I fall for beautiful details in decor all the time.
From little tiny embellishes to scene stealing statement details.
And this door… is definitely full of both.
And yes, can I just say… I am in love with a dutch door.
I mean… it definitely is possible to fall in love with a door.
Because I have.
My vintage loving heart has fallen for that wavy vintage glass and the tall twelve lights and with that dutch door detail.
Dutch doors have long had oodles of romantic vintage vibes.
They were created to be utilitarian- which they definitely are.
You can open the top to let the breezes in while keeping the bottom closed to keep animals out and your pets and children safe inside.
And I have had a dutch door in mind for our cottage for years.
That simple vintage charm seemed like a perfect fit- and my partner Simpson Doors made my dutch door dreams come true. Seriously BEYOND Excited about this dutch door- it is literal perfection and it fits our cottage so perfectly.
The Before
When we moved in- we had a full wood door that was old and split in several areas- which allowed nice little beams of light to shine on in when the door was closed. haha.
We replaced it with an inexpensive off the shelf door knowing that we would be re-doing the exterior and replacing doors and windows at some point. Well, that front door stayed for much longer than we thought it would.
But, it was always on the list to replace that door with a beautiful charming one.
And while we were in London- I snapped probably 3 dozen photos of doors that I loved.
They were full of tall glass (like this one)
and they were painted in the most beautiful glossy shades of bold and beautiful navy, red and black and also the soft muted greens, blues and creams.
So naturally, after snapping all kinds of gorgeous doors- I came home more energized than ever to replace our front door- and I sent those inspiration images to Simpson Door- and they custom designed this dutch door for me.
I love the fact that they could take my inspiration- and recreate it to fit my home and size- and something I loved doing was choosing the type of glass that we would use. This is an exterior door on the front of the house. Though we have a different ‘front door’ that we also do use- this is one that leads to the porch and that quite a few people use as our front door- so we wanted some kind of privacy glass without obscuring too much.
Simpson Doors has a great tool that shows you different options- we chose this mottled swirly seeded glass that reminded me of the kind of wavy glass that a vintage door would have.
The other thing that was custom was the size and where the dutch door ‘split’ was. We were able to have a larger area of glass- with the split for the door lower than average- which is what we were looking for. Simpson Door designed the wood/glass balance to give us the look we wanted- and basically- if you have a house like ours that has an already determined size door opening- you CAN get the door of your dreams by having a custom one created.
When the door arrived – I literally started dancing in the driveway- it was that incredible. To create a dutch door which starts out as simply a solid single door- Simpson Door cut the door where it was planned to be split and added special trim to create a ‘solid’ yet opening door.
I have seen some dutch doors available for order- but not something that was custom or gave us the option to create a ‘taller’ door with adjusting the glass area
and where the split would go.
Simpson took our measurements and created a door to fit that size and the look we wanted.
The outside came primed and ready to paint- and with a special UltraBlock technology that adds a water-resistant composite block in the bottom of the door stiles, where water infiltration can occur in a tough exposure.
We are installing solid brass hardware –
and leaving the inside finish more natural for the time being.
We are looking at bleached wood options or a whitewash possibly-
I will let you know what we go with.
On the outside- I just gave the door several coats of this color and will probably do one more before we fully install all the hardware and bolts. It is called Boothbay Gray by Benjamin Moore and is in a high gloss enamel.
On the inside- we have a brass bolt to keep the two pieces of the door together when closed- as well as bolts into the floor and frame for security. I will share more about bolt and lock options
that I found soon.
As you can see – we aren’t full installed yet- and I was working around that autumn decor the day we started to remove the old and put in the new-
but I could not wait to share how the new door is looking.
You can see that seeded glass looking so pretty in this photo-
along with a peek of something else…
See that bare wood peeking out in the background?
The french doors are changing too… those are proving to be a bit of a bear to install with some damage that we have been repairing and a bit of retrofitting-
such is the way with an old house.
But more on those and how different the room looks with just that one change
is coming your way soon.
You can find more information about how to design and order your own Simpson Door-from standard style and sizes or designing and creating the custom door of your dreams- right here.
What do you think of this dutch door and how it turned out?
*disclosure: I partnered with Simpson Door to update the doors in our home
but all opinions are my own.
Barbara at Mantel and Table says
What a gorgeous door, Courtney! And how wonderful to have it made exactly the way you want! Beautiful!
Unknown says
LOVE the door & especially the glass! Enjoy!
martinealison says
Bonjour,
Une bien jolie décoration… Merci pour le partage des photos.
Gros bisous ????
Anonymous says
I love your dutch door. I installed a key only dead bolt on my front door so even if the upper glass was smashed no one could reach in and turn the knob; to break in.
Susan
Unknown says
Love love love your style. Found you on Instagram. Your page was always my favorite! Just bought your book. Im studying photography and I plan to emulate your style in a project… Thank you for the inspiration.
Unknown says
Hello, I luv, luv the door. Also, did you make the wreath yourself??
Unknown says
Please tell me the dimensions! What is the height of the bottom door? I'm looking to do the same thing lowering the bottom door. I'm afraid I will cut too low but also I don't want it too high. How did you determine how much to bring it down. It looks perfect!
Unknown says
Also, what is the thickness of the stiles and rails? 4"?
Dorothy says
can you please help me? You can email me privately if you prefer… i have a simpson dUtch door picked ouT But am having issues with finding a local retailer that will mAke it with sidelights… also wanted to double the prIce Of the door with seeded glass… was looking for info on How you got the door and proce ranges if you are willing to Share… all you help would be greatly APPRECIATED!!! Thank You.
Courtney says
Hi Dorothy! I worked directly with Simpson Door when we installed our dutch door. I think if you were to reach out to them- they might be able to help you find a local retailer or the nearest retailer who can help you to get the door ordered. You might also reach out to local window/door companies and see if they have a contact or way to order? I don’t have any idea of cost for adding side lights or how that works- sorry about that. I hope that helps!