I have 9 ft ceilings. My house plan called for the windows and transoms. I did not want transoms, so I eliminated the transoms and made the windows taller. So, I had to decide how to handle the french doors. Well, as someone said above-- I do have 8 ft tall skinny french doors (in the family room). And I am not crazy about them. They look just OK, I think. But, I have two little boys that are always running in and out of that door and slamming it. Even though it is a good brand, it sounds creaky. I would have been better off doing the regular height with a transom on that door. That's what I did in the dining room. And it's prettier. I was afraid to use a transom on the door when not using them on the windows. But from your pics above, I think it looks great.

Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts Jenny and Chris. We really appreciate it! I went out to the house to take a few pictures and the doors are currently framed at 6'8". The plan is to move them to 8' this week. That's probably part of the reason that we're having such a hard time picturing the final product because the disparity between the top of the door and top of the window is so great. If we move the doors to 8" we can't put a transom above the door because it will be too small (header is at 9', so you'd have a very small transom). The exterior elevation (below) has the windows and doors at 8', which is probably what we should do. But there's a part of us that thinks we might regret not putting transoms above all of the windows and doors on the backside of the house. Rear Elevation (due to code, county wouldn't let us put a garage door in the basement even though its a games room). Framing in progress (garage door replaced with double french doors in the basement. still need to cut away the sheathing as it appears we're missing a window and door on the basement level). View from rooms at the back of the house.

Door systems can be ordered with an optional transom. Try looking at the Thermatru web site. You can call their customer service line for instructions on how to install the transom.

Where is the kitchen in relationship to the doors? You’re so focused on symmetry and form that you’re not taking into account function. It’s a back yard. Not the front yard. Function rules. What’s the path from the kitchen prep out to the grill? What about the back yard playing to the bathroom? The actual connection of the indoor and outdoor is what doors are supposed to facilitate. Traffic routes and interior organization are far more important than useless doors that will never have anyone travel through them.