REPLACEMENT IN KIND
Like so much in life, what’s gone is gone and sometimes it’s not easy to replace. You may know the current door is “wrong,” but have no idea what used to be. Depending on the style and age of the house, however, it’s possible to make an educated guess as to what the door would have looked like. First, look around the neighborhood for intact doors on houses of roughly the same age, style, and degree of detail. If the house is particularly early or in a rural setting, look for examples of similar houses in the region. Another option: Consult old builder’s catalogs and online resources for designs that appear on houses similar to yours.
Details matter. As a rule of thumb, the older the door, the plainer and less detailed
