It’s personal: meeting the hardware needs of the modern homeowner

According to IMARC Group, the UK home improvement market is due to reach approximately GBP 17.4 billion by 2033, up from GBP 11.6 billion in 2024. It cites a variety of reasons for this growth, including an increased focus on home aesthetics and the continued rise in home renovations, as a result of the pandemic.

With the market forecast set to expand, it is important that manufacturers and fabricators offer a versatile choice of hardware, without compromising on quality or security, in order to keep pace with customers who are passionate about investing in their homes. 

So, with a growing number of homeowners now seeking more product choice and personalisation, what are the key considerations for window and door manufacturers when it comes to their hardware offering?

A colourful choice

Gone are the days of limited colour options when it comes to doors and windows. While traditional whites and natural woodgrains used to be the only colours on the market, these days there is unparalleled choice when choosing a hue for transforming a home’s kerb appeal.

Doors are now considered the ultimate exterior statement piece for many, whether its moody blues and earthy greens, or bold yellows, reds and pinks. And, with exterior doors becoming increasingly expressive, hardware that doesn’t look the part can easily hinder the vision.

With this shift, customers expect a wide range of choice when it comes to door furniture and matching hardware across windows too. So, while white, black and chrome are still popular, they don’t meet the needs of customers looking for a more diverse portfolio to pick from that will help to personalise and complete their home.

Homeowners are also looking beyond colour when it comes to hardware, with finish and texture playing an important part too. Enter effects such as matte, satin and forged, which are continuing to soar in popularity, thanks to their respective contemporary, luxury and period feel.

Offering a wide choice of colour and texture is ERA’s premium Fab&Fix hardware range, with a palette including 13 finishes - Hardex Chrome, Gold, Bronze, Graphite, Rose, and Pewter, alongside Silver, Antique Black, Forged Black, Premium Satin, White, Black, and Anthracite Grey.

In addition, ERA’s all-new Decorative Range, designed for the more modest budget, comprises of six finishes, including, Polished Chrome, Polished Gold, Satin Chrome, White, Black, and Anthracite Grey. 

An authentic aesthetic

Many homeowners in more traditional style properties are looking to invest in enhancing their home’s period features, while incorporating modern technologies that match today’s standard of living. To ensure that this balance can be achieved, hardware suited to heritage style windows and doors has been developed to ensure quality, durability and high-performance, as well as an authentic look. For example, replicating the feel of traditional forged iron hardware are ERA’s popular Fab&Fix Heritage finishes, including its Forged Black and Hardex Pewter options. Such offerings combine the desired classic look, with all the benefits of modern hardware, such as elite security and excellent resilience levels.

In addition, as these finishes can be offered across entire hardware suites, fabricators and manufacturers can provide homeowners with a complete look, with a premium visual appeal suited to their home’s character. At the other end of the aesthetic scale, fabricators and manufacturers can offer hardware choices for modern new build housing, and sleek city apartments too. For contemporary properties like this, some developers and homeowners are stepping away from high-gloss hardware and opting for a more minimalist, industrial look. This can be seen in the popularity of Fab&Fix’s Hardex Graphite, and Decorative Anthracite Grey finishes, which both provide a stylish alternative to chrome.

Cost considerations

While security and performance must always be front of mind, it is important for fabricators and manufacturers to offer a range of hardware options for a spectrum of budgets too. With ongoing cost-of-living challenges, many homeowners may be looking for options on the more affordable side. While premium options should be available for customers who want to spend a little more, its essential that customers aren’t priced out, and that they have quality options, whatever their maximum spend limit might be.

It is paramount to ensure that affordable options promise durability and reliability; a compromise on cost, should not be a compromise on security and quality. Manufacturers can look for window and door hardware suppliers that offer products that have been tested to the highest standards and are supplied with a comprehensive guarantee. With this, they can be confident they are still providing customers with complete peace of mind, while also taking their budget into consideration. ERA’s Decorative range offers fabricators and manufacturers an affordable route to coordinating hardware encompassing key door and window furniture lines, with all the performance and quality characteristics expected of the ERA brand.

Keeping options open with ERA

Fab&Fix

Fab&Fix is ERA’s premium offering of perfectly matching suited furniture in form, function and finish. The range features Classic, Heritage, Architectural, Forged and S Series collections. There are over 200 items in the Fab&Fix range, which is made up of a variety of window, door and patio hardware, including window handles, door handles, knobs and escutcheons, letterplates, knockers, numerals, letters and door hinges. Each product comes complete with a 10-year mechanical guarantee and a 10-year function, finish and security guarantee.

ERA Decorative

The ERA Decorative range is a new stylish and cost-effective collection of matching door and window products, including door handles in both patio and MPL Euro cylinder versions, a window handle, letterplate, knocker, and numerals and letters. Each product comes complete with a 10-year mechanical guarantee and a five-year finish guarantee.With the market predicted to expand and as demand for personalisation continues, fabricators and manufacturers can award themselves a competitive edge by offering a broad and versatile range of matching hardware products and finishes. With today’s homeowner having a range of different needs, desires, and circumstances, fabricators and manufacturers must be flexible and enable their customers to personalise and customise the look of their windows and doors in their own way, all the while standing firm on offering the very best quality, functionality and security available.