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Pls Help Me Decide- Final Window & Front Door Decision Due In AM!

mydreamhome
12 years ago

Just a few final decisions we're on the fence about. Please weigh in with your opinion & help me decide.

First, the front door...

Front Elevation:

Door Finalists (Installed doors on top row, same doors with no frame of reference on bottom row):



Moving on to the Kitchen...

Kitchen Window Options (Interior View):

Rear Elevations with Different Kitchen Window Options:



Comments (19)

  • gib55
    12 years ago

    I love the first door with the iron inset and the window above the sink with the arch. Although, I don't think either choice will look bad.

  • trudymom
    12 years ago

    I like the middle door best, and the window with the arch, although I think either would look great. I think the arch makes it look a little more formal--just my opinion.

  • andi_k
    12 years ago

    I like the middle door, and the first window (but you couldn't go wrong with either!)

  • athensmomof3
    12 years ago

    I definitely like the middle door (iron work is more spanish looking than your house and I think the non arched panels are more traditional). I think either choice for the kitchen, although I don't like how the arched window top is cut off by the porch in your rear elevation. It looks strange to me but that may be the fault of the design software, not what it will look like in actuality.

    Also, I would think about window treatments or lack thereof. If you are going to do a window treatment, I would go with the square top. If no window treatment I think you could do either. Here is a beautiful kitchen in an older home (just won 3rd place in the Wolf/SZ kitchen contest) with an arched window and beautiful casing with no window treatments. It is a more dramatic arch but you get the idea.

    If you do the other, you could put a window treatment of some sort on it.

    Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1451787}}

  • chisue
    12 years ago

    Middle door. Archtop kitchen window. (Will a centered window stile bother you?)

    My kitchen sink window is three casements (center is stationary) and an arched top. The ceiling over that area has a semi-barrel vault to accomodate the tall window. Love it! Mine is 'bare' -- just wide casings. If you want shutters, etc. think what part of the window you'll want to cover. Plan to leave entry door clear glass?

  • senator13
    12 years ago

    Middle door!

  • pps7
    12 years ago

    middle door.

    no arch in kitchen window. I like things simple :)

  • turtleshope
    12 years ago

    Middle door, arched window.

  • ash6181
    12 years ago

    I agree with athensmom that, while the first door option with the ironwork is beautiful, I'm not sure it would be the best choice for the style of your house. The door reads sort of Mediterranean/ European to me, which is not the vibe I get from your house. My favorite door would be the middle option.
    As far as windows, I like both options. Agree with the recommendation to consider your window treatments. For me, personally, it would bother me to have one arch top window in my house and all the others be square, but I'm weird about stuff like that. I think either would look great.

    Would you be willing to share the source for the middle door? I love it, and it's just what I've been looking for!

  • nini804
    12 years ago

    'nother vote for the middle door...it seems most appropriate for your home. I like either window...probably the non-arch one slightly better.

  • mydreamhome
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Thanks everyone for your input!! The final decisions were:

    1st Door--I prefer the middle door-very simple with elegant understated lines, but DH likes the added privacy the iron lends to the door, so privacy trumps simple & elegant. Living 1000 ft off the road and around a corner on 45 acres isn't private enough, I guess. DH says if we don't like it once we move in, we'll change it out--time will tell.

    Kitchen Window--I ended up with a small reprieve here as questions came up on other windows when they went to place the order today, so any changes have to be made tomorrow. Our decision was to go with the standard window (no arch). There will be no window treatments on this window. My thought was that if I didn't like the way it looked, I could add an arched cornice board that would extend to the ceiling that matches the cabinetry to give a visual arched look like this:

    Then I got to thinking about athensmomof3 & chisue's responses about the 3 casements. I have an inspiration picture (posted below), but not sure on the sizes shown or even if the side units are a different size than the middle unit.


    I did call the cabinet guy & verified my cabinet specs. I would be able to do the 3 casements to form an arch, but it will be tight. Technically, I've got 58.5" of space available for the window (3.25" trim already taken into consideration). My options on window widths would be:

    A) 12" - 24" - 12" (proportionally, this one might be a little too tall for the specced width)
    B) 16" - 24" - 16"
    C) 18" - 18" - 18"

    Any thoughts?

    Ash6181-The doors are made by DSA Mastercraft Doors out of Raleigh, NC.

    Here is a link that might be useful: DSA Mastercraft Site

  • david_cary
    12 years ago

    I have the first door. The iron does make noise on certain mornings as it heats up. I think this is a winter issue because I haven't noticed it lately. I would have tried to talk my wife out of the door as it is pretty annoying (I'm not sure I would have won).

    We have a privacy glass - sort of wavy - I forget the name. But don't forget to order that if privacy is an issue.

  • mydreamhome
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Hi David-Just how noisy are we talking with that iron? What kind of noise and for how long? As you may remember, I'm in the Greensboro area so we have very similar weather.

  • david_cary
    12 years ago

    Popping and creaking. Lasts 2 hours id say. Just makes you wonder if something is wrong with your house. It all depends if you are sensitive to sounds.

  • chisue
    12 years ago

    The flat top with the cornice would be MUCH less expensive. Depends if you want maximum light. I think it's very attractive!

    I have three 22" wide by 56" tall casements with a 2' arch over them. My window faces north and is the only window in the kitchen. Two pair of French doors in the breakfast room face east and south, but this is my main source of natural light. Sink is 36" wide.

    The wider the window, the less upper cabinet space you'll have on that wall.

    Consider how your sink will look with each of the three options and how much of a 'statement' you want the window to make. (Mine 'makes' the room, IMO. I got the idea from a similar tall kitchen archtop at a self-catering place we rented in the English countryside. It had been a coachhouse, and they needed to fill some vertical spaces. There was no real need for such a window in that small kitchen, but it transformed the space.)

  • athensmomof3
    12 years ago

    If you do the triple casements, I would do them all the same size so the 18" I guess.

    And boy that door would drive me nuts! Could you talk your husband into the second door but with a more private glass (wavy or seeded). I think that would give you the old traditional look you seem to be going for and satisfy his need for privacy.

  • chisue
    12 years ago

    IF you must do the first door, change the doors on the garage. (I find the first and last doors entirely 'too much', but...you need to keep peace in the family. This house-building is a real marriage test!)

  • nini804
    12 years ago

    Our doors are similar to #2 and we have the seedy glass. It is very nice and "old" looking...and it gives privacy.

  • ash6181
    12 years ago

    Thanks for the door source info, mydreamhome.