In every major architectural project, there’s a critical handoff that happens between design vision and technical execution. Interior designers dream in finishes, proportions, and tactile experiences. Specifiers think in code compliance, lead times, and submittal documentation. Both perspectives are essential, but they don’t always speak the same language.
The Designer-Specifier Challenge: Where Vision Meets Technical Reality
The tension between aesthetic aspiration and technical specification can be a natural result of two professionals optimizing for different outcomes. Designers want unique, beautiful hardware that elevates the project’s design language. Specifiers need compliance documentation, reliable lead times, and performance data that will pass inspection and hold up over time.
This gap often widens during value engineering or late-stage changes, when budgets tighten and timelines compress. That’s when the risk becomes real: project delays, substitutions that compromise design intent, or installations that fail compliance reviews. When designers and specifiers aren’t aligned on hardware selections, everyone loses.
FR International’s Dual Language: Speaking Both Design and Specification
Our experience manufacturing designer door hardware has taught us that the best solutions don’t require choosing between beauty and performance. We’ve learned to understand both perspectives and deliver hardware that satisfies both.
We offer more than 200 lever designs that give interior designers the aesthetic flexibility they need while meeting commerical performance standards that specifiers require. Our collections span classical to contemporary styles, ensuring there’s a solution that aligns with virtually any design vision.
Behind every lever design is specification-ready documentation: cut sheets, certifications, and compliance details that give specifiers the confidence they need during submittals and plan reviews. Our technical support team is available to answer both creative questions about finishes and coordination, as well as regulatory questions about ANSI/BHMA standards, UL listings, and ADA compliance.
Practical Tools That Connect Creative Intent to Project Reality
Bridging the designer-specifier gap requires practical tools that make collaboration easier. Our Frascio Fast program delivers Grade 1 mortise locks and tubular latchsets in just 8 business days, accommodating design decisions that come later in the timeline without derailing the schedule. When designers need time to finalize finishes or specifiers are working through last-minute coordination issues, the fast-turn program keeps projects moving.
We offer comprehensive finish options—including polished chrome (625), brushed satin stainless (630), matte black (622), oil-rubbed bronze (613), and more—allowing design consistency across all openings while meeting the performance requirements of different door types and locations.
For projects requiring truly bespoke solutions, our custom design and manufacturing capabilities allow us to develop hardware that’s engineered specifically for your project’s unique requirements. We also provide templates and installation support to ensure that the design intent translates correctly from specification to field installation.
Real-World Collaboration: From Concept to Installation
Our work on complex projects like Fontainebleau Las Vegas and Old Parkland Dallas has shown us what effective collaboration looks like between designers and specifiers. These landmark properties required hardware that met exacting aesthetic standards while satisfying rigorous performance and compliance requirements.
We support designers during material selection and finish coordination, helping them visualize how hardware choices will impact the overall design language. At the same time, we provide specifiers with the technical data they need for submittals, plan reviews, and inspections.
We’re particularly responsive during the critical phases that test designer-specifier alignment: value engineering discussions, substitution reviews, and last-minute changes. Our team understands that these moments require quick, informed responses that respect both the design vision and the technical realities of the project.
Partnership That Elevates Both Design and Performance
The best project outcomes happen when designers and specifiers are treated as collaborative partners rather than opposing forces. At FR International, we’re committed to hardware solutions that meet both aesthetic goals and technical requirements without asking you to sacrifice one for the other.
We position ourselves as a long-term resource that understands the unique pressures both designers and specifiers face. Designers are under pressure to deliver spaces that feel considered, cohesive, and luxurious. Specifiers are under pressure to ensure those spaces are safe, compliant, and built to last. Both sets of pressures are valid, and both deserve support. The advantage of working with FR International is that we see beautiful, compliant hardware as the baseline.
