Heritage designs – a sign of the times
Home improvers across the UK are turning to the composite door market for the ultimate performance door, combining strong aesthetics and performance. This marriage of style and function has allowed the composite door manufacturers to re-energise the heritage market allowing homeowners to enjoy all the period aesthetics of a heritage door combined with all the performance of a composite. But that’s just the door, according to ERA, it’s the hardware that until now has undermined the true authenticity and style of a heritage door.
Will Butler, ERA marketing and innovation director explains how their Fab&Fix branded hardware is enabling the composite market to really offer the ultimate Heritage door.
“Regardless of the beauty of a heritage door – from its technical performance, authentic colour and period detailing, it’s the hardware choice that can give the game away, not only in terms of how it looks, but very much in terms of its technical performance. You have to remember that it’s the door knocker, the cylinder pull or even the letterplate that draws the eye in and indeed it’s the part of the door that’s the most frequently used so it must withstand the rigours of a busy home and of course the weather.
“If we step back, Fab&Fix was the first to launch a perfectly matching suite of hardware and today that means we have over 200 perfectly matching items. We also invented the most resilient finish, in Hardex, which has enabled us to far surpass any of our nearest rivals in terms of performance.
The combination of this high quality, durable and meticulous finish with a zinc substrate has allowed us to continue to grow our perfectly matching range without compromising performance or aesthetics. The new Heritage range is the latest addition to our portfolio - when you look at the beautiful detailing and intricacies of our Heritage designs, it would be virtually impossible to create the authentic period detailing with any other material.
The NPD investment that has gone into this new range is vast, but as the window and door market continues to develop new systems that push performance boundaries, as hardware manufacturers we have a duty to match that innovation.”
One of ERA’s customers who welcomes the new range as an addition to their existing Fab&Fix furniture are Endurance Doors. Seeing strong growth in its Classic Collection – Endurance have incorporated many heritage designs from the 1900s and have adopted Fab&Fix’s Heritage hardware in its range.
Managing director Stephen Nadin describes why today’s home improver is seeking out authentic heritage designs: “heritage designs are the very essence of our Classic Collection, our range is very much positioned so that you don’t need to have a period property to enjoy a Classic Collection door. The Collection takes the best of 19th and 20th Century door design and brings it bang up to date – there’s something incredibly pleasing about the symmetry and angles of a heritage style door and of course by using colour and beautiful hardware you can really make a personal statement about your home.
The very essence of an Endurance Door rests in an equal marriage of security and style so we are keen to seek supply partners that share our passion for being the ultimate door and that comes down to the hardware too. The Heritage range from Fab&Fix adds another layer of authenticity and performance to our doors. The way the hardware feels in your hand, the aesthetics and the performance of door furniture is absolutely critical, we will continue to make fantastic doors – and we will always use the very finest materials. Period.”
