What did the drawings you approved for the door show? From what I know they are really only available in White and/or Bronze.

The drawings weren't in color - just line drawing w/o colors or shading to indicate colors.

The "designer" recommended the fiberglass door because she said it would hold up better to our dogs - I wish she had made the point that if we chose fiberglass the door would be red and the mullions couldn't be painted.

Looks like the other houses by this builder have wood doors and they look uniform. There's one house with the two-tone door and I can see it a mile away.

I'm having the same problem - red front door with white mullions that stand out in a very ugly way. The mullions are exterior, not inside the glass, but the painter said that if he paints them the paint won't last since they are plastic (the door is some sort of composite, fiberglass I think). He will be back next week for a the 2nd coat. Should I insist he paint the mullions. I hate the way the door looks now.

Thank you.

If you don't like the door, then change it to a wooden one that can be finished the way you prefer. Chances are you will hate this door for as long as you live in the house.

This is one of those house-building lessons that many suffer through.

Learn and move on! Don't dwell on it.

Good luck with your project!

i'd see if a door company can create mullions for you that can be custom-fitted to the glass on the inside and outside panes and the white mullions you have now will almost appear as a spacer bar portion of a simulated divided lite window element. good luck.

Thanks for your replies. I'll post the results if I find away to resolve this.

On a side door to my house we have plastic type mullions on the exterior. They were painted on the inside and the outside of the door to match the door paint. I've even repainted them myself with no problems of peeling, etc. It sounds like a painter not wanting to do the detail work to me.

That last post was for Ardita, not the OP.

II know this was from years ago but I have the same problem. I wanted to paint my door red, which I did, and then discovered I can't paint the inside mullions between the two panes of glass. I know, wasn't thinking but ...YIKES!!. So, I now have the choice of living with a door that looks garish or bust the budget and buy another new door. Phooey to the manufacturers that would make a door like this! I know..lesson learned. When I spoke to the designer and she said it wasn't "that bad" I offered to trade doors with her. She didn't respond to that request. Hmmmm.

"Phooey to the manufacturers that would make a door like this! "

How would you propose they make them then?

Glad I saw this. Now I have to check to see if the door we chose will have white mullions. It is fiberglass craftsman style and we will be painting it dark green. It will be on a log cabin. It will look horrible if the mullions are white. Just another thing to worry about. We really don't want a wood door. Been there done that.

What you need are simulated divided lights for the window grids. That's what this is so the grids can be painted too.

Rockette3, I'm wondering if you could buy glue on muntins for the doors. Here's a company that makes them.

They are called muntins. A door and sidelights join at a mullion. Multiple windows join together at mullions forming a mulled unit. Individual panes of glass join together at muntins. Anymore these are only simulated.

Me, again. My neighbor showed me his back door that has mullions on both sides of the insulated glass with a space between the two panes. He painted them a beautiful navy blue, however, the mullions show white on the backside and he has no way to paint the backside. He is not happy feeling the manufacturer made a color choice for him...white. Dark green door on a log cabin will look amazing!

Thanks, Cpartist, for the suggestion! I think I'm going to go in a different direction and forego "muntins" (I stand corrected, Nirvanaav (smile) and maybe go with an arts and craft style. I saw a door I loved and of course, it is pricey...sigh. And, no white muntins anywhere.

Another solution would be to paint the entire door white. Color on divided light doors has less impact than on a solid door (much of what you see, especially from a distance, is the glass), whereas white emphasizes the grid. Normally I'm not a white fan, but this is one case where it looks nice.

Our fiberglass door was also painted red. The painters didn't paint the muntins at first then came back and painted them (they are on the outside/plastic). Hopefully the unpainted/painted pictures help you decide what to do. The painted plastic has held up just fine but it's only been 8 months and they are on a covered porch that doesn't get the weather or afternoon sun.

So many details that I just wasn't even thinking about. The door we chose has grids/grills/muntins that are on the outside of the glass and can be painted. And I was wrong about the style. It is considered shaker not craftsman.

Brian thanks for the photo since I have the same door style and it will be a similar color too.

I greatly appreciate all the pictures, suggestions and responses! Choosing all the finishes and designs for a new home can be overwhelming. Of course, most of the finishes or designs I chose was considered an "upgrade". After several hours of haring "that's an upgrade which will raise the cost to....." I finally asked, "Does the home come with walls or is that an upgrade, too?" (smile) I know a door is a small but an important piece of your home. I should have paid better attention since the door can set the tone of your home. It's refreshing to know I've received responses from people who feel a home is more than the place where you keep your clothes and sleep.

^^This.^^
Unfortunately, it can be a battle going with the old-fashioned. Many contractors prefer the new, sanitized and predictable, and they will come up with myriad reasons why the homeowner is wrong to want something else. We were told we were crazy for wanting our antique clawfoot tub ("why would you want an old tub in a new house?"), foolish to want a divided light front door ("no security!) with exterior muntins ("you'll hate cleaning those"), short-sighted to install a woodstove ("inefficient") and silly to select a slate hearth ("those slate tiles are never even or square"). We ignored them, but many people get bullied into what is easier for the contractor and what is part of a package deal.

Ha, that is so true bluesanne. People often look at me like I'm crazy because all of our fireplaces are wood-burning. If you ask me, they're crazy for wanting gas!