It has been reported that the percentage of lever door openers in homes is increasing year by year, and the percentage of doorknobs is falling. Levers now make up only 15% of all home door openers, but levers are gaining fast.
Aside from decorative features, levers have one big advantage over doorknobs, and that is the ease with which disabled people can operate them. Many Americans are simply unable to grasp and twist a doorknob. But almost anyone can operate a door lever — with an open hand, a fist, or even an elbow.
The only drawback I have found with levers is that they can be operated by a toddler, or even (surprisingly) by a cat!
Levers are far more popular in public buildings because one requirement of the Americans With Disabilities Act is that doors to buildings accessible by the public must be "usable with one hand, without tight grasping, pinching or twisting of the wrist."
If you are doing any home remodeling or redecorating, please consider replacing doorknobs with levers. As you age, you will appreciate the levers more, and so will your guests and family members.
This is a really good post. We are involved with supplying door handles to the UK market and after reading this I will be writing a small article myself along these lines. This is something that is not usually given enough (any?) consideration at the point of purchase. Worth also considering…It would also be good to make sure the door has a correctly sprung latch, i.e. not heavier sprung than necessary for the weight of the handle.
Regarding the fact that toddlers can open the doors, this may sound a bit ‘way-out’ but worth a mention maybe… you can temporarily mount the latch in reverse so that the handle has to be lifted rather than pushed down. This will also fool even the brightest door-opening cat/dog (and maybe the odd guest or two!)
All best Jo Miller (U.K.)
Thank you for your comment. That’s a great tip about mounting the lever upside-down. That would definitely stop our cats from opening our doors!