10 Custom Doors That Uncover Meaning
Break out of the standard-door rut by learning a significance that few people ever consider
If a home is a place of meaning, doorways are the most meaningful parts. An opening connects one space with another, while a door sets the stage for the human interaction that opens it up or closes it off. Opening a door and crossing the threshold moves us from one realm to the next — from outside to inside, from public to private, from bedroom to bathroom, from big space to small space, from cold to warm.
If we consider the various potential meanings that are inherent in a doorway, then it would be a shame to consider only store-bought doors for everything from the front door to the bathroom door. How we interact with a door affects what it means to us, so doors should be considered in terms of a number of factors: surface, materials, hardware, how it's hinged and if it slides, among other things. This ideabook looks at some doors with a difference — custom doors that make their respective homes more meaningful.
If we consider the various potential meanings that are inherent in a doorway, then it would be a shame to consider only store-bought doors for everything from the front door to the bathroom door. How we interact with a door affects what it means to us, so doors should be considered in terms of a number of factors: surface, materials, hardware, how it's hinged and if it slides, among other things. This ideabook looks at some doors with a difference — custom doors that make their respective homes more meaningful.
At first glance this door may seem like a fairly typical hinged door with a simple black finish. But actually it is a pivot door set into a deep but thin metal frame that aligns with the built-in unit and soffit. This is a door that really celebrates the movement between inside and outside, and vice versa, by making the opening dark, thick and a contrast with the interior.
Here is another pivot door, one that is also set into a matching, deep frame. When closed, the door becomes part of a protruding box that makes a statement in front of the concrete block wall. The gridded wood is a lovely pattern that accentuates how abstract the design is.
These double doors are great for the way the randomly composed vertical inserts hint at what is happening on the other side. Here is a view from outside in the evening ...
... and here is a view from the inside during the day. In both cases light streams in through the translucent slots from the bright side to the darker side. It's a great effect that gives an artistic punch to the entrance.
A good way to think about the design of a door is to see it as part of its larger wall. This front door is set into a wall that is well composed with a sidelight, transom and side panel with matching wood and random horizontal bands of translucent glass. Even the mail slot follows the design, cut into a horizontal band of wood.
Moving inside, the rest of this ideabook focuses on sliding doors and barn doors, because of the way they depart from typical hinged doors. What you won't find are pocket doors, which lose their presence when open and are much harder to incorporate into an existing house.
This sliding door hung from above sits at the top of a stair. It allows the stair to be closed off when the children are playing, and opening the door does not impact walking into the room at left.
This sliding door hung from above sits at the top of a stair. It allows the stair to be closed off when the children are playing, and opening the door does not impact walking into the room at left.
At the beginning I said this ideabook would consider even the bathroom door, and here is one. I like the contrast between the rough barn door, the galvanized track and the simple, light interior. The door works for the compact bathroom, since it doesn't have to swing into the space.
Here is another example where the door and surrounding wall are considered as one design. The sliding door blends into the wall behind it, such that when it's closed, the wall is one consistent surface (minus the light coming in between the slats). The hardware is a bit of a contrast with the wood, but it is simple and elegant nevertheless.
This sliding door at a kitchen straddles the line between architecture and art, functional and decorative. It is made up of six pieces, with one gap at the top for light and air. A couple pieces overlap the rail, making the latter part of the overall composition.
What I like about this wide barn door is the way it works with both openings on either side. Slide it to the left to close off the office; slide it to the right to close off the bathroom.
This last example might not be as eye catching as some of the previous examples, but I'm including it here because of its documentation; photos show it closed, open, furnished and from the other side. Here we see the large translucent slider covering the opening.
With the door partially open, the space behind is revealed, a room with a window. This is one indication why translucent glass is a good choice here — even when the door is closed, the living room borrows some light from the window.
Note how the horizontal rail (at about chair rail height) works as the handle for sliding the door.
Note how the horizontal rail (at about chair rail height) works as the handle for sliding the door.
When open the door covers the wall next to the opening. This is clearly intentional, given how the closet next to the front door adds a couple feet to that length of wall; take out the closet, and the door sticks out. With the furniture we can see that the room is an office, and the door allows for privacy with some light still coming from both sides (window and living room).
From the other side we can see how the door is constructed from steel sections that break down the door into a square and two rectangles (the kids seem to like the square). As well, the surface takes on an opaque quality when the light is low on the other side.