Hardex chrome Victorian urn knocker between two arched leaded glass panels on an anthracite grey woodgrain composite door
Front door · Composite

Bright chrome on an anthracite composite door

A traditional-style composite door in anthracite grey, lifted with mirror-bright Hardex chrome: the most popular pairing on British doorsteps, done properly.

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The look
Fittings
Hardex chrome
Door & windows
Anthracite grey
House
Red brickClay tileBlack brackets
Garden
LawnBay

A 1990s red-brick semi with a tiled canopy porch and new anthracite windows. The old white uPVC door has made way for a traditional-style composite door in anthracite grey, with a fine woodgrain finish and two arched leaded glass panels. Hardex chrome fittings give it the contrast a dark door needs: the urn knocker, the letter plate and the lever all catch the light against the grey, and pick up the leaded lines in the glass.

Up close
1990s red-brick semi-detached house with anthracite windows, a tiled canopy porch over an anthracite composite front door, a lawn and block-paved path Hardex chrome Balmoral lever with a straight round-bar handle on a long rounded backplate with a euro cylinder, on an anthracite woodgrain composite door Nu Mail Hardex chrome shield letter plate on the middle rail of an anthracite composite door below arched leaded glass Hardex chrome serif numbers 14 on the top rail of an anthracite composite door above two arched leaded glass panels Anthracite composite front door under a tiled canopy in warm evening light, chrome knocker, letter plate and lever glowing against the grey Chrome Nu Mail internal shield hood on the inside of the front door below the arched glass, with post inside it
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Hardex chrome for an anthracite composite door

Anthracite grey composite front door with two arched leaded glass panels under a clay-tiled canopy, fitted with Hardex chrome number 14, urn knocker, shield letter plate and Balmoral lever 4 2 1 3
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Good to know

Why chrome is the go-to for composite doors

Era1980s to 2000s homes
Trend statusMainstream; chrome is the most specified composite door finish
Inspired byTraditional-style composite doors on modern estates
SuitsAnthracite, black, navy and woodgrain composite or uPVC doors

Contrast that reads from the street

Anthracite is now the most popular colour for composite doors and windows, and it needs a bright metal to stop it looking flat. Chrome gives the strongest contrast of any finish, so the knocker, letter plate and handle are visible from the pavement and the door looks finished rather than bare.

A traditional door on a modern house

Arched glass, raised panels and an urn knocker borrow from Victorian doors, but the door itself is a modern composite with a multipoint lock. That mix suits the brick semis and detached houses built from the 1980s onwards, which often had plain doors to begin with.

Hardex, not ordinary chrome plate

Hardex is Fab and Fix's hardened finish, tested to the top corrosion grade of BS EN 1670 (480 hours of salt spray). It stays bright through winters that would pit cheaper chrome-plated handles, and a wipe with a soft cloth keeps it clear of fingerprints.

Before you buy

Measure the lock

Check the distance between the lever spindle and the centre of the keyhole. The Balmoral handles here are 92mm, the standard on most modern multipoint locks, and they replace tired handles without new holes.

Spyhole or plain knocker

The Victorian urn knocker comes plain or with a spyhole facility. If you want a viewer, choose that option and order the viewer separately; the door will need drilling through.

Fit both letter plate halves

The Nu Mail shield is designed to be fitted with its matching internal shield. Together they stop anyone fishing through the slot for keys, and the hood keeps the post tidy inside.

Numbers above the glass

On a door with arched glazing, put the numbers on the solid top rail. Use the colour-matched screws supplied, and drill only into the door skin, never into a glazing bead.