XXIV. Doors

In considering the individual features which go to make up a house, it must be remembered that they form part of a structure which should be homogeneous, and as a learned professor may build up the structure of an extinct animal from a few bones, so, in the house, a single door for instance, should express in its design much of the general character of the building to which it belongs. Eclecticism is a principle which may be followed in the designing of a house only under severe restrictions. We may choose, indeed, from all the Ages, but in choosing we must change till all is in harmony.

The simplest kind of door is one composed of vertical planks, secured to horizontal cross-ledges. The candid construction of such a door finds itself peculiarly at home in a house where the direct and simple use of materials is the keynote of the design. In the average modern house it has been relegated to back premises, in favour of elaborate arrangements of mouldings and panels, but in many respects it is more appropriate and more interesting than the panelled door.

In the first place, its two sides are quite distinct in character, one with its unbroken surface forming a field for the decorative use of ironwork in hinges and latch, and the other with its ledges barring the surface of the door with horizontal lines.

This type of door may be most consistently used in a solid frame of wood, or hung on gudgeons set in stonework, or brickwork of the doorway. It is less desirable when the internal finishings of the house are entirely superficial, and in carrying the principle of direct expression of constructive decoration which such a door exemplifies to its logical conclusion in the house, the universal use of plaster as an internal finish for the walls is not always desirable, for plaster entails the use of superficial woodwork in the form of fascias and skirtings, which are not quite in harmony with the ledged type of door. A compromise may, however, be effected in this matter by reducing such fascias to their smallest dimensions, and thus keeping them quite distinct from the structural woodwork, to make them appear rather part of the plaster than part of the door frame.

Or if the actual brickwork or stonework of the wall or the woodwork of the framed partition is left exposed, this will form the most satisfactory setting for a door of this description.

The consideration of the old Scandinavian door frames which were so intricately carved, suggests the use of the plain surface of the ledged door as a foil to the carving of the frame which embowers it with branches, leaves and fruit.

The next type of door to be considered is the panelled door, which presents many possibilities for design in the number and proportion of the panels, and the moulding of the rails and styles.

In the simpler types of door the mouldings may be omitted altogether, and wherever mouldings are introduced, they should justify their existence by the refinement and beauty of their lines. Inasmuch as they serve no practical purpose, and rest their claims to our regard solely on aesthetic qualities, there seems little excuse for the existence of the coarse and ugly mouldings which disfigure the doors of the average house.

In a panelled room it is generally desirable to make the doors a part of the panelling, so that the continuity of the wall treatment is unbroken. In this way the door becomes almost a secret one, and does not assert itself as a feature in the room.

In the same way a door may be effaced by covering it with arras cloth or canvas in a room which is hung with this material, and this leads us to the consideration of the door which is made specially to cut off sound, and which tradition has decreed shall be covered with red or green baize. This type of door may be covered with canvas and decorated with embroidery or stencilling.

Doors may also be covered with metal work of various kinds—with brass, copper or lead, and ornamented with repousse work, or with leather which may be embossed and tooled.

The use of metal is particularly suitable for an exterior door, where it suggests permanence and strength.

In the number and arrangements of the doors in a house, it will be found generally desirable to have but one to each room, and that so placed as to avoid draughts at the fireside.

The multiplication of doors in a room may seem desirable if convenience of access only is considered, but they do not make for comfort of habitation, and in most cases every additional door means a possible draught, and a corresponding decrease in the comfort of the room.

In the hanging of the doors it should be arranged that they screen the room as far as possible when open.