How to Choose the Right Interior Doors for Your Home - DK Studio

Our Austin Architects Explain How to Choose Functional and Beautiful Interior Doors 

While your front door makes the first impression, your interior doors will continue to carry the look and feel of your architectural style throughout your home. So, they cannot be overlooked. Learn how to choose interior doors for your home with the help of our Austin architects. We review all the design considerations to keep in mind when making your interior door selections, including style options, panel designs, materials, and hardware. 

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Interior Doors: Top Factors to Consider 

In previous blogs, we’ve discussed how to choose the right front door and patio doors for your home. Interior doors have similar considerations to keep in mind, including how they open and panel styles. Additionally, interior doors need to coordinate with the architectural style of the interiors and provide adequate levels of privacy and soundproofing between rooms. Here are the top factors to consider when choosing interior doors.  

Pocket Door Notes

While some people have experienced older model pocket doors falling off the track or sticking, newer designs have been engineered for improved function and easy opening. Since pocket doors slide into a wall cavity, they require advanced planning.   

French Doors 

French doors are a pair of swinging doors. Available in a range of widths, French doors can be as wide as two full-sized doors or the width of a traditional single door. While many French door designs feature full panels of divided glass, they also come in solid panels. French doors make for a unique feature and a memorable transition between rooms.     

Dutch Door 

A Dutch door, also known as a double-hung door, is divided horizontally to allow the bottom half to remain closed when the top half is open. Dutch doors are a practical feature in kitchens, mudrooms, or laundry rooms where you can open the door for sightlines or airflow while preventing pets or small children from walking from room to room. 

Interior Door Panel Styles

The door panel style refers to the decorative elements on the door’s surface. 

Raised Panel 

Raised panels have a traditional appearance. The style typically features more detailed trim and tiered steps up to a raised panel in the center. Raised panel doors work well in traditional and Mission-style homes. 

Recessed Panel 

Recessed or shaker panel doors are similar to a raised panel but have a more streamlined appearance. This style features a flat panel framed with a simple border. The border's width can range from a thick to a slim profile. This style works well in transitional and Craftsman-style homes. 

Slab Panel 

Slab panel doors offer a minimalist look and feature one flat panel without any additional trim. This style provides a sleek finish that is perfect for contemporary homes. 

Door Panel Style Notes

Interior doors can have one, 10, or more panels arranged in various ways depending on the design. The panel arrangement and the sticking or molding profiles will add to the style of the door. Pay attention to these details, as some panel styles will coordinate better with the architecture of your home. Also, consider coordinating your door panel style with your cabinet style for a cohesive look. 

Interior Door Construction 

The door construction will affect the price point and sound quality. 

Hollow Core Door

Hollow core doors are constructed with a thin layer of wood or fiberglass laid over a reinforced structure with a hollow center. These doors are less expensive to manufacture. However, they don’t provide the same level of sound insulation or weight as a solid door. 

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Solid Core Door 

Solid core doors are either made of solid wood or composite wood with a wood veneer overlay. These doors provide more sound insulation and a heavier feel often associated with higher-quality construction. 

Interior Door Material  

The door material will affect price point and longevity. 

Wood Door 

Solid wood doors offer the longest longevity and can be fully customized with any paint or stain color you can imagine. These doors can last hundreds of years and can easily be resurfaced when needed.  

Composite Door 

Composite doors are less expensive than solid wood doors and offer the same benefits of sound insulation and weight. However, composite doors don’t have the longevity of wood doors, and veneers can’t be resurfaced as often as solid wood. 

Interior Door Hardware 

Endless door hardware options allow you to customize your interior doors. 

Lock Set 

Lock-set hardware simply means the doors have a lock. This type of hardware is appropriate to use in areas that require privacy, such as bedrooms and bathrooms. 

Passage Set 

Passage set hardware does not include a lock. This type of hardware is best suited for closets, hallway doors, and children’s playrooms. 

Knobs 

Door knobs are traditional rounded door handles that can be applied to various door styles. 

Levers 

Door levers are horizontal door handles. When installing levers, it’s important to note the direction the door opens and whether a right or left-oriented handle is required.  

Latches & Hinges 

Door latches and hinges are less noticeable hardware elements than handles. However, they cannot be overlooked. They should match the rest of the door hardware for a consistent appearance. 

Door Hardware Notes

When selecting door hardware, consider matching or coordinating with other hardware and fixtures in your home. While you don’t have to limit yourself to one metal finish, they should all blend well together. 

