Carriage doors are a stunning architectural feature that can boost the design and functionality of your home or business. They provide an incredible design quality of their own while letting the sunlight brighten any space.

This week, we'll share a stunning update we received about our customer's journey to getting the perfect doors for her woodworking shop.

The Project

Our customer (and neighbor in Washington!) Kim McIntyre from McIntyre Furniture was on the hunt for the perfect doors for her newly renovated shop. The new shop has a modern, bright, and friendly look, and Kim was looking for a door solution that would allow a lot of daylight to come in for visibility and product photos without compromising aesthetics.

At first, Kim planned to find a garage door with large window panes. However, she was unable to get the easement and permit for it and had to change plans. 

Looking for inspiration for you project? Check out this 50 carriage door ideas!

Choosing Custom Carriage Doors

After a suggestion from her contractor, Kim scoured the internet in search of carriage door designs with the grid window panes she wanted. After some online research, Kim found Real Carriage Doors and felt that we could bring her vision to life with our expertise, and we are glad she did!

"In the initial design phase, I had hoped to put a garage door with window panes in it with a driveway out the back of our property to load big projects in and out of the space. We didn't get the easement/permitting that we needed to allow for this, so a pivot was in order. My contractor @betterbuildersseattle pitched the idea of carriage doors, I scoured the internet looking for something that matched my vision of a grid of window panes. I couldn't find anything in my search. Thankfully my contractor said you all [RealCraft] did custom doors and was able to get the ball rolling. "

- Kim McIntyre, owner at McIntyre Furniture.

With RealCraft's multiple customization options, Kim was able to get the double-paned, thick glass to ensure insulation and climate control. The thick glass also helps keep out the noise from her residential neighborhood, making her space a serene workplace. 

Beautiful Woodwork and Artisanship 

Kim decided to go with Vertical Grain Douglas Fir for the wood species with a completely custom carriage door design featuring long strap hinges. Initially, Kim planned to paint the doors once they were done. However, as a professional woodworker and artisan herself, she fell in love with the doors' handmade construction details and the incredible and rich wood grain pattern. 

"As a woodworker, when they got delivered all I saw was all of that vertical grain, and that my entire house is trimmed out with VG fir, I knew that paint could not touch these doors. They were simply too precious to hide behind the paint. "

The Final Result

Kim's new shop project took several months of planning and hard work, but in the end, everything came together beautifully, and she achieved the look she was aiming for, both aesthetics and functionality!

The Custom Douglas Fir Carriage Doors added a powerful visual element to her beautiful, functional new shop. They help create a bright and quiet working space by letting in a ton of natural light and keeping out the noise. 

"The light and ambiance that the doors provide truly make my new woodshop such an inspiring space to work out of. They will serve as the backdrop to a lot of product/project beauty photos as I complete furniture builds. They will always inspire views of nature as I get to watch the day pass through them."

We feel so honored for being part of this incredibly inspiring shop transformation! We are sure the shop will be the home for so many beautiful projects and memories for decades to come!

Congratulations on this new chapter, Kim!

Looking for Carriage Doors?

Shop our collection of customizable carriage doors, or give us a call at 1-800-694-5977 for anything Carriage Doors related!

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