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| Colonial - Homeguides.sfgate.com |
What’s the right entry door for a
traditional style house? It depends on which traditional style house you live
in or plan to build. Traditional style means long established or customary and
is the most common style in our area. Traditional is a broad term compromising
many styles including Federal, Gothic Revival or Queen Anne.
When we describe a home as traditional
we’re often referring to either a common style historically prevalent in our
region, such as Colonial, Georgian or Cape Cod, or likewise, we may be
referring to the specific classic features such as symmetrical windows, Greek
shapes or a portico. What’s common to this type of home is that it has a
timeless design with historical roots.
When shopping for an entry door for your
traditional style home, it’s important to be clear about which style you’re
trying to capture. Since most traditional home entries feature a decorative
surround, focus on selecting a door to compliment and illuminate that feature
of the home.
Balanced Symmetry
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| French Revival -Jefferybrianfisher.com |
When planning a traditional front entry pay
special attention to how you’ll create symmetry. Will you have plants, glass,
lights, ornamental trim or some other artifact adorning either side of the
entry door? The door needs to appear balanced with each element carefully
placed and scaled to match the rest of your home’s exterior.
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| Six-panel - Pinterest |
Solid Door
The most common traditional door style is
made of wood with rail-and-stile construction with raised panels. Panels are
quite suitable to Colonial, Federal, Cape Cod or Georgian styles. If you’re
designing a French or Spanish Revival you’ll want to consider plank door
styles, which elongates and simplifies the lines of the door. The
tongue-and-groove look emulates plank doors, but usually is built using
rail-and-stile to ensure greater performance. Victorian, Queen Anne or Ranch
home styles often use a French or flat-slab door.
Transom and Sidelites
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| Victorian - Therma-Tru Doors |
Bring light into the entry hall by adding a
transom above or sidelites flanking the door. Glazing, the glass, should match
your home’s windows. Let’s say that your grid pattern is a colonial style
traditional. It’s likely six-panes of glass, separated by muntins in both the
top and bottom window panels. Your transom would also have six-panes of glass
with muntins and your sidelite divided glass panes would each match the size of
one of the window panes. If you have Victorian style windows you can repeat the
diamond-patterned grids.
Just because you have a traditional style
home doesn’t mean your entry door is the same as every other traditional entry
door. Using this traditional style guide you can create your own look from our manufacturer’s
traditional style doors: Therma-Tru, Jeld-Wen, Simpson, Andersen, and Marvin.
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