The push-button, brass, knurled and ceramic vintage-style light switches that belong in a pre-1940 house, what we use at Rosemont, and alternatives that look the part for less.
This post is for you if…
- You’ve reworked a a room, love the result, but the light switches are breaking the old house aesthetic.
- You love the Buster + Punch or Forbes & Lomax look and want to know the alternatives before you spend $120 a switch.
- You have an old house and you’re slowly, deliberately bringing the character back into every room.
Vintage-Style Light Switches: The Short List
If you only look at a handful of vintage-style light switches, look at these. Every one works in a pre-1940 house and fits a standard US electrical box. Where the original isn’t sold on Amazon, I’ve paired it with the closest match that is.
| Category | Switch | Price |
|---|---|---|
Push-Button see them all ↓ | The Rosemont pick HOAH Mother-of-Pearl 3-Way Dimmer · Learn More → | ~$60–80 |
Pearl buttons, on Amazon Classic Accents Double Pearl Push Button Switch · Check Price → | ~$17 | |
Knurled see them all ↓ | The splurge Buster + Punch Toggle Switch · Check Price → | ~$119 |
The alternative KLAS Brass Rotary Dimmer · Learn More → | ~$60–80 | |
Knurled for less Select Lighting Vintage Brass Toggle · Check Price → | ~$80 | |
Switch Plates see them all ↓ | The original Rejuvenation Lewis Toggle Plate · Learn More → | ~$25–40 |
The look for less Classic Accents Unlacquered Brass Toggle Plate · Check Price → | ~$12 | |
For the bath Classic Accents Polished Nickel Push Button Plate · Check Price → | ~$12 | |
Ceramic see them all ↓ | The artist pick Honeybee Ceramics Push Button Plate · Learn More → | Varies |
Entry level Ceramic Switch Plates · Check Price → | ~$15 |
Some links may be affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you choose to purchase, at no additional cost to you. I only share products I like, would use or have used in my own home, or have researched and feel confident recommending.
Why Old Houses Still Have the Wrong Light Switches
Every old house is already a lovely history lesson. The plaster walls, the trim profiles, the door hardware, the window proportions. It’s a story that started a hundred years ago and has been building ever since. Our job as the stewards of these houses isn’t to rewrite that history. Or to erase it. It’s to keep editing it.
Sometimes, we interrupt that story without meaning to. We spend money on the perfect tile, gorgeous fixtures, the period-correct paint color, and then slap a plastic outlet cover on the wall and call it a day.
When I moved into Rosemont, I got obsessed with getting the electrical hardware right as I rewired the house (actually, my electrician is doing the hard work) room by room. Not because switches are inherently glamorous, but because they’re one of the last details people get to, and one of those finishes we touch every single day.
The good news: there’s more period-right switch hardware available in the US right now than there has been in decades, across a wider range of budgets. My Pinterest feed is full of sexy outlets and switches (there, I said it). And we aren’t forced to choose between period-correct and affordable. But you do need to know what makes your Old House Nerd heart sing, because what’s in stock at most hardware stores is not going to give your old house what she deserves, aesthetically.
The Old House Light Switch Rule Before the Rules
Your switch hardware should speak the same design language as your other hardware.
If your door handles are unlacquered brass, your switches should be warm metal. If your bathroom is chrome and ceramic, your switch should be chrome or nickel. Not bronze, not brass, not white plastic. A 1910 Craftsman with mission tile and dark woodwork has different options than a 1924 colonial with plaster walls and painted trim.
The most common mistake isn’t choosing the wrong switch. It’s choosing a switch without considering what language the room is already speaking. Know what’s right for the house first. Then the room. Then shop.
Related: Chrome vs Brass in an Old House: How to Choose
Types of Old House Light Switches (and Which One Your House Wants)
| Switch | From | To | What it means for your house |
|---|---|---|---|
Rotary | ~1880s | ~1920s | Some of the very first switches in American houses: turn knobs on porcelain bodies, mounted on the wall surface. |
Porcelain | ~1880s | ~1930s | The original insulator for early switch bodies and plates. Today’s decorative ceramic plates are the modern take. |
Push-button | ~1890s | ~1940s | The standard through the 1920s. If your house was built before 1940, this is period-correct. |
Toggle | 1917 | Today | Patented in 1917 and standard by the 1940s. Reads right in almost any house built after about 1930. |
Rocker (Decora) | 1973 | Today | Introduced by Leviton in 1973. The most common anachronism in renovated old houses. |
Knurled | ~2012 | Today | A modern revival of the rotary instinct, popularized by Buster + Punch. Design-forward, not historic. |
BTW, I’m bringing period-correct push-button switches back in every room makeover and the THUNK of the push button is so … gratifying! It’s just a simple pleasure every morning to pad into the kitchen, THUNK-ing on the lights as I make my way through the still-quiet house.
