I hated our front door handle. HATED. With a capital I-will-punch-you-in-the-face. I couldn’t even use it. Literally it kept me out of the house, even when it was unlocked.
Why was it so difficult? Well, you had to twist the upper knob and push the lever down and pull on both. But you also had to push the lever down first and then twist followed by a super quick pull….otherwise it wouldn’t open. And the crazy thing is, there was no way for me to do that with a toddler in my arms. Well, there was a way but it involved a minute or two of deep groin stretches and a balance act that was ridiculous unbalanced and a leg lift that I swear popped my hip out of socket.
Plus the color was amazingly horrid. They needed to go…and like, yesterday.
So the last time we got a $10 off a $50 purchase coupon for Lowe’s, we headed straight to the doorhandle aisle to pick up an exterior door handle and deadbolt combo kit. We were immediately drawn to this one above all the rest. We liked the squareness…and the simplicity. Not too intricate or overdesigned. Love it. PLUS…yup, there’s a plus….since we need 13 deadbolts (yes, you read that right) we needed to start replacing the old ones with versions that will open with a single key. Enter the Smart Key. You can set all future locks to a single key….awesome.
So we brought it home and Jeremy started removing this hideousness:
He also had a little helper in tow…
It’s funny…we started tackling projects and we kinda let Will be in on it. We let him hold the tools and play with the screws and touch the equipment. We figure he’s learning…he’s gathering info…and we like him to know that we are here to shepard that education.
Plus, he’s so darn cute holding a phillip’s head.
Although…it does make projects take a little longer…but it’ll be worth it when he’s seven and installing a new garbage disposal.
After our quickie installation of the Kwikset lock, it made the entire door so much better.
Sure, the door needs painting…but at least the knobs are gorgeous and the door actually opens. without a pulled hamstring.
One down, 12 to go.
hey katie! did your sister get engaged? i follow your pinterest and iv noticed a lot of wedding dress pins
I swear you must have been dealing with the same foreclosure company we did! We had the same thing on the front door in my house when we first moved in. The two knob thing was the absolute worst. Why do they do that when they could just have a locksmith re-key the deadbolt that was already there?
When we moved into our house, the front door didn’t lock. Actually, it didn’t even really close properly. When you tugged at it to open the door, the knob would fall off. We replaced it the day we moved in and about a week later our realtor (who is also the former homeowner) showed up with the replacement part to fix the doorknob that wouldn’t work. For some reason he was surprised to see that we had already replaced it. I mean, really, how dare we insist that our door closes properly?! Oh, and can I just tell you how much I love the detail in your doors? Beautiful! (even if the color is a bit wonky)
Will is so cute in his jammies!! The door knob ain’t bad either 🙂
I know how you feel- the front door at my parents’ house is impossible to open! You have to push the lock into the “open” position and while still holding it, then try to open the door. Using a key isn’t any better because you have to hold the key while you try opening the door. I think this is why we mostly go in through the garage.
Yup – she sure did 🙂
xo – kb
We have the same lock set and love it! Gotta love a quick change to fix something that annoyed you FOREVER and that you use every day!
We have the same handle!. I loved the price and the color and really loved the smart key. Plus it is a simple but elegant design. Great choice!
What a difference that made! Changing our locksets was one of the first things we did when we moved in. After hearing the previous owner talk about how the neighbors had keys to her house, it seemed kinda’ high on the priority list. 🙂 Now to change out all the brass interior door knobs to match- not really an exciting prospect.
SO much better!
How do you get Will not to eat the tools? We try to let our son help when we do projects, but I swear, the kid would eat nails if we let him! Actually, this morning he happened upon a small baggie of two screws and anchors from a project I’ve been putting off and he was having a ball jingling it and then I looked down and realized he had somehow gotten the baggie open and was chewing on a screw! I think I got the Worst Mom award for the day!
Looks great Katie! The change makes a big difference for a little project.
Three cheers for a new door handle. It seriously looks a million times better already! Thanks for continuing to share with us all.
Love seeing Will in on the projects!! i’m sure he will be installing a garage disposal in no time, w/great diy parents! 🙂
Good call! Looks much nicer.
