Why This Over 200-Year-Old Feature Should Be on Every Door of Your House (It’s So Practical!)

One thing about me: I love old-school home features. From rusticated quoins to razor blade disposal slots, I’ve always had a liking for vintage features that feel luxe but have a secret function. While in many cases, technology has evolved past the need for some of these features, I’d argue that they are still wanted in homes, as they add character and practicality. Case in point: Victorian-era fingerplates. 

You’ve probably seen fingerplates before, even if you didn’t have a name for them. “Fingerplates are slim metal, ceramic, or glass panels mounted where one typically pushes a door. They protected doors from fingerprints and wear while adding decorative detail, from embossed brass to etched glass,” says Elana Mendelson, a luxury interior designer at Elana Designs. 

Their function is simple. Fingerplates keep your doors from getting too dirty in the place you likely touch them the most (aside from the doorknob, that is.) They’re typically mounted onto a door above the door handle, so when a person pushes a door that’s already open they aren’t grabbing and grubbying up the door’s surface. (If you’ve ever scrubbed the doors in your house right above your doorknobs like I have, you can understand why fingerplates are a cool invention.)

Though practical, fingerplates can come in intricate designs, feature ornate carvings, or be made of bold glass or plain, flat metal. They were also called door plates or push plates, according to Suffolk Latch Company, a hardware company based in the U.K.

Jeff Adams, real estate investing strategist at Home Investors Zone, told me that fingerplates “were first documented in the Georgian period, but they became the rage during the Victorian era when people were fixated on adding decorative elements to their homes. These were the folks who made table legs wear small skirt covers for modesty. Of course, they’d want to keep their doors free from any fingerprints!”

That means these features are quite old — the Georgian period spanned from 1714 to 1830, and the Victorian era kicked off right after that until the early 1900s.

Sadly, though, gorgeous fingerplates aren’t a common feature in every home, and certainly are not a standard feature of newly built homes. But they can be found in restored older homes or buildings, particularly Victorian-era homes.

Stephanie Lindsey, principal designer at Etch Design Group, says, “Fingerplates are still used today, though far less frequently. You’ll most commonly find them in historic homes with high-traffic touch areas, as well as upscale renovations.”

Luckily for me, I might end up buying my own fingerplates — because Etsy sells some gorgeous options, including intricate etched fingerplates and plain, but useful, metallic options.