Tips and Tricks When Ordering Craftsman Style Doors


Disclaimer: We have partnered with Kwiksetย to bring you this post. All opinions & photography are our own and are not influenced by Kwikset. Thank you for supporting the brands that support this blog!

The trim is done, the walls are painted, the floors are stained and finally, it’s safe to say that the “dirty work” is almost done!!ย Bridget's hardwood floors- before the staining.I don’t want to play favorites, but just after the floors were stained last week (more on that soon!), we installed the new Craftsman style doors and new hardware and this update may be my favorite part of this entire transformation so far.
Bridget's hardwood floors, with the new stained color.

We went withย craftsman style pre-hung doors from Fox’s lumber here in the Chicagoland area. My dad sprayed them white before the floors were doneย and then we added black handles to match the black hinges. I’m officially IN LOVE with everything about the new look. Who knew doors and hardware could ever make me this excited?!

Ordering Craftsman Style Doors

I actually learned A LOT by ordering our own doors. The good news is that none of the information was super hard or overwhelming, I just didn’t really know anything about the process going in. I figured today I would share a little of this information in hopes that readers going through this same process will be a lot more prepared than I was.

Door Tips & Tricks

Here’s the information you are going to need to know if you do want to order your own pre-hung doors:I am so in love with these craftsman style doors.

  • Door Size:ย This measurement was different for every single one of my doors, which wasn’t a problem because pre-hung doors come in pretty much every two-inch increment.ย  You find this measurement by measuring the opening of the door frame after the door/trim have been demo-ed. The height is pretty standard, but measure from the header down to the floor just to be safe.
  • Door Style: The next thing you’ll have to decide is what style door you want. Hopefully wherever you decide to shop for doors has sample styles for you to evaluate before deciding. I knew I wanted clean lines and I’ve always loved a craftsmanย style door, so the decision was pretty easy for us.
  • Hinge Color: All pre-hung doors come with hinges and you get to choose the color when you order the doors. Keep in mind that your hinges should match the door’s hardware.
  • The Direction of the Door’s Swing: Will your door open into the room? Will you pull it open towards you instead? Will the hinges be on the right side of the door? The left side? Make sure you note exactly how you want each door to “swing” when you go to order your doors because they will need this information in order to submit the order.
  • Hollow or Solid Core Doors: We went with the solid core doors because we knew we would be in this house for a while and were willing to invest in the upgrade. But honestly, I was surprised to find out that upgrading each door only cost about $50 per door! I think the extra cost will be well worth it… especially when we have a napping baby.
  • The Door’s Finish: Make sure you ask how your pre-hung doors will come. Stained? Primed? Painted? Ours were only primed, so it was up to us to get them painted before hanging them in the house. (thanks, dad!!)The updated floors and doors completely change the look of our new place.

What to Consider When Choosing Hardware

There are also a few things to keep in mind when picking out the hardware for these interior doors. Here’s what I learned!The black hardware really pops against the white doors.

  • The hardware (aka door knobs, levers, etc.) typically do not come with the pre-hung doors so you will have to purchase these separately, of course keeping color and style in mind.
  • Outside of the countless styles you could choose, there are a few different types of doorknobs to consider when it comes to the hardware’s function on interior doors. There is hardware specifically for “privacy” doors, for “passage” doors, and for “dummy” doors. You will need to know this information when ordering your hardware.
    • Privacy = bedroom/bathroom doors you want locks on
    • Passage doors = closet doors that need knobs on both sides
    • Dummy Doors = knobs that have no mechanical latch system (this is what we put on the double close doors in the nursery)
      The old doors were dated and unattractive.

Small Detail, Big Impact

I went with these black doorknobs from Kwikset for all of our doors. I loved the style, quality, and price point of this product and I am really happy with the end result. We used Kwikset hardware to update our entry door in our last house and loved them, so deciding on this affordable yet quality product was a no-brainer.

Just a simple update completely changed the look.

I also ordered some privacy doorknobs in the same style (for the bedrooms and baths), some passage door knobs (for the closets) and two dummy door knobs for the nursery double doors.

The hardware on the dummy doors matches the rest of the doors.As you can tell in this picture, the hardware on the “dummy doors” in the nursery looks the same as the other doors in our house, which is how it should be.ย The old hardwareThe new hardware has transformed the look of the door.

Oh, Don’t Forget the Door Stops… Like I Almost Did

Update the door stoppers as well

I was guilty of not accounting for the door stops… at all! But don’t make the same mistake I did. You want to make sure you install these behind the swinging doors before it’s too late. No one wants a dent in their new walls from the door knobs.

I bought an entire package of door stops for all the doors that needed them in our house for like $8. I chose the ones that screw into the baseboard, but there are lots of different options depending on your preference. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find black ones so I went with a super dark oiled bronze (shhh… it’s our little secret). I actually can’t even believe they’re not black because they look black to me. And for $8?! Sold!

In L-O-V-E with our Craftsman Style DoorsCannot get over how happy we are with this transformation.

Five years ago I would have never given the door knobs in any house too much attention.ย  But now that I’ve gone through this process I appreciate both the doors and the hardware detail so much more. And if I have to do this process again… someday… I’m a lot more prepared to tackle it. But I’m not looking to go through that process anytime soon.

Bridget


The Year of Casey

Hey there!

Iโ€™m Casey Finn, the voice behind The DIY Playbook. I’m a Chicago gal teaching you how to design, DIY, and maintain your home…by yourself! Learn more about me right here.