Vintage-Style Light Switches: Push-Button Picks for Pre-1940 Houses
The modern reproductions are good. These vintage-style light switches wire into standard US boxes, work with dimmable LED bulbs, and meet current safety standards. You get the authentic snap (and that solid THUNK when the lights come on) without living with 1915 wiring.
WHAT WE USE AT ROSEMONT
House of Antique Hardware Premium 3-Way Push Button Dimmer, Mother-of-Pearl
The one. Genuine mother-of-pearl buttons, smooth dimming, and that snap. We pair it with House of Antique Hardware’s Distressed Bronze push-button plates, and the combination reads as original to the house. That’s exactly what we wanted.
Price: ~$60–80 Type: 3-way dimmer Works with dimmable LED UL listed
Classic Accents Double Pearl Push Button Switch
The pearl-button look, on Amazon. Our House of Antique Hardware dimmer isn’t sold on Amazon. This single-pole switch from Classic Accents gives you pearl-inlay buttons for the rooms that don’t need a dimmer, so the whole house stays on one system. Classic Accents has been making reproduction push-buttons since 1984, and the line comes in 3-way and dimmer versions too.
Price: ~$17 Type: single pole Buttons: pearl inlay Also: push button dimmer, 3-way Fits standard US boxes
Classic Accents Deco Oil Rubbed Bronze Push Button Switch Plate
The bronze plate look for less. Our House of Antique Hardware bronze plates aren’t sold on Amazon. This is the closest match: a dark bronze plate with a stepped Deco edge, from the same company that makes the switch above.
Price: ~$15 Finish: oil rubbed bronze 1 gang push button
Can’t replace the switch… yet? There’s a fix for that, too.
Kyle Switch Plates makes a push-button insert for Decora rocker plates. It snaps into your existing rocker cover and gives you the push-button action without touching the plate. Perfect for rentals, or anyone who wants to test the feel before committing. Kyle is also the specialist for oddball mid-century systems nobody else fits.
Buster + Punch Alternatives: Knurled and Rotary Switches
The knurled metal switch, a toggle or rotary knob with a diamond-cut grip machined into solid metal, has a lineage that reads as mechanical, pre-war and intentional. Buster + Punch made the look famous. You don’t have to pay Buster + Punch prices for every room to get it. The vintage-style light switches below get you the look for less.
Buster + Punch 1-Gang Toggle Switch, Cross Knurl Brass
The splurge benchmark. Solid metal, five finishes, and the brass develops a living patina. Buyers say the toggle feels and sounds a little less substantial than the price suggests. Buy one for a statement room. Not the whole house.
Price: ~$119 Also: rotary dimmer Sold on Amazon US
KLAS Brass Rotary Dimmer Switch by Handle Shop Couture
The Buster + Punch alternative. Solid brass, cross-knurl pattern, UL certified for the US and Canada, 1 through 5 gang with matching outlets and toggles. Reviewers say the brass arrives clean with a satisfying click. Roughly half the price. One caveat for every rotary dimmer in this category: dimming can be a little jumpy depending on your bulbs, so test one before you do the house.
Price: ~$60–80 Gangs: 1–5 UL certified
Select Lighting Solid Brass Toggle Switch, Vintage Brass
The knurled toggle for less, on Amazon. A solid brass plate in an aged finish with a cross-knurled, brass-plated toggle. It gets close to the Buster + Punch look, already mellowed instead of shiny. Plate and switch come together, UL listed and 3-way compatible, for about $40 less.
Price: ~$80 Plate: solid brass, vintage finish Toggle: brass-plated, knurled UL listed
Corston Grove Antique Brass Toggle Switch
The retrofit specialist. Precisely machined solid brass, screwless plates that clip in place, and designed to fit existing boxes without modification. Ships from Chicago.
Price: varies Screwless plate Fits existing US boxes
Buster + Punch vs Forbes & Lomax: Which Should You Buy?
