The Sirius round top door is the design that started it all. It’s the emblematic design in our round top door collection, encompassing the features that make this door silhouette so unique and sought-after.
This design features a round window with four divided panes of leaded glass, and a small circular piece of glass in the center as a focal point. When our founder Don designed it, he was inspired by the circular windows on boats and the romance of the high seas. He’s a sailor himself. Don’s perfect day? “On a sailboat with a gentle breeze. 8 knots, sunny, with a decent heel.”
The impact a door like this has on your home’s curb appeal can’t be overstated—keep reading to discover more.
What Makes Round Top Front Doors Special?
The Architectural Front Door Impact
The primary way a round top door enhances your home’s facade is how it emphasizes proportions. This unique silhouette serves to draw the eye upward. So even if your door opening isn‘t especially tall, a round top entry door makes it appear taller and grander than it is. Plus, since most of the lines and angles of residential architecture are straight, a curved element creates drama by being unexpected—in a good way. This contrast makes your home’s facade instantly memorable, since front doors are key to curb appeal.
A rounded top front door has a historical feeling to it, commonly seen on Tudor style or Spanish Colonial homes. The Sirius door was intended for architectural styles like these. But at the same time, variations like our Arcturus or Vega round top doors offer minimalist details that bridge the gap between historic and contemporary. The hardware finish for the door also influences whether it reads modern or traditional. Matte black hardware is a modern choice that suits any wood species. And brushed nickel or brass are both stalwart traditional options.
Curb Appeal Benefits of Round Top Front Doors
Because many door companies don’t make specialty round top doors, they’re a unique design element that sets your home apart all on their own. This is also where the Sirius door got its name. Sirius is the brightest star in the entire night sky. The word Sirius comes from a Greek word that means “glowing.” This design is attention-getting and magnetically beautiful, just like the brightest star. We in the Northern hemisphere tend to think of Polaris as a guiding light, but in the Southern hemisphere, Sirius is the pole star, and key for sailors navigating the Southern seas.
There’s also a fairytale element to the Sirius door and round top front doors generally. Reminiscent of the “hobbit doors” in The Lord Of The Rings, the curved shape of these doors creates a whimsical feeling. With the addition of leaded glass, a traditional handicraft, the Sirius door becomes like something out of a storybook.
How To Fortify A Leaded Glass Round Top Entry Door
There is one aspect of the Sirius door that makes it meaningfully different than our other round top doors so far, which is that it features leaded glass. Our leaded glass is made by a local artisan here in Gig Harbor, Washington the traditional way. That means that insulating glass panels have toe be placed on either side of it. Leaded glass can’t be insulated itself; it needs to be sandwiched between two other layers of clear glass. We offer this design either with a single layer of leaded glass or with insulated glass panels. Some local building codes mandate insulated glass for entry doors, so we recommend double-checking this before you buy any exterior door with glass.
How We Build Rounded Top Front Doors
Just like our other entry doors, we build the Sirius door and the rest of our round top door collection with solid wood and traditional mortise-and-tenon joinery. Accuracy and precision always matter in woodworking, but especially for curved designs in architectural front doors, which is why members of our team specialize in cutting these pieces and bending the door jambs.
You may be wondering by now...if my door opening is rectangular, can I still get a round top door? And the answer is yes! We offer a frame-out kit that makes it easy to install a round top door in a standard opening. So you won’t need a pre-existing rounded opening to update your doorway.
If you’re ready to upgrade your front door curb appeal with a round top door like the Sirius design, discover our complete round top door collection. We offer a range of styles from traditional to modern, and more solid wood options than any other online door manufacturer.
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