Interior Door Handles: Passage or Privacy, Rose or Backplate

 

Short answer: two decisions. Function: a passage handle latches the door but does not lock, which suits general doors. A privacy handle adds an integrated turn button for bathrooms and bedrooms. Mounting: a rose is a small round or square plate behind each lever, giving a minimal look. A backplate is one longer plate carrying the lever and, usually, a keyhole. All four of our interior collections are lever on rose, in passage and privacy versions.

Passage or privacy?

	Passage	Privacy
Locks?	No	Yes, by an integrated turn button
Suits	Living rooms, hallways, kitchens, general doors	Bathrooms, WCs, bedrooms
Needs a key?	No	No, the turn button operates from inside

Specify room by room rather than buying one type throughout. A house typically needs privacy handles on bathrooms and bedrooms with passage handles everywhere else.

What is a rose?

A rose is the small plate that sits between the lever and the door face, covering the spindle hole. One rose per side and where a door locks the turn button sits on its own small plate too.

The appeal is that a rose shows very little hardware. It suits contemporary and transitional interiors and it lets the shape of the lever do the talking.

Our roses vary by collection. Longcroft uses a flat disc rose, Minster a domed circular rose, Westwood a stepped square neck into a rosette. All four use a stainless steel rose mounting plate on a zinc alloy body.

What is a backplate?

A backplate is a single longer plate, usually rectangular, running behind the lever and down to a keyhole or turn. It covers more of the door face.

Backplates suit period properties and doors with a mortice lock, where you want the lever and the keyhole presented as one fitting. They also hide more of the door, which is useful on a door that has been drilled before.

Rose or backplate is largely an aesthetic decision, provided the door is bored to suit whichever you choose.

What to check before ordering

Four figures and our four collections share the same ones:

Eurofit interior door handle collections: common specification
Cross bore	54mm (2⅛in)
Edge bore	25mm (1in)
Backset	60mm standard, 70mm optional
Door thickness	35–45mm
Handing	Fully reversible, no handing required

 

Cross bore is the large hole through the face of the door that the latch mechanism passes into. Edge bore is the hole in the leading edge of the door for the latch body. Backset is the distance from the edge of the door to the centre of the cross bore.

The backset is the one to check against an existing door. 60mm is our standard with 70mm available, so measure yours before ordering rather than after.

Fully reversible is worth knowing too. There is no left-hand or right-hand version to specify, so one product suits any door.

What comes in the set

Each handle set includes the handles, a colour-matched Quick-Fit tubular latch, a strike plate and fixings. So a door can be handled and latched from one order rather than sourcing the latch separately.

The durability specification

Worth knowing if you are specifying for a rental, an office or anywhere with heavy traffic:

• Tested to 200,000 cycles.
• UL listed, with a 1 hour fire rating when used with a 13mm throw deadlatch.
• Zinc alloy body with a stainless steel rose mounting plate.
• An individual spring on each side, which is what stops a lever sagging over time.

That last detail is a small thing that matters. A drooping lever is the most common complaint about cheap door furniture. It is caused by a single central spring having to return both levers.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between passage and privacy door handles?

A passage handle latches but does not lock. A privacy handle adds an integrated turn button for bathrooms and bedrooms. Neither needs a key.

What is a door handle rose?

The small round or square plate behind each lever that covers the spindle hole. It shows less hardware than a backplate, which suits contemporary interiors.

Rose or backplate: which should I choose?

Mostly aesthetics. A rose is minimal and contemporary. A backplate covers more of the door and usually incorporates a keyhole, which suits period doors with a mortice lock.

What size holes do I need for a door handle?

Our collections use a 54mm cross bore and a 25mm edge bore, with a 60mm backset as standard or 70mm optional. Check the backset against your existing door.

What door thickness do they suit?

35–45mm.

Browse the range

All door handles, levers on rose, levers with backplate, thumbturn and release sets, mortice locks and door accessories.

The rose and backplate distinction described here applies to door furniture generally. The bore sizes, backsets, cycle testing and fire rating are Eurofit specifications for our interior collections, taken from our 2026 catalogue. Other manufacturers’ handles will differ, so check the specification for the handle you are buying.