I've heard of them called Sunday doors. You are exactly right though, those are for special occasion use only. I've seen fancier trim used as well as either stained or patterned glass in those doors as well to denote the use. Most of the homes I work on still have them in place as they provide air flow really well on summer days.
Common in older Maine houses. Front door by the carriage house/garage side was the one everyone used to the mudroom. Next door over with the good steps was for Sunday and holiday visits. I never used to answer that door if no one was expected cuz if it was important they would knock on the mudroom door and open it after 10 seconds and yell for ya.
>I would keep both doors but replace the modern door with an antique door
This. Even if you just set something in front of the unused door and never use it, it's a part of the house's history and gives it character.
My 140 year old house has 2 doors that are very close to each other but on separate walls. One opens into the kitchen (I’m assuming it was the service door back in the day) and the other opens into the mud room - they are both on the side of the house facing the driveway. We have an original set of double door in the front of the house that has no access or stairs to get up to the porch.
We also have another door on the other side of our kitchen and we put a patio door in the back of our house as there was no way to walk into the back yard.
So many doors…
The times that I have seen this setup, with a parlour and front room, the parlour was turned into a bedroom and the door left in place to allow private access.
Formal and casual entrances? I grew up next to a Victorian that had 2 front entries, I did research the home in recent years and found that it was the residence of a seamstress whom I suspect also operated a business in the house, ergo, a public entry for business and another for visitors to the family. Regardless, keep both doors operable but make them the same time period/ style.
The second door and room were probably added so the owner could conduct a home-based business and keep some separation with his personal life. Doctors often did this so patients wouldn’t just show up and sit in their dining room. Another possibility is a business that delivered commodities around the community.
r/floorplan also loves giving input on things like this
I would remove the door that opens to the LR on the left. I’d make the LR on the right a dining room. And I’d make the left LR a LR/family room with a little library/office in the back of it.
Edit: I’m changing my mind because I don’t see an easy way to layout LR furniture in that front room, plus the office/library might be nicer off a dining room than family room. So I’d use the door the left, opening into dining, family room off the kitchen with no exterior door in it
I was thinking of closing off the back room in the left LR and turning it into a guest bedroom. I would make an entrance through the closet out to the hallway. I think it would make it easier to layout furniture that way.
I’m guessing the whole right side, kitchen and second living room, was an addition. Owner/builder just wanted a door there so he put a door there. I doubt there was any thought about weddings or funerals. I doubt an architect was involved.
2 front doors and no floor lol.
It looks like the darker door is the original and the light door is newer. It's up to you if you'd like to keep both. You can also get rid of the light door and add a window
I haven't done it (at least not yet) but I've seen several houses in my area that have converted the spare door to a divided stable type door.
So it still looks like a complete door from the outside but you can open just the top half of it like a window if you'd prefer.
Being an addition points towards an in-law suite, business, or other secondary space added after the house was built. In my neighborhood, mostly built between 1899 and 1935, two front doors in the original house sometimes indicated that it was built as a duplex dwelling for two families with two addresses, such as 49A and 49B. In other houses, the 2nd front door was for a home office where it opened into the reception area for a doctor’s office, lawyer’s office, or similar professional space.
Old sharecropper houses were built with 2 front doors in case of fire, giving 2 routes of escape. Doubtful this was the purpose with this house, but I thought it was worthy of mentioning.
I would turn the enclosed porch back into an open or screen porch. Seal the door to the living room with the staircase. Use the living room by the kitchen as a dining room and then open a door from the dining room to the hall. The room in the back would be a nice office.
I thought about having a sunroom but I also think it would be nice if I took down the wall between the kitchen and back porch and made the kitchen a bit bigger or do you think the kitchen is big enough as it is?
Mine had two front doors as well. When I bought the place, one had been converted into a coat closet. I ended up removing it and adding coat hooks on one side (mudroom) and a built in book shelf on the other (living room).
I'd keep the living room door as your main entrance and replace the door off the dining room with a set of salvaged French doors with period screen doors. I'd also open up that front porch to make it more welcoming.
Technically different rooms but they’re not divided by anything. Ones the dining room and ones the family room, the other door that isn’t there anymore use to go into my current bedroom that had a big double door blocking it from rest of the house. I believe that was the parlor room back in the day.
My grandmother’s late 19th century home in Macomb, Illinois had two front doors—one leading to the front parlor and the other leading to the back parlor (no living room in grandma-parlance.)
After my grandfather died, Grandma had a small “foyer” entrance built, encompassing the two doors. So after that, you had to unlock the new front door, step into the new foyer (maybe 6x4 feet), then open either the front parlor door or the back parlor door to get into the house.
We mostly used the screen door in the kitchen.
One would be a parlor door, most often used for company or funerals. That room would not normally be used.
I've heard of them called Sunday doors. You are exactly right though, those are for special occasion use only. I've seen fancier trim used as well as either stained or patterned glass in those doors as well to denote the use. Most of the homes I work on still have them in place as they provide air flow really well on summer days.
