 stainless steel guide covers where each grade belongs and what the maintenance obligations are.
Can you mix finishes?
Yes, and most well-resolved homes do. The approach that consistently works is to keep one finish consistent throughout a single visual field, then change deliberately between zones.
Practically, that means all door hardware on one level in one finish, with tapware and lighting free to differ. Hinges, door stops and strike plates should match the handle they sit alongside — mismatched hinges are the detail that reads as an oversight rather than a choice. Where two finishes meet at a doorway between zones, let the door's own room dictate which finish it wears.
The combinations that hold up best pair one warm and one cool finish rather than two of the same temperature: matt black with brushed brass, or polished chrome with bronze. Two warm metals in the same room tend to look like one of them was a substitution.
Finish comparison at a glance
| Finish | Behaviour | Fingerprints | Best suited to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Black | Stable | Low | Contemporary interiors, light-coloured doors |
| Brushed Nickel | Stable | Low | All-rounder, warm or cool schemes |
| Polished Nickel | Stable | High | Period and traditional interiors |
| Polished Chrome | Stable | Moderate | Bathrooms, commercial, high traffic |
| Satin Chrome | Stable | Low | Wet areas, low-glare applications |
| Brushed Brass PVD | Stable | Low | Warm schemes without patina |
| Polished Brass | Living | Moderate | Heritage, character homes |
| Antique Brass | Living | Low | Period restorations, dark timber |
| Bronze | Living | Low | Character joinery, textured interiors |
| Rumbled Nickel | Stable | Low | Aged look without the ageing |
| Graphite Nickel | Stable | Low | Dark schemes needing metallic depth |
| Stainless Steel | Stable | Moderate | Coastal, external, commercial |
Caring for your finish
Almost all finish damage we see is caused by cleaning products rather than use. A soft dry cloth handles routine dust. For marks, use a barely damp cloth and dry immediately afterwards.
Avoid abrasive creams and pads, bleach, ammonia, and any bathroom or kitchen spray containing solvents or acids — these strip plating and coatings, and damage of this kind is not covered by any manufacturer warranty. On brushed finishes, always wipe with the grain rather than across it. On living finishes, leave them alone unless you want to slow the patina, in which case an occasional wipe with a dry cloth is enough.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between a living finish and a stable finish?
A stable finish is plated, PVD-coated or powder-coated to hold its appearance indefinitely. A living finish is uncoated solid brass or bronze that oxidises and darkens over time, developing a patina that varies with handling and exposure. Living finishes are excluded from finish warranties because the change is the intended behaviour of the material.
Which finish is best for a coastal home?
316 marine grade stainless steel for anything external within about a kilometre of surf coast. 304 stainless is adequate for sheltered or further-inland coastal locations. Interior hardware in a coastal home can be any finish, though salt carried indoors will shorten the life of plated finishes near frequently opened doors.
Can I mix matt black and brushed brass in the same house?
Yes. Pairing one cool and one warm finish generally reads as deliberate. Keep each zone internally consistent — all hardware on a single level or in a single room matching, including hinges and door stops — and change finishes between zones rather than within them.
Do hinges need to match the door handles?
They should. Hinges sit in the same sightline as the handle and mismatched hinges are one of the most noticeable installation details. We stock hinges across the same finish range as our handles.
Will matt black hardware chip or scratch?
Quality matt black finishes are powder-coated or PVD-applied and are hard-wearing under normal use. Damage typically comes from impact against the frame or from abrasive cleaning rather than from handling. Scratches show as a change in sheen rather than as bare metal, so they are less visible than on polished finishes.
Can I stop a living finish from patinating?
Not permanently. Lacquered brass slows the process but the lacquer eventually wears through at handled points, which produces uneven ageing. If you want the appearance of brass without any change, choose a PVD-coated brushed brass finish instead.
What cleaning products should I avoid?
Abrasive creams and scouring pads, bleach, ammonia, and solvent or acid-based bathroom and kitchen sprays. All of these can strip plating and coatings. Damage caused by unsuitable cleaning products is not covered by manufacturer warranties. A soft dry cloth is sufficient for routine cleaning.
Are all finishes available across every product range?
No. Finish availability varies by brand and by product family, and some finishes are limited to specific ranges. Filtering by finish on each collection page will show what's currently available, and our team can confirm options for a particular range on 1800 329 028.
See finishes in person
Finishes photograph differently to how they look on a door. Our Annangrove showroom has over 6,000 products on display across every finish we stock.
Visit the showroom