Interior door style for 1870s renovation
I’m in the process of renovating my 1870 brownstone, and I’m bringing back some period-appropriate details (think wainscoting, fire surrounds, woodwork), but with a modern twist—pretty much the typical brownstone project these days! All the original interior doors were replaced in the 90s with cheap ones, and I’m finally upgrading them.
I’m torn between single panel and double panel (1 over 1) doors. I’m leaning towards recessed panels with ovolo sticking for a bit of detail. The ceilings are 10′ and 9′ across the different floors, but the doors are standard height.
For the wainscoting, I’m going with a thin design: 1/3 of the way up from the floor and 2/3 above that. If I do go with double-panel doors, what do you think the ratio between the top and bottom panels should be? Would a standard 60/40 split work, or should I tweak it for something more unique to the space? Or should I go extra modern with single panel?
Would love your thoughts and any advice!
davidgonzalez
in Renovation 7 months ago
7
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7 replies
opoddubnaya.bootsoft | 6 months ago
I want to add: wood was bought for other project, for the windows, and it was from leftovers ( we restore and renovate house from 1860s, and it is an ongoing work).
opoddubnaya.bootsoft | 6 months ago
David,
true style for the doors should be 2 over 2 for this period.
We finally decided to replace 3 original apartment entrance 2 over 2 doors.
It was needed.
To my surprise ( I know he is good) but our contractor created exact replicas pretty fast.
If you want I can ask him if he would like to do more doors.
Ballpack I would say his labour would be 2-3 days per door.
Things to remember:
he bought wood half year before doing the work. It was laying in our basement for many month with ventilation. And he bought boards kiln dried to begin with.
2-3 days is just to create a 2 over 2 panel.
also you would need a custom door frame and period appropr mouldings.
(actually, he is doing mouldings as of now in our basement. Our tenants are moving out and we decided to replace some of the mouldings).
As a fellow brownstoner I would gladly ask my contractor if you are interested. I do not have any financial interest in this transaction.
Also, keep in mind – he would need to go to you place and doo measurements for each door. Probably he could find indications on original doors sizes.
If you want I can post the pictures of his doors, but it is your straightforward 2 over 2 historical doors that probably could be found in most brownstones, just do not have all those dents and 100 years worth layers of paint.
davidgonzalez | 7 months ago
Thank you for the replies – i’ll look at the 4 panel, 2 over 2, as well as 5 panel stacked and see where they fall in my budget!
I meant to convey that whoever renovated the home in the 90’s sized these door openings down to the “modern” standard 6′ 8″ x 36″, and installed cheap hollow-core doors. Unfortunately I don’t have the funds to embark on a complete restoration of the passage sizes; rather i will be updating the doors themselves to be of higher quality (solid core) with more period appropriate paneling and sticking.
Thanks again for all the replies and insights!
Brownstone Home Inspection | 7 months ago
and cate mentions door heights. no, modern doors will not fit.
this is what you can do. i did this a few times with the 5 panel (horizontal doors) and even with simpler doors. Find a custom maker who can make up a shaker stile (or shaker style; not sure which style we want here) door and you stick it out with panel molding in the form you want. we did this when we had to match doors to a specific trim in a house. we would make the custom trim and install it on the door. bingo.
i used to order doors from a place in ohio. they were nice poplar doors and cheaper than what i could get from dykes. But i think they went out of business (i could not figure out how they sold their door so cheap; this is why it is important to support businesses who model is sustainable).
today you can try Upstate Doors. I know them as entry door makers but i am sure they make inteior doors as well.
Brownstone Home Inspection | 7 months ago
the two panel doors might look out of place in a home that early. many times they had 4 panel with mid rail dividing the top and bottom panels and a center stile diving the left and right panels. i once heard that this was deliberate with the shape of the mid rail and center stile creating a “cross” in reference to a particular religion.
they also used 5 panel doors with the panels laying horizontally and equally spaced on the door. i was able to order newer versions of these in pine from Dykes over a decade ago. they were from Rouge Valley Doors but i do not think Dykes carries that line anymore.
cate | 7 months ago
By the way, I mean only to say that education helps one make well informed choices that fit the situation.
cate | 7 months ago
Doors were not standardized but all of the 1870s interior doors I can recall seeing have four panels. Door frames will certainly not be modern standard height and heights will vary on each floor depending on the height of the ceiling. Door styles (and moldings and so on) will vary not only from house to house or row to row but also depending on whether the house is grand, middle, or modest, where it is located, and whether it is a city, surburban, or rural house. Your best bet is to educate your eye by reading accurate books on historic architecture and decoration (Bricks and Brownstone, anything by John Maass, builder’s guides of the time, etc.) and visiting in-person neighborhood house tours, house museums with original surfaces, real estate open houses, salvage yards, and especially houses of neighbors in the same row as your house. (Some local house museums with original materials although not exactly the same era or type as yours include the Merchant’s House Museum, the Tenement Museum, and the Newburgh Historical Society. The Linley Sambourne House in London is 1870s.) Take photos of the architectural details and, when appropriate, measurements. You can buy old doors (also hardware, baseboards, and more) from salvage houses and you can also copy old house parts. You can also work with a restoration architect or builder to develop and spec details and drawings. Best wishes and good luck with your project.