Picking the Right Doors for Your Home

Picking the right interior doors for your home comes down to your style, budget, and practical needs. Remember different rooms may benefit from different door styles, like pocket doors. When selecting design elements, coordinate with the rest of your home’s architectural style. There are many decisions to make around doors, so rely on the expertise of your architecture and design team.

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Hi,

I'm about to start building a couple of interior doors that will be roughly 28 X 80. These will be paint grade doors so probably looking to use mdf panels. The design will be fairly simple because my wife likes the mission style design. I have a few questions that I hope you guys can help with.

1. What thickness do you typically use for the panel for a non-raised panel interior door? I was thinking 1/4" but should it be larger?

2. Given that this is a simple mission style door, would you use tongue and groove or groove for the panel and loose tenon joints for the styles and rails (or cope and stick?)? I have a shaper and slot mortiser. If the answer is tongue and groove type joinery, would I have to increase the width of the panel in order to have a thick enough tenon on the rails and what is the minimum length of the tenon? If loose tenon is the answer, how big should I make the tenons (length and width)? One thing I'm really confused about loose tenons is how to make the grooves for panels without grooving the entire length of the stile....or do you?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Cheers!!
Mickey

Panel thickness will depend on how much of a rabbet you want to reveal between the rail/stile and the panel. Typical interior doors are 1-3/8" thick so a 1/4" panel will yield a 9/16" rabbet on either side. A smaller rabbet will require a thicker panel.

As for joinery, cope and stick will probably not stand up over time. Loose tenons are the way to go, but keep in mind the thickness of the tenons does not necessarily have to match the thickness of the panel. The length of the tenon will most likely be dictated by the cutting length of the tooling for your slot mortiser, so basically as deep as you can mortise. For 5-1/2" stiles and rails, I find a 2" deep mortise (a 4" loose tenon) to be adequate. And lastly you don't run the groove the entire length of the stile. Your routing (or slotting) stops at or short of the mortises in your stiles.

I think your cope/stick tooling will dictate the panel thickness. If you don't use cope and stick you can make the panel any thickness you want. 1/2" is good for a 1-3/8" interior door. If you used 1/2" captured panels you would run a 1/2" dado the full length of the stiles. Then cut your rails with a 1/2" stub tenon on the ends to fit into those dados. Dowels or loose tenons will work with this approach. I use loose tenons and cut the mortises before running the dados. I use 5/8" thick loose tenons and cut the slots 3" deep in both the stiles and rails.

John

I would probably go with 3/4 on the panels. If the rest of the door is a wood that will show some grain after painting, IMO the panel should be wood.

1/2" tenons and grooves. Do a rebate on the panel. This also allows you to fine tune the fit.

I agree a door should have tenons. You can pin them for even more strength. but if you glue in the panel not necessary.

I make loose tenons 2.5" x 4-5" total. I saw a couple of surface kerfs in the tenons for glue to escape and use West epoxy unless yellow extend has enough open time. I will double up the tenons if I have the room. At least 1/2" for the panels. MDF is heavy enough that you don't need thicker unless you really want some mass to the door. I also use 4" ball bearing hinges. Makes a difference in the feel of the door when opening and closing. I also prefer maple for paint grade as it is less likely to ding when hit with the vacuum. Dave

Thanks so much for all of the responses. Is there a good rule of thumb for the width of the rail and stiles? Is the bottom rail typically wider? I'm going to have one or two middle rails for either a two or three panel door. Are those rails typically the same width as the stiles? As you can see, I don't know spit from shinola......but I know I can learn from you guys.

Mickey

Conventional knobs will require a hole drilled 2-3/8" or 2-3/4" from the edge of the door, so 5 to 5-1/2" wide stiles work well. You want to keep the stile wide enough so the knob isn't too "crowded" on the stile. The stiles and upper rail are sized the same width. The bottom rail is usually wider because otherwise, it looks too thin visually. I usually make the bottom rail 1.5 to 2 times the other members' width.

Mickey, take a stroll through the door department (or your own home) and look at the typical proportions for the rails on passage doors. The bottom on is almost always a lot taller than the others, both to provide some space for trimming height and because it will look better from most common viewing angles. Some doors have a progression of three different heights for the rails in a typical configuration of a "two panel" door. (that includes those where the panel is further divided into "lights", glass or not) That's how the doors are in a friend/client's house and I had to duplicate that when I kitted out a couple of bi-folds for his kitchen pantry and coat closet so that they would look like they belong with the other doors. If I recall the bottom rail was 10" tall; the middle one was 8.5" tall and the top one was 6" tall in that particular case.

And in the case of your home, if you're creating a new door, you may want to match the proportions of existing unless you plan on replacing all of them. Consistency is a good thing relative to design on distributed elements like this.