Studio Select by You vs Studio Select by Kärcher vs Studio One — Which Is Right for Your Project?
The Studio Series by Kärcher Design is not one product. It is three distinct answers to the same question — and choosing between them is the first decision any serious specification begins with.
Most door hardware ranges offer a catalogue. You choose from what exists. The Studio Series operates differently — it offers three levels of decision-making, each suited to a different kind of project, a different kind of client, and a different relationship between the specifier and the hardware.
This article explains each sub-line clearly and gives you the framework to choose the right one for your project before you speak to anyone.
Studio One — When the Decision Has Already Been Made
Studio One is the entry point to the Studio Series — and in many ways, the most decisive sub-line of the three.
It is based on the Rhodos, one of Germany’s most recognised and specified door handle silhouettes, refined and reissued within the Studio Series framework. Studio One comes in a single configuration: the ER60 in Cosmos Black with Diamond Touch surface. Nothing is variable. Nothing requires a decision. Everything has already been resolved by Kärcher Design’s own team — and resolved well.
Who Studio One is for:
Studio One is the correct choice when the project requires hardware that is immediately excellent, requires no configuration time, and presents no risk of a wrong combination. It is for the developer equipping fifty identical units who needs a single SKU and a clean specification. It is for the homeowner who wants a handle that communicates quality without requiring an afternoon of configuration decisions. It is for the interior designer who has already specified a Cosmos Black material palette throughout and wants the hardware to confirm rather than define it.
What Studio One gives you:
A fully resolved handle from a programme with German Design Award recognition. BS EN 1303 rated. ISO 9001 certified manufacturing. A handle that will look correct in any contemporary or minimalist interior without adjustment.
What Studio One does not give you:
Any variable. If your project requires a warm gold tone, a satin steel finish, or any surface other than Diamond Touch Cosmos Black — Studio One is not the specification. You move to one of the two Studio Select sub-lines.
In summary — choose Studio One when:
You need a single, excellent, pre-resolved specification with no configuration requirement and no variation between units.
Studio Select by Kärcher — The Curated Nine
Studio Select by Kärcher sits between Studio One and the full configuration system. It offers nine distinct handle configurations — each one personally selected by Kärcher Design’s own design team from the near-infinite possibilities of the Studio Select system.
These are not the nine most popular configurations. They are the nine most considered — the combinations that the people who designed the system chose when asked to demonstrate what it is capable of. Each one has a name corresponding to an interior style: Modern, Scandinavian, Industrial, Classic, Art Nouveau, Boho, English, Extravagant, Shabby Chic. Each one resolves all five configuration variables — rose, base, handle texture, cap, and spacer rings — into a complete, harmonious specification.
The nine configurations available:
Row 1 — Gold family: ER90B 0S 88 · ER90B3 0S 88 · ER90A2 0S 83
Row 2 — Black and gold: ER90B 0S 83 · ER90B2 0S 88 · ER90A3 0S 83
Row 3 — Steel and black: ER90B 0S 71 · ER90B1 0S 83 · ER90A1 0S 71
Who Studio Select by Kärcher is for:
It is for the architect or interior designer who wants the precision and quality of the Studio Select system without the time investment of configuring from scratch. It is for the client who wants a bespoke-quality handle but prefers to choose from a curated set rather than compose from first principles. It is for the developer specifying show units who wants something more distinctive than Studio One but does not need every unit to be individually configured.
What Studio Select by Kärcher gives you:
Nine excellent, pre-validated combinations — with full model code documentation for your ironmongery schedule, specification sheets available on request, and sample sets from KeysonAI’s trade team. The system is straightforward to specify because the work has been done for you.
What Studio Select by Kärcher does not give you:
The ability to create a combination outside these nine. If the project brief calls for, say, a Cosmos Black Diamond Touch handle with a Satin Brass spacer ring and a Large Satin Stainless Steel cap — that specific combination is not in the curated nine. You need Studio Select by you.
In summary — choose Studio Select by Kärcher when:
You want a curated, pre-validated, immediately specifiable configuration with the full backing of Kärcher Design’s own aesthetic judgement.
Studio Select by You — The Full Configuration
Studio Select by Kärcher sits between Studio One and the full configuration system. It offers nine distinct handle configurations — each one personally selected by Kärcher Design’s own design team from the near-infinite possibilities of the Studio Select system.
These are not the nine most popular configurations. They are the nine most considered — the combinations that the people who designed the system chose when asked to demonstrate what it is capable of. Each one has a name corresponding to an interior style: Modern, Scandinavian, Industrial, Classic, Art Nouveau, Boho, English, Extravagant, Shabby Chic. Each one resolves all five configuration variables — rose, base, handle texture, cap, and spacer rings — into a complete, harmonious specification.