These are the two names everyone compares, and they solve different problems.
| Buster + Punch | Forbes & Lomax | |
|---|---|---|
The look | Machined, knurled solid metal. Mechanical and modern. | British heritage hardware. Reads like it came with the house. |
Finishes | Five metals; the brass develops a living patina. | Aged Brass arrives antiqued, Nickel Silver for silver bathrooms, and the clear Invisible plate. |
US fit | US-rated modular system: plate, switch module and detail kit. | US line sold through their own site, dealers and Rejuvenation. |
Where to buy | On Amazon US · Check Price → | Forbes & Lomax USA · Learn More → |
Price | ~$119 for a 1-gang toggle | ~$80–120 for a toggle dimmer |
Best for | One statement room. | The old house, and any wallpapered wall. |
For an old house, Forbes & Lomax is the better switch. Buster + Punch is the easier one to buy, and the one I’d put in a single statement room. Forbes & Lomax has been making heritage electrical hardware since 1987, and nothing else in the US market does what their Invisible Lightswitch does: a clear acrylic plate, inspired by 1930s glass switch covers, that disappears into wallpaper completely.
Forbes & Lomax Invisible Toggle Switch
Well, we love these. The clear plate lets wallpaper run uninterrupted, and the metal toggle comes in their aged brass and nickel finishes. Rejuvenation also carries the Forbes & Lomax toggle dimmer.
Price: on request Plate: clear acrylic US line available
Solid Brass Plates for Vintage-Style Light Switches and Outlets
This is where most old house owners should start, especially if you’re not doing a strict period restoration. A well-made solid brass plate reads as intentional without rewiring anything. The plate and the switch are a system, though: a beautiful plate over a plastic toggle is half a solution.
Rejuvenation Lewis Single Toggle Switchplate
The whole-house workhorse. Hot-forged brass, slim profile, beveled edges, seven finishes and every configuration you need. If you want one consistent system without spending Buster + Punch money, Lewis is it.
Price: ~$25–40 Finishes: 7 Configurations: toggle, push-button, outlet, GFCI, blank
Classic Accents Unlacquered Polished Brass Toggle Switch Plate
The Lewis look for less. Rejuvenation isn’t sold on Amazon. This is forged unlacquered brass, so it will patina the same way, at about a third of the price.
Price: ~$12 Finish: unlacquered polished brass 1 gang toggle
Rejuvenation Lewis Push-Button Switchplate, Polished Nickel
Our bathroom remodel choice. Polished nickel is warm enough to not read as cold modern and period-adjacent enough to look right in a 1920s tile bathroom.
Price: ~$30–50 Finish: polished nickel Push-button
Classic Accents Polished Nickel Push Button Switch Plate
The nickel bath plate, on Amazon. Same job as the Lewis nickel plate for a chrome-and-tile bathroom. Pair it with the Classic Accents push-button switch and you have the full system for under $30.
Price: ~$12 Finish: polished nickel 1 gang push button
Classic Accents Aged Antique Brass 3 Gang Push Button Wall Plate
Heavy solid brass at accessible prices. For the bank of switches by the back door. Multiple configurations and finishes.
Price: ~$30 Finish: aged antique brass 3 gang push button
Classic Accents Deco Aged Antique Brass Duplex Outlet Plate
Don’t forget the outlets. A matching outlet cover is what makes the switch look like a decision. House of Antique Hardware’s Streamline Deco cover is the splurge for houses with 1930s DNA; this is the Amazon match.
Price: ~$15 Finish: aged antique brass 1 gang duplex
Ceramic and Tile Plates for Vintage-Style Light Switches
For kitchens with subway tile, bathrooms with heavy tile work, Arts and Crafts houses, or any room where you want the switch to feel like a found object rather than a hardware selection, ceramic is the answer most people don’t know exists.
Honeybee Ceramics Push Button Ceramic Switch Plate
The artist pick. Handmade in Santa Cruz in Moroccan arabesque patterns and kiln-fired glazes like antique teal and patina green. Her push-button plate pairs the reproduction switch with hand-glazed ceramic in colors that read as collected, not purchased.
Price: varies Handmade Toggle, rocker, GFCI and push-button
Switch Hits Ceramic Switch Plates
The biggest selection in one place. Ceramic plates in eleven configurations and ten colors designed to coordinate with kitchen and bath tile, plus hand-painted florals, Art Deco and mission patterns.
