Last winter we had problems with our home being super drafty in our front entrance and living room. Our front entrance is an addition to the original home that was never insulated and leads into our spacious living room. We knew going into this winter that we had to improve the insulation some how. Initially, we wanted to try blow in insulation at our north facing walls and surround the front entry addition. It turns out with our steel siding and the unpredictability of what's hidden in an old home's walls, the price would have been a pretty penny. Back to the drawing board, we decided to hunt down double doors to block off the drafty front entry from our living room.
We purchased the two vertical panel doors from Dell's Architectural Antiques in Eau Claire. The owner took the dimensions of our archway and pulled two matching pairs of double doors that would work in our space. He was even able to supply us with door hardware that matches the old skeleton locks throughout our home and an antique light fixture for our foyer overhead. Leaving Dells, we knew the doors would compliment our homes character. I always find it my goal in our renovations to keep the character the house presents. Even if I personally like a look better, my gut always points me to what will match best and show that it has been there since 1946.
This project took us 3 good weekends to complete. Nate had said in the middle of the renovation that this was our most challenging reno yet. Between getting measurements correct and presenting an appealing aesthetic we both had our work cut out for us. For me, the challenge surfaced a lot of unknown knowledge of all that goes into making a door function- and we were doing two.
With the double doors installed and all the final touches complete, we are happy to share that the doors eliminated our draft immensely. The double doors add an immense amount of character and function and that my friends is a win of a renovation. The front entry now reminds me of a small 3-Season porch with some bench seating perfect for sunny fall and spring days. We already are loving the doors and cannot wait to continue to use them in our daily living. Personally, I cannot wait to decorate them with fun Christmas wreaths in a month here.
Before
After
Until next time!
-Nate and Madalen
