Doors and Doorways 



99 



double-door openings. People who entertain about four time} a year wish to 

 knock out partitions in order that the house may be "open" to the guest. Under 

 any circumstances there is a lack of 

 privacy about this, which one is sorry 

 to note as entirely "American." 



In the architectural treatment of 

 doors and doorways, it ought always 

 to be remembered that they are a very 

 important part of the composition and 

 should be made harmonious and tie 

 in with the rest of the scheme. Im- 

 portant doors should be so emphasised 

 as to be found when wanted, while 

 closet doors and the like should be 

 kept subservient to the rest of the gen- 

 eral scheme. If two doors are placed 

 in a wall in such a way as to balance 

 one another, they would naturally be 

 treated the same. If one of these leads 

 to the parlour and the other to a 

 closet, it is not good design. One does 

 not care to waste one's sweetness on the 

 depths of a closet when one is expecting 

 to strike the hostess dumb with envy. 

 It is better to keep the height of all 



doorways in One room the Same, in A modern doorway at Arlington, Mass. It is based on the old 

 , . J 1 example shown on opposite page 



which case closet doors may be pan- 

 elled in the interval; the same use may be made of the transom. There should 

 be some sort of studied relation between the height of the doors, windows and 

 mantels. Sometimes, as in the English Gothic, the unimportant doors occurred 

 in the wainscoting, being panelled in the same manner, and having no distinc- 

 tive architrave or conspicuous hardware. This takes care of the problem very 

 satisfactorily in one way, but the door should not be so entirely hidden that one 

 must consult a plan of the house to tell where it is. 



It is perhaps not putting it too strongly to say: Never make a doorway 

 without a door! There may be exceptions, but there generally comes a time when 

 it is desirable, if not absolutely imperative, that the opening be closed. This may 

 be accomplished through the agency of the sliding door, which takes up no desirable 

 space and yet is ready when called upon. 