You have my same door handle! It looks (and works) just as great on a little Craftsman Bungalow as it does on your big, beautiful leaded glass pair.
I also had a really bad, not functional, nasty brass doorknob. WHY did the former owners do that? At least they left all the original ORB knobs and touchplates everywhere else in the house.
Let’s hear it for door hardware that works AND looks good doing it.
Gosh I know what ya mean about pulling something when trying to open a door like that. My parents have a handle like that going out to the patio and any time they have company over my husband and I watch as everyone trys to open the door. It is so funny as you tell em how to do it…..”turn the knoby thing….now twist it….and pull the handle up….yes up… now turn the handle…..and do a kartwheel along with a secret hand shake……whala now open the door!!” Haha! I gotta show my mom this post so she can get rid of that thing once and for all!!
Hi Kristen,
I feel the same way about keys! They’re the biggest pain.
I recently put a Schlage electronic keypad deadbolt on my door, so now I don’t have to worry about juggling the keys, bags and everything else.
I take a walk with the kids, no keys.
I go run errands for the afternoon, no keys.
I travel for work, no keys.
And the door is always locked, so I don’t panic about whether or not I locked the door in the morning. It’s nice.
Keys are so 2010! 🙂
Okay … three things:
1. Will = gorgeousness
2. looking at your BF, I know why #1 is what it is. 😉
3. where’d you get that FAB yellow rug!
Have a great day, Mama!!
Any idea what color you want to paint said door?
We have a front door that is a pain to open but I’ve never thought that just replacing the knobs could actually solve this problem…
Hmm…off to inform the hubby! 🙂
Lock set-lookin’ good. Doors-need to be painted, stat! (I am sure you are aware of this but good lord they are ugly!)
It is a amazing that such a small thing made such a great change on the door!
I have to ask, what is pinterest that someone mentioned earlier?
Oh wow, it looks SO much better!! Nicely done. 🙂
Looking good Katie. I’ve done some work outside but still have a long way to go. I think I want to plant some limelight hydrangeas and maybe some knockout roses, but I hear the maintenance of the roses can be time consuming so we will see.
I think we need details about that fabulous yellow PB rug!! 🙂
This post made me laugh out loud. You should see what is left of our front door lock system. I had to break into my own house because the internal pin system kept breaking in the deadbolt part. Normally not a problem but my husband now lives in Colorado and I’m still in Washington. You would think I would have keys to any of the other doors, but why would I when he was around to save the day! Kwikset is by far the most durable locking mechanism set I am already investing in a new set for each door into our house. Can’t wait to hear back from Brinks when I send them what is left of the old one! Looks great!
Weird, huh?! It doesn’t make any sense.
xo – kb
We taught Will ‘yucky’…which sometimes works and sometimes not. In general, we don’t let him have anything too small…and we don’t let him walk with the tools…he can hold stuff but only if he’s sitting down…and you are right about needing to watch them like a hawk…
xo – kb
Totally! Looks like the one from YHL?! LOVE LOVE LOVE it!
Actually it is the same Pottery Barn rug…except mine was much smaller – 5×7. Ours is a lot older than Sherry’s though – either that or her’s is just in better condition…which is entirely possible with the amount of abuse we put ours through 🙂
xo – kb
good eye Jen, I recognized Sherry’s rug too! :o)
The new hardware is awesome; it looks so much better! And Will is the cutest helper ever! 🙂
thats so exciting! i hope she has all the happiness in the world!
Light bulb.
Door knob + door lever + turning both at the same time = childprooof!!
If I ever have oneofthosekids that you see on Suppernanny that escape the house – I will remember this!
MMHMM! Suppernanny. Wish I had one of those, then I wouldn’t ever have to cook again. I meant Supernanny. hehe!
Ahhh, I read this and then had a semi-scary experience which made us change out our locks right away!! We, too went with the Kwikset SmartKey technology. We just moved into our home a month ago and on Monday, the previous owner showed up. Fa-REAKY!!!
Full story here. http://chrislovesjulia.blogspot.com/2011/05/smartkey-to-protect-not-so-smart-cookie.html