Entry Doors - Victorian Era

Posted by: Ken Mariotti

Pinterest

What makes a house Victorian style? It’s describing Victorian era architecture in the period of Queen Victoria’s reign. The Victorian styles include Queen Anne, dominate from 1880-1910, Gothic Revival 1840-1880, Second Empire 1855-1885 and Italianate 1840-1885. You’re guaranteed to win a round of Trivia with this question.

It was common for American home styles to follow style trends from England, but what also accounts for an abundance of Victorian style homes in America was the building boom during the later nineteenth century.  Victorian homes were the first product of our Industrial Age after the Civil War when munitions factories were converted to make house parts. The factories mass-produced wood trim for the decorative trim, porches, gables, towers and dormers.

Although Victorians are largely made of wood, this was not always the case. In fact a large number of old Victorians around the Midwest are built with patterned brick and stone, which was the preference in urban neighborhoods.

DYINetwork.com

What are the characteristics of front entries during this period? Typically entry doors are rail-and-style wood construction with raised panels. Commonly they’re designed with two panels with the upper panel made of glass and decorative motifs. Four or six panel doors will combine flat and glass panels. Generally speaking these homes have a porch or a projecting pavilion above the entry door.

Wood or Fiberglass

Either material will be suitable to create the Victorian style entry door look, however wood is preferable. In most cases, the entry door is protected by a porch, which eliminates weather exposure concerns. Second, wood can finished to mimic the same carved moldings throughout the rest of a Victorian house. Expensive Fiberglass is an alternative that will give the look of wood, but it’s unlikely you can match the overall finishes to the home.

Finehomebuilding.com

A very real challenge that most homeowners face when selecting an entry door is translating their favorite style photos into an actual door that will give their home the look. Selecting just the right door for a Victorian style home presents this challenge in spades because Victorian is a stylistic hodgepodge of classical decorative elements – it’s expression is very individual. Bring photos into Woodland’s showroom and we’ll show you the door profile and glass options you can build from.

For example, a classic London Victorian will have twin glass panels in the four-panel door.  Jeld-Wen Custom Wood Glass Panel Collection or Simpson Door Selects Series offer the door profile to create this look. Or if you’re looking for a single large glass opening the Therma-Tru Fiberglass Classic Craft Canvas Collection is a good place to start.

Glass

Use your imagination and design away. Today the availability of glass options is as endless as the glass expressions you’ll see on Victorian style doors and windows. Large single panes of clear or etched glass, standalone or framed by square panes are universally liked.  Frequently you’ll see multi-paned clear glass or colored glass insets.  More elaborate use of glass includes stained glass or beveled glass designs in a variety of motifs’.  Check out Simpson Door for glass panel ideas.

London

Hardware

You’ll have no trouble finding an assortment of suitable hardware choices for your Victorian entry door. We suggest you make your entry door hardware traditionally conforming, yet unique. You can do this by observing the door hardware of yesteryear such as, an oversized knob centered on the door or an address etched in the glass above the door. The Victorian era was the romantic period – express yourself.

Entry Doors - The Traditional Classic

Posted by: Ken Mariotti

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

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.

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

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.

Entry Doors - The Craftsman

Posted by: Ken Mariotti

Pinterest Craftsman Home

Chicagoans claim the craftsman style home as a part of our heritage – after all, Frank Lloyd Wright is one of the fathers of the architectural movement. The style, circa 1890’s, popular into 1930, is enjoying a revival today.

Whether you’re fortunate enough to own an old original craftsman style home or are building a new home, the craftsman entry door is a key architectural element to focus on.

The craftsman door is almost always reached by way of a porch, which accentuates the door’s uniqueness. Craftsman doors are interesting contrasts of simple lines, warm woods, understated flat casings, decorative glass panes and a classically ornamental dentil shelf.

Simpson Doors Warm Wood

Warm Woods

Homeowners can select less expensive painted fiberglass or steel doors to compliment a craftsman style home, yet an all wood door creates an unmatched striking focal point. Good design always creates focal points that allow the eye to naturally absorb the view. Without a focal point, the eyes wander and the brain struggles.

The craftsman home is perfect for a wood door because of the protected porch entrance. Although wood is a great insulator and can withstand harsh weather, it needs an enduring finish and a building overhang for protection. Wood doors by Simpson can be used in tough exposures as long as they are made of especially weather-resistant woods such as: Douglasfir, Sapele Mahogany and Nootka Cypress.

he beauty of wood is that no two pieces look exactly the same. The grain patterns, color variations and textures create a work of art.  Frankly, it’s a stark contrast from a painted fiberglass or steel door, which can appear flat and lifeless in comparison. There are places for the less costly door; a wood craftsman entry door is the place to splurge.

Glass Panes

Therma Tru Doors with Sidelites

It’s not uncommon for entry doors to be placeholders in an architect’s design. Meaning its definition will be provided later. In the craftsman style this is often so the architect or designer can line up the views from the entry to a focal point inside the house.  This might be an interior wall or an exterior back yard.

The craftsman style entry door typically has glass in the upper door, sidelites or in a transom above the door. Well positioned, glass can bring natural day light to a dark foyer or let the moon and street light glow, flood the entry at night. If security is a concern consider glass transoms.

Simplicity and Originality

Jeld Wen Dutch Door

The American craftsman style was a response to the ornate Victorian style homes that were common at the time. It stood in stark contrast to the highly decorated eclectic Victorian. Adopting an arts and crafts artistic sensibility, the style typically uses local handcrafted glass, wood and metal work. The colors are usually a natural palette so that the homes blend with nature. You might find the Dutch door an original interpretation of the traditional craftsman door.

Imagination

If an all-wood door is outside the limits of your budget, don’t despair. Check out doors by Therma-Tru for fiberglass doors that mimic wood. Or if you love painted doors, check out the options for wood, fiberglass or steel painted doors by Jeld Wen in a variety of colors. Or if space allows you can create a double door entrance. Beauty lies in variation, so use your imagination to get the craftsman look on any budget.