Front Doors: Single or Double Set?
We are still in planning/LPC stages on a row house in Boerum Hill and was interested in people’s thoughts on one item that keeps coming up for me. Currently double duplex, going to triplex+garden unit. Currently entering at parlor level you are immediately met with two doors (one to each unit). Those go away. The…
We are still in planning/LPC stages on a row house in Boerum Hill and was interested in people’s thoughts on one item that keeps coming up for me.
Currently double duplex, going to triplex+garden unit. Currently entering at parlor level you are immediately met with two doors (one to each unit). Those go away. The question is whether to put in a new set of double doors just inside the front doors. Most of the houses have this set up, but I hate to give up the space to create that weird little vestibule. Front doors currently have half height glass windows. Does anyone live in a setup without the second set of doors? Pros/cons?
vestibules are the best for all of the reasons above, particularly for the mail slot which the mailpeople sometimes tend not to close. if they don’t your heat will be going right out of the door. besides it provides increased security!
Don’t give up the vestibule. You will miss it dearly more than you curse having it.
All of the above! Can’t imagine life in a brownstone w/o the vestibule.
In my parlor floor renovation I re-installed a period vestibule, and it was one of the smartest moves I made. It’s in keeping with the style of the rest of the house, and is terrific for coat racks and umbrella stands, as well as the insulation factor (as for being a buffer, there seems to be a LOT of consensus about that here!). And if you’re worried about loss of floorspace; it would likely cover only 12 to 25 square feet at most.
Don’t get rid of the vestibule! They’re wonderful.
Obvious uses: drying umbrellas, hanging drippy snow jackets, kicking off wet shoes, preventing drafts into the rest of the house, a place to put stuff you don’t want to forget on the way out.
Surprise uses: I got a plant, and didn’t want to put it into a pot during this cold snap. Putting it in the vestibule meant it got enough light to survive while not losing its acclimation to the outdoors.
This winter, we had a HUGE dinner party, and as we were preparing for it, we put booze in the vestibule to chill. Also put a big plate of something that we wanted to keep cold, but couldn’t fit in the refrigerator.
They’re surprisingly functional. I can see getting rid of it if there were some reason…but it would have to be a damn, damn, DAMN good reason!
We removed our vestibule, which caused some problems and alleviated other ones. It’s a lot draftier in the house because we have an old door still. On the other hand, the space in the front hall is lovely.
As everyone else says, they were there for a reason. And if you need another, you can put mailboxes in the vestibule, and the PO (and your tenant) will only need the key to the exterior door.
Also the vestibule in most houses is a more weather tolerant material than the front hall. Such as tiles or marble instead of wood and rugs in the hall.
I lived in a rental in a brownstone with a vestibule (two sets of doors, original) and would recommend it for the reasons mentioned above plus some. The owners had a door closer on one of the sets of doors so those were always closed. Sometimes one of the locks would stick and it was nice knowing there was at least another locked door if I couldnt get one of the two to lock. There was also one tenant who would fail to lock the doors so it was good that one of the doors self-locked. The vestibule was covered so I could leave stuff there with the front doors closed but unlocked if I needed to leave some stuff there but didnt want it to be obvious from the street. Mail that came in through the mail slot would naturally collect in the vestibule whereas if it were just one door it would probably be scattered over a larger area. The one negative was that none of the door stops in the area were big enough to keep the doors open so there was damage and banging of the doors that could have been prevented.