This post on modern black door hardware has gotten a major overhaul for 2021. Originally, I featured 12 great options, but I’ve rounded up a TON of new ideas and categorized them by brand and price point. If you’re searching for modern black door hardware to update your home, you have hit the mother lode!
Jump to:
Modern Black Door Hardware in Our Home
Does Door Hardware Quality Matter?
Most Affordable Hardware Choices
Mid-Range Hardware Ideas
High-End Hardware Options
How to Tie in Black Door Hardware with the Rest of Your Home
Modern Black Door Hardware in our White-on-White House
One of my favorite updates to our new house is the modern black door hardware. Since we painted the interior white, and everything looks fairly neutral, the black door levers are a striking contrast. We chose 3-panel doors (similar) when we swapped out the old hollow core doors. As you know from this post about Craftsman-style door trim, we have been updating the casing (door trim) throughout the house. I had my eye on modern black door hardware from the start, and I installed these Schlage levers as soon as the doors were hung.
I’ve considered painting the doors and trim a very light gray or beige, which would look awesome with the black hardware. But… the thought of repainting miles and miles of trim in the future is… daunting. Looks like I’m happy with white!
Here’s how it’s coming together. The walls are Behr Silky White and the trim is Behr Ultra Pure White.
My Favorite Behr White Paint Colors
Love our door trim? Check out this post: How to Create Craftsman-Style Door Trim
Does Door Hardware Quality Matter?
YES. In my opinion, it’s worth investing as much as your budget allows for quality hardware. These are some of the hardest-working components in our homes. Think about how it feels to open a door with a dinky, rattling, sticky knob, compared to a solid lever with a smooth, quiet snick. Multiply that by the thousands of times you’ll turn that door handle… No comparison, right?
Plus, we touch doorknobs and levers constantly, exposing them to the oil and dirt on our hands, as well as cleaning products; the finish needs to stand up over time. That’s why door hardware is worth the investment to get the highest quality product you can afford for your project.
The good news is that there are great hardware choices along the entire budget spectrum. You don’t have to splurge unless you want to.
Read More About Our DIY Home Updates
Favorite Behr White Paint Colors
Closet Door Ideas to Update Any Room
The Best Flooring for Every Room in Your Home
Trends in Cabinet Hardware
Most Affordable Modern Black Door Hardware Choices
Let’s get into the good stuff! The most affordable black door hardware choices that I recommend are from Schlage and Kwikset. I realize that you can find slightly cheaper options on Amazon, but this is an area where I would stick with lines that have been in business for years and years and get great reviews. Fortunately, there are so many great choices in matte black these days, for all budgets!
For each of my graphics, the rose/trim/backplate name is on the left side, and the name of the knob or lever runs along the bottom of the columns. Links are below each graphic.
Pismo round | Halifax round | Lisbon round | Milan round
Pismo square | Halifax square | Lisbon square | Milan square
Schlage is my favorite affordable line. Their products are great quality and I’ve never run into an issue. We have the Latitude lever with Kinsler trim on all of our interior doors. I bought locking Bowery knobs with Greyson trim for our exterior back and garage doors. The finish has held up on all of our door levers and knobs, and they still open and close smoothly and quietly.
Bowery/Kinsler | Broadway/Kinsler | Latitude/Kinsler | Northbrook/Kinsler
Bowery/Greyson | Broadway/Greyson | Latitude/Greyson | Northbrook/Upland
Bowery/Collins | Broadway/Collins | Latitude/Collins | Northbrook/Collins
Mid-Range High-Quality Door Hardware
Baldwin makes high-quality door hardware, and the price range varies for their products. Some levers are $30-$50 and more popular lines are $70-$100+. These are the most modern black options in their lines, so the prices are a bit higher than my Kwikset and Schlage finds.
Contemporary round | Square round | Tube round
Contemporary square | Square square | Tube square
High-End Modern Black Door Hardware
Here are the most expensive modern door hardware options in this round-up. I’m sure you could find pricier handles out there, but these are superior-quality lines, and who really wants to spend more than this??
EMTEK
Emtek crafts beautiful products, right here in the US, and you can customize the options as you wish. I put together this grid to show how the different rose/trim choices can look with various knobs and handles. There are a ton of other options, too! Emtek has a very modern selection of designs, especially in levers. I love the lines on the Bern knob and the detailing on the T-Bar Knurled lever.