Price: varies Configurations: 11 Colors: 10
Ceramic Switch Plates and Outlet Covers
A step (way) up from plastic. Entry-level pricing, honest materials, highly rated, and multiple configurations.
Price: ~$15 Material: ceramic Multiple configurations
The Light Switch I Wish Was Rated for the US
This is the Roo, a handmade porcelain switch made in the Czech Republic by Katy Paty in roughly twenty colors, including green, mint, azure, carrot and sand. It’s beautiful, it’s unlike anything sold here, and I would love it in the kitchens and bathrooms at Rosemont. There are fat and also skinny push buttons, toggles, and rotary switches. I’m in love with every option. AND YOU CAN CUSTOMIZE TO YOUR HEART’S CONTENT. Seriously. I’m in love.
The catch? Although these technically runs on US voltage, they aren’t UL-listed, and require European round back boxes instead of standard US gang boxes. The dimmer isn’t rated for US wiring. Installing means opening walls and setting new boxes. Doable. But not trivial.
There’s not a US-made equivalent. A color-saturated porcelain switch with a fat modern-retro button doesn’t exist here yet. The closest domestic option is a Honeybee Ceramics plate over a standard push-button switch. Katy Paty already makes outlets rated for the US, so I’m hoping the switches follow. In the meantime, you can order direct from Katy Paty or through Dyke & Dean. I’m watching this space. When a US-compatible version lands, you’ll read about it here first.
Katy Paty Roo Porcelain Switch
Covet it, know the workarounds. Not UL-listed, requires European back boxes, and the dimmer isn’t rated for US wiring. Or, if you’re like me, wait for someone to bring it to the US properly.
Price: ~$85–110 Material: porcelain Not UL-listed
Related: 15 Bathroom Accessories That Won’t Ruin the Old House Look
Vintage-Style Light Switch Mistakes in Old Houses
Don’t…
Default to white plastic Decora rockers. They’re from the wrong century, and they’re the first thing that makes a renovated old house feel flipped.
Forget to consider your hardware finishes. Bronze switches with nickel door hardware. Chrome outlet covers with brass faucets. The room feels unresolved and you can’t name why. Your hardware might not be speaking the same language.
Go room by room, randomly. Switch hardware is whole-house infrastructure. Choose the whole-house point of view first, then make deliberate room-by-room exceptions.
Instead…
Decide which finishes work best. We have bronze and unlacquered brass through most of the house, with nickel and chrome in the bathrooms. Having that decided lets us focus on design instead of spiraling on finishes.
Upgrade when you can. Sample a switch and plate in one room, live with it, then go room by room as the budget allows. It’s exactly how we’re doing it.
Work with what you have. Decora switches all over the house are a fact of old house life. The Kyle insert lets you step up before you make a bigger investment.
Frequently Asked Questions
The KLAS rotary dimmer from Handle Shop Couture has the same cross-knurled solid brass look for roughly half the price, and it’s UL certified for the US. If you want something on Amazon, the Select Lighting vintage brass toggle has a knurled, brass-plated toggle and an aged solid brass plate for about $80.
Swapping a cover plate is a screwdriver job. Replacing the switch itself, and especially anything involving dimmers, 3-way wiring, or an old box you’re unsure about, is work for a licensed electrician. You can do it yourself, technically, but if your house (like mine) is still an electrical wiring work in progress, trusting an electrician is your safest best. Don’t risk a wiring mistake on an $80 dimmer.
Yes, when you buy from reputable US sources, and they’re rated for the US. The switches from House of Antique Hardware and Classic Accents are UL listed and built to current electrical standards. The look is vintage; the safety specs are completely modern.
Unlacquered brass darkens and warms over time; that’s the point. Green spotting (verdigris) shows up mostly where there’s moisture and salt, like a steamy bathroom or a plate touched with wet hands. Wipe it off with a soft cloth, or choose polished nickel for the bath.
Unlacquered brass starts bright and warms to a deeper golden tone as it oxidizes. Aged brass is pre-treated, so it arrives already mellowed and antique. For a period house, both are better than lacquered brass, which never changes.
It’s your house, do what you love! Do it on purpose. Pick one system for the main living areas, then make deliberate exceptions for bathrooms, the kitchen, or a statement room. What you want to avoid is random variation with no organizing principle.