The nine configurations available:
Row 1 — Gold family: ER90B 0S 88 · ER90B3 0S 88 · ER90A2 0S 83
Row 2 — Black and gold: ER90B 0S 83 · ER90B2 0S 88 · ER90A3 0S 83
Row 3 — Steel and black: ER90B 0S 71 · ER90B1 0S 83 · ER90A1 0S 71
Who Studio Select by Kärcher is for:
It is for the architect or interior designer who wants the precision and quality of the Studio Select system without the time investment of configuring from scratch. It is for the client who wants a bespoke-quality handle but prefers to choose from a curated set rather than compose from first principles. It is for the developer specifying show units who wants something more distinctive than Studio One but does not need every unit to be individually configured.
What Studio Select by Kärcher gives you:
Nine excellent, pre-validated combinations — with full model code documentation for your ironmongery schedule, specification sheets available on request, and sample sets from KeysonAI’s trade team. The system is straightforward to specify because the work has been done for you.
What Studio Select by Kärcher does not give you:
The ability to create a combination outside these nine. If the project brief calls for, say, a Cosmos Black Diamond Touch handle with a Satin Brass spacer ring and a Large Satin Stainless Steel cap — that specific combination is not in the curated nine. You need Studio Select by you.
In summary — choose Studio Select by Kärcher when:
You want a curated, pre-validated, immediately specifiable configuration with the full backing of Kärcher Design’s own aesthetic judgement.
Studio Select by you is the complete expression of what the Studio Series was built to offer. Five independent decisions. Three colours throughout. Four surface textures. Nine two-tone cap combinations. Up to three spacer rings in any colour.
The mathematics of the system produce well over a thousand possible configurations — but in practice, the decisions are intuitive. You begin with a colour direction (gold, steel, or black), a texture (Soft Touch, Diamond Touch, Linear Touch, or Helix Touch), and a decision about contrast — whether the cap and spacer rings match the body or introduce a second tone. The combination that emerges is specific to your project in a way that no catalogue selection ever will be.
Who Studio Select by you is for:
It is for the architect writing a detailed ironmongery schedule for a luxury GnG bungalow where every material decision has been made with precision, and the hardware needs to be equally specific. It is for the interior designer whose project has a material palette that does not map neatly onto any of the curated nine. It is for the homeowner who has spent six months renovating and understands that this is the last major material decision — and wants it to be exactly right.
What Studio Select by you gives you:
A handle that has never existed before. Configured by you. Assembled by hand in Germany. Delivered with the same BS EN 1303 certification and ISO 9001 manufacturing standard as every other Studio Series handle — because the quality standard applies regardless of which configuration you choose.
What Studio Select by you requires of you:
Time and intention. The configuration process is not long — but it is deliberate. KeysonAI’s trade team can guide you through it, provide a physical sample of your chosen configuration before committing to a full order, and supply the specification sheet with full model code documentation for your ironmongery schedule.
In summary — choose Studio Select by you when:
Your project has a specific material brief that requires a handle composed to it — not selected from a catalogue, however well-curated that catalogue may be.
The Decision Framework
If you are still deciding after reading this far, use this framework:
Question 1 — Does the project require variation between units?
If no (every door gets the same handle) → Studio One or Studio Select by Kärcher are both efficient. If yes (different handles for entrance, bedroom, bathroom) → Studio Select by you or a mix of sub-lines.
Question 2 — Is there a specific finish requirement beyond Cosmos Black?
If no → Studio One is sufficient and excellent. If yes → move to Studio Select.
Question 3 — Does the brief require a combination not in the curated nine?
If no → Studio Select by Kärcher resolves the specification efficiently. If yes → Studio Select by you.
Question 4 — Is configuration time available in the project schedule?
If no → Studio One or Studio Select by Kärcher. If yes → Studio Select by you offers the most complete result.
How to Engage KeysonAI for Each Pathway
Studio One: Available directly from stock. Contact our trade team for lead times, bulk pricing, and BS EN 1303 documentation at keyson.com.my/kd-studio-series-enquiry.
Studio Select by Kärcher: Specification sheets with all nine model codes available on request. Sample sets of any configuration can be arranged. Contact our trade team at keyson.com.my/kd-studio-series-enquiry.
Studio Select by you: Begin at keyson.com.my/studio-select to explore the configuration system. When you have a direction, contact our trade team — we will arrange a physical sample of your chosen configuration before you commit to a full order. Specification documentation with full model code for your ironmongery schedule included with every order.
KeysonAI is Malaysia’s sole authorised distributor of Kärcher Design. To request a specification sheet, BS EN 1303 certification documentation, or a physical sample set, contact our trade team at keyson.com.my/kd-studio-series-enquiry. Architects and interior designers may also configure the Studio Select range and explore the full product family at keyson.com.my/studio-select.