Round disc | Bern disc | Stuttgart disc | Hercules disc | Helios disc | T-Bar Knurled disc
Round square | Bern square | Stuttgart square | Hercules square | Helios square | T Knurled square
Round rectangle | Bern rect. | Stuttgart rect. | Hercules rect. | Helios rect. | T Knurled rect.
Schoolhouse
For Schoolhouse design fans, I’m sure you’ve noticed their gorgeous door hardware. Guess what? It’s made by Emtek. I’m not revealing state secrets here; you can see the logo clearly in their product photos.
If you covet Schoolhouse hardware, you can save a bit on the price by just locating the same Emtek products elsewhere online. I’ve done the research for you with these black knobs and levers:
Orb disc | Round disc | Stuttgart disc
Orb square | Round square | Stuttgart square
Orb Stretto 1.5 x 5″ | Round Stretto 1.5 x 5″ | Stuttgart Stretto 1.5 x 5″
Rejuvenation
We’re definitely in the designer price zone here, but Rejuvenation hardware is so beautiful, it’s worth a peek. My favorite is their Trask line, with knurled details and a cool, industrial vibe.
Knobs: Tumelo rectangle | Richmond rect. | Bowman rect. | Trask rect.
Knobs: Tumelo round | Richmond round | Bowman round | Trask round
Levers: Tumelo rectangle | Richmond rect. | Bowman rect. | Trask rect.
Read More About Our DIY Home Updates
Favorite Behr White Paint Colors
Closet Door Ideas to Update Any Room
The Best Flooring for Every Room in Your Home
Trends in Cabinet Hardware
How to Tie in Black Door Hardware
A few people have asked about other black hardware in our mostly white house. I find that black acts as a neutral, even though it’s bold. I have a black curtain rod in the living room, black cabinet hardware in the kitchen, and black metal light fixtures. We’ve started changing out the door hinges to black, as well. Those accents all coordinate nicely to provide some grounding contrast in our light and white space.
2021 Cabinet Hardware Trends + Where to Shop
Current house tour
So there you go! Tons of great options for modern black door hardware and ideas to tie the look together throughout your house. I’d love to know if you have experience with any of these knobs or levers, for better or for worse! Shoot me an email or drop a comment below.
More DIY Remodeling Tips from List in Progress
1 – How to Create Craftsman-Style Door Trim
2 – Best Exterior Behr White Paint Colors
3 – The Best Flooring for Every Room in Your House
4 – 2021 Cabinet Hardware Trends
any links to black door hinges that are good quality but great affordable price? also, does schlage have black lever door hardware with actual locks in it for interior doors? i prefer to lock our master bedroom door when we leave for date night and the kids are with the babysitter but still want the lever type handles
Hi Bee, Thanks for the questions! Honestly, we just bought these hinges and they have held up fine, so far. They are nothing special, but they match the black handles. Yes, Schlage makes privacy levers and passage levers in the same designs. Here’s the locking privacy lever we have on our bedroom. Hope that is helpful!
We have oil rubbed bronze hinges but they are very dark.
Would I be able to go with just matte black door handles or would I also need to match the hinges?
Hi Noemi, that’s a good question! I think it’s personal preference, and most likely, you’ll be the only one to notice. Design sticklers would tell you to match them, but I think it’s up to you. ORB can develop a nice patina over time and you’ll see the bronze start to shine through on the edges. It might contrast with black handles at that point. You could look at one of the black handles that is a satin black finish, rather than a matte or flat finish, and that might coordinate better. I would probably buy one somewhere with an easy return policy and see how they look together in person.
As someone who has washed around various knobs all of my life and one who now has levers on all of her doors, I must say, black levers are the way to go. Levers are so much easier for aging and arthritic hands or just when you’re managing something else and don’t really have a hand free to grip. My sister is quite envious of my levers – it was the first thing she noticed in my newly decorated house. And black is brilliant not only from a decorating point of view but from the cleaning lady’s perspective also 😉 (Although I am confessing here that I find the Schoolhouse brass knob shown in the post absolutely beautiful).
I agree! Alice, you’ve definitely won us over to the lever side for practicality. I will add your comments to the post, because both reasons are great points. Plus the cleaning… Thanks!
Do you have wall plates and sink/faucets to match?
Wall plates are white, to blend with the walls. I do have black accents elsewhere, like curtain rods, light fixtures, and floor thresholds. We are planning to switch out the door hinges to black when we paint the doors. My kitchen sink faucet will be chrome, but the bathroom faucets will be black. I like to mix metals so it won’t feel too monochromatic.