Doors and Doorways 



95 



In the beginning the plans 

 every door determined. As their 



should be well gone over, and the swing of 

 swing is usually marked on the plans, there 

 should be most carefully thought out, not only 



should be no mistake. This 



with reference to con- 



venience in opening 



and shutting but with 



a view as to what it is 



liable to strike or 



displace, in the way 



of furniture, pictures 



or other wall orna- 



ments. It may be 



desirable to give the 



entering guest his 



first impression of a 



room in some par- 



ticular direction, and 



the door should swing 



opposite to this to 



enforce its notice. 



All other things being 



equal, this can be 



taken advantage of, 



although never to the 



sacrifice of conve- 



nience. On general 



principles, doors 



should open inward, 



so that the guest is 



not obliged to step 



back in his natural 



passage from the 



open air to the hall, 



the hall to the recep- 



tion room, the recep- 



tion room to the liv- 



ing room, the living 



room to the dining 



room, and so on. He 



should be made to 



feel that his welcome 



was cordial rather than restrained. Chamber, bathroom and toilet should always 



open in. No door should open into a passage, other than a closet door, which 



always opens toward the outside. It is inadvisable to swing a door over a 



register or against a radiator; the veneered door might possibly stand it for a 



while, but it is tempting inevitable fate. 



Doorway at "Whitehall," Maryland. This beautiful example is somewhat marred by the 

 upper four panels of the door, which seem to be of later date and set in like a sash 



