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snuffycuts99

Opinions on Entry Door

snuffycuts99
9 years ago

We are having our entry doors priced out. We will have double doors with a transom above. No glass on the sides. We want 3/4 length decorative glass in the doors. Traditionally, it seems that the transom above matches the door glass. We are considering a clear glass transom because there is a significant price difference. If we go with a clear glass transom, it will be about $1500 less. I would love some opinions on this. Above the door and transom will be a very large picture window. I am thinking it will look ok because the transom will look like it matches the picture window. Or am I wrong and will it look off because it doesn't match the door glass?

Comments (13)

  • jdez
    9 years ago

    The clear would look good IMO.

  • ontariomom
    9 years ago

    dreamer16, I think you are describing what we did. We wanted clear glass in the transom so we could look out from the kitchen through the transom. For now, our front door transom is covered in a paper curtain as we are under construction,. It will be taken off when we are done. We did add a bit of caming detail to tie the two together.. You can see a picture if you look at the thread on Home Decorating forum about my steps clashing with my siding. Or, I have also just posted on Tues night on the It is August 2014, how is your build progressing part 2.

    Carol

  • snuffycuts99
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Yep, that's exactly what I'm talking about. Your doors look very similar to what we're considering. Your transom is a bit taller than ours will be. Thank you for the pic...it's so hard to visualize! We can either do a painted door with matching decorative transom at our budget, or we can do a stained door with clear transom significantly below our budget. Stained door with matching transom is above our budget. I'm debating the painted doors but we really like the look of stained doors better. If I can just convince myself that the clear transom will look great, I will be all about saving that money and putting it towards something else on our wish list.

  • ontariomom
    9 years ago

    dreamer,

    Our transom is high because the ceiling at the entry are almost 12 feet so we went for a tall door and hence tall transom. I wanted the top of the transom to line up with the top of the large window to the right of the house as you face it. If it wasn't for our style of house, I would have had a shorter transom too.

    Do you figure you will want to look out the transom, to see who is approaching on the driveway? A clear transom will allow this, and also provide a bit more light than a decorative one. It is a lot nicer to look out of clear glass than decorative glass. I find the glass in our front door distorts everything if I look out of it (I still like it though). We used to have a decorative transom over our shorter door prior to the rebuild of our house. When we took it off at the start of the renos I could not believe how much light I had been blocking with the decorative glass (it was very opaque mind you).

    If I had a picture without the paper curtain it would look nicer. I don't think I do.

    Good luck with your door decisions. Are you going to do fiberglass or wood. Our door is fiberglass, but it has real wood trim.

    Carol

  • snuffycuts99
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    With the design of our house, we won't really be able to look out through the transom to see who is outside...we're just too short for that, lol. But I definitely was thinking about the amount of light being let in. I think that's certainly a big positive along with the cost. My only real concern is how it will make the exterior of the house look. We will be doing the same as you...fiberglass door with real wood trim.

  • nini804
    9 years ago

    We used clear glass in our transom and "bubble glass" (can't remember correct name, lol) in the doors for privacy.

  • snuffycuts99
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thank you nini for the picture! That looks awesome...your doors look beautiful!

  • ontariomom
    9 years ago

    Dreamer,

    The reason we can see out from the transom is our main floor is a half flight above the entry. If it wasn't for that, I think on balance I would have leaned a bit towards more decorative in the transom. Our door maker suggested we do part decorative glass/part clear glass on the transom (a thick decorative glass border with clear in the middle). Of course, he had a glass guy who was going to copy the Lexington glass style that is in the door for the border. Some decorative glass lets in more light than others. Either way, I think if looks good. I believe I worried about the transom without decorative glass too, but have not thought about it since it went in (until your post).

    Carol

  • snuffycuts99
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Well, now my builder has suggested going to an 8' door and nixing the transom altogether. He said that since we have a 2 story foyer, the 8' door should work well. Geez, I just don't know. An 8' door seems HUGE to me. I'm looking at my 8' walls thinking my door will be this tall!?! But, maybe I'm just not used to it. I've never lived in a house with ceilings higher than 8'. What do you think...should I go with the 8' doors? It would certainly make my decision easier regarding clear vs. decorative transom.

  • ontariomom
    9 years ago

    Our door is 8 foot for our nearly 12 foot entry. It looks way better than prior to gutting and rebuilding our house when our door was standard height. However, you may need to consider what a taller door looks like if it close to other shorter doors. Given our small foyer is on its own floor (split foyer) it was not an issue.

    Carol

  • snuffycuts99
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    There are no other doors in the foyer. There is a staircase on one side and the other side is open to the dining room. Here's a picture of our front elevation if that helps.

  • ontariomom
    9 years ago

    I would go to a door/window showroom and look at the taller doors. They do seem giant at first, but you get used to them. They really do fit well in taller ceiling spaces. I think the 8 foot door is a very good idea in your case. I am not sure about a short door, transom and that tall window above the door all stacked on the same wall. But, I am just a DIY homeowner, so I don't have design expertise.

    Carol

  • snuffycuts99
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks for the replies. We have decided to go with 8' doors. They will have full length glass. I do think the clear transom would have been fine, but I also think the big doors will work very well with our house. Thanks ontariomom!