Round, square or D shape: choosing an entry door handle

What shapes do Arc-Haus handles come in?

Arc-Haus entry door handles come in three shapes: round, square and D. There are seven handles in all, made from aluminium or Victorian Ash, and every one is 250 mm across the face, the part you see on the door.

Grange and Kingston are round. Somerton and Henley are square with rounded corners. Brighton is the D shape, with one straight side and one half circle. Round and square each come in both materials: Grange and Somerton are aluminium, and Kingston and Henley are Victorian Ash. Brighton is aluminium.

The shape that suits a modern front door depends on whether you want the handle to follow the door's straight lines or to contrast with them. A square handle follows them, a round handle contrasts with them, and the D shape is part square and part round. Choose the shape first, then the colour and material.

When does a square front door handle suit?

Choose a square handle when you want it to follow the straight lines of your front door. Somerton and Henley are square, so they line up with the door's edges and the window frames around it. Both have rounded corners.

Somerton is aluminium, 10 mm thick, in black or white. Somerton White is the better match for a dark door or white window frames. Somerton Black suits a pale door, where a white handle would be harder to see. To make the handle look like part of the house, match it to your window frames, black with black or white with white.

Henley is the square in Victorian Ash, 40 mm thick. It is supplied natural, ready for your choice of stain, so on a timber door you can stain it to match the door or to contrast with it.

When does a round front door handle suit?

Choose a round handle when you want it to contrast with the straight lines of your front door. Grange and Kingston are round, with no straight sides to match the door, so how much they stand out depends on their colour.

Grange is aluminium, 10 mm thick, in black or white. Choose Grange Black for a pale door, where black is easier to see, or to match black window frames. Grange White shows up clearly on a dark front door and goes well with white window frames. The shape and size are the same; only the colour changes.

Kingston is the round handle in Victorian Ash, 40 mm thick. From the front it is a circle 250 mm across, the same face size as Grange. Like Henley, it is supplied natural and ready for your choice of stain, so you can stain it to match a timber door or to contrast with it.

What does a D-shaped door pull handle do?

A D-shaped handle gives you a straight edge and a curve in one shape. Brighton is the only D shape Arc-Haus makes. One side is straight, to line up with the door, and the other is a half circle, so it is part square and part round. Brighton is aluminium, 10 mm thick.

Its face measures 250 mm each way, listed as 250 × 250 mm on the Brighton data sheet. The sheet also has a front and side drawing in millimetres.

Brighton comes in black only. As a guide, black stands out on a pale door and matches black window frames. If you want a white handle, choose between the round Grange White and the square Somerton White.

How big does 250 mm look on a door?

A 250 mm disc is roughly the size of a dinner plate, and it sits on the door as a single flat form. The square and D handles measure 250 mm each way. The figure is the size of the face you see and touch, not the distance between the fixings behind it.

How Arc-Haus handles are measured explains why this figure is not the length other brands quote for a bar.

From the side, the aluminium handles are 10 mm thick and the Victorian Ash handles 40 mm. All seven stand on a single bracket that holds them off the door. Each has a technical data sheet with a front and side drawing in millimetres, ready to check against your plans.

The seven handles by shape

Three Arc-Haus handles are round, three are square and one is a D shape. All seven are 250 mm across the face, designed and made in our workshop in Adelaide, South Australia, and Australian made.

Our timber is Victorian Ash, supplied by Australian Timbers in Gilman, South Australia, and certified under Responsible Wood, the Australian scheme endorsed by PEFC. Our Aluminium or timber guide compares the two materials. Each handle's page lists its specifications and shows a drawing of the front and the side. If you would like help choosing, send an enquiry and we will reply by email.