Doors, Frames and Hardware
Historic doors, frames and hardware are some of the most important elements of a historic house, and one of the best components to easily identify different styles of architecture.
Vintage doors salvaged from old buildings add authenticity to your restoration project. New doors can also be fabricated to match the appearance of any door, with the added advantage of modern construction techniques for better insulation and increased security.
While the function of doors has always been the same, the design of entry doors and interior doors has changed according to the architectural styles of the times and technological advances in building materials.
Every feature… which denotes domestic life becomes a valuable truth in Domestic Architecture. Windows, doors, and chimneys, are the first of these truths…
– Andrew Jackson Downing((Downing, Andrew Jackson. The Architecture of Country Houses: Including Designs for Cottages, Farm-houses, and Villas. (1850) D. Appleton & Company ))
Entry Doors
Entry doors define the architectural style of a house as the focal point of the exterior facade. Even when no ornamentation is applied to the outside of a building, at the very least, an effort is made to add some distinction to the front entrance door.
Georgian Style entrance
The overall symmetry of a Georgian Style house is balanced by an entrance at the center of the front facade. Pilasters are used to support a narrow projecting pediment over the door. Subsequent owners may have added a roof or porch over the entry.
Rectangular transom windows or half-round fanlights are used in Georgian Style architecture. Elliptical fanlights and sidelights did not come into fashion until after the Revolutionary War.
Federal Style entrance
Federal Style entry doors take on some of the Adamesque style ornamentation of the period, with carved ornaments and elegant muntins in half-round fanlight windows. Doors may be recessed from the face of the building. Complete columns positioned in the opening support a half-round arch.
Elliptical fanlights and sidelights were also introduced as an element of design for entry doors. Columns supporting a roof over the entry are common in Federal Style houses. Two story porticos are common in the southern States.
Gothic Revival Style entrance
Romantic ideas about the Middle Ages in Europe inspired the Gothic Revival Style in America. Elements from ancient stone castles were used to enrich the exterior: lancet windows, towers and battlements. Gothic entrance doors feature the flat, pointed Tudor arch.
Andrew Jackson Downing is credited with the popularity of the porch or veranda. New houses built in the Gothic style often feature a formal portico with thin columns supporting a porch or domed roof.
Interior Doors