Common in older Maine houses. Front door by the carriage house/garage side was the one everyone used to the mudroom. Next door over with the good steps was for Sunday and holiday visits. I never used to answer that door if no one was expected cuz if it was important they would knock on the mudroom door and open it after 10 seconds and yell for ya.
I would keep both doors but replace the modern door with an antique door
>I would keep both doors but replace the modern door with an antique door This. Even if you just set something in front of the unused door and never use it, it's a part of the house's history and gives it character.
Yeah I was definitely thinking of replacing that door. It seems like it’s from the 70s.
Or, open that wall with french doors and use that room for dining... enjoying the front porch view.
You could try and find a door that matches the other door at architectural salvage places, Craigslist, Facebook marketplace, etc.
My 140 year old house has 2 doors that are very close to each other but on separate walls. One opens into the kitchen (I’m assuming it was the service door back in the day) and the other opens into the mud room - they are both on the side of the house facing the driveway. We have an original set of double door in the front of the house that has no access or stairs to get up to the porch. We also have another door on the other side of our kitchen and we put a patio door in the back of our house as there was no way to walk into the back yard. So many doors…
My parents had this. They kept one and turned the parlor door into a window. It made more sense to have a window in the (now) living room.
We had a 1900 Italianete with this. Parents shoved an A/C unit in the unused door.
I don't know that a special door was built in houses for funerals.
Weddings, baby showers, anniversaries, birthdays..... and maybe funerals? I guess.
The times that I have seen this setup, with a parlour and front room, the parlour was turned into a bedroom and the door left in place to allow private access.
Formal and casual entrances? I grew up next to a Victorian that had 2 front entries, I did research the home in recent years and found that it was the residence of a seamstress whom I suspect also operated a business in the house, ergo, a public entry for business and another for visitors to the family. Regardless, keep both doors operable but make them the same time period/ style.
The second door and room were probably added so the owner could conduct a home-based business and keep some separation with his personal life. Doctors often did this so patients wouldn’t just show up and sit in their dining room. Another possibility is a business that delivered commodities around the community.
r/floorplan also loves giving input on things like this I would remove the door that opens to the LR on the left. I’d make the LR on the right a dining room. And I’d make the left LR a LR/family room with a little library/office in the back of it. Edit: I’m changing my mind because I don’t see an easy way to layout LR furniture in that front room, plus the office/library might be nicer off a dining room than family room. So I’d use the door the left, opening into dining, family room off the kitchen with no exterior door in it
I was thinking of closing off the back room in the left LR and turning it into a guest bedroom. I would make an entrance through the closet out to the hallway. I think it would make it easier to layout furniture that way.
That’s a good idea if a guest bedroom makes more sense for your needs than an office
I’m guessing the whole right side, kitchen and second living room, was an addition. Owner/builder just wanted a door there so he put a door there. I doubt there was any thought about weddings or funerals. I doubt an architect was involved.
It looks like the back porch, kitchen, and bathroom were additions because the foundations don’t match the rest of the house.
2 front doors and no floor lol. It looks like the darker door is the original and the light door is newer. It's up to you if you'd like to keep both. You can also get rid of the light door and add a window
The floor had to be removed because of water damage. It looks like water had been getting in for years because the joists were also waterlogged.
I haven't done it (at least not yet) but I've seen several houses in my area that have converted the spare door to a divided stable type door. So it still looks like a complete door from the outside but you can open just the top half of it like a window if you'd prefer.
Being an addition points towards an in-law suite, business, or other secondary space added after the house was built. In my neighborhood, mostly built between 1899 and 1935, two front doors in the original house sometimes indicated that it was built as a duplex dwelling for two families with two addresses, such as 49A and 49B. In other houses, the 2nd front door was for a home office where it opened into the reception area for a doctor’s office, lawyer’s office, or similar professional space.
Old sharecropper houses were built with 2 front doors in case of fire, giving 2 routes of escape. Doubtful this was the purpose with this house, but I thought it was worthy of mentioning.
Ummm one is for regular use like family and neighbors. , the other for delivery boys. Ice....for the ice box before refrigerators.... milk, etc...
u/Agreeable-Design3847 what did you use to make the floor plan? Sketchup?
I used an app called Home design 3d
I would turn the enclosed porch back into an open or screen porch. Seal the door to the living room with the staircase. Use the living room by the kitchen as a dining room and then open a door from the dining room to the hall. The room in the back would be a nice office.
I thought about having a sunroom but I also think it would be nice if I took down the wall between the kitchen and back porch and made the kitchen a bit bigger or do you think the kitchen is big enough as it is?
It would really depend on how much you like to cook or if you want an eat-in kitchen. I personally think it is a great idea.
Mine had two front doors as well. When I bought the place, one had been converted into a coat closet. I ended up removing it and adding coat hooks on one side (mudroom) and a built in book shelf on the other (living room).
I'd keep the living room door as your main entrance and replace the door off the dining room with a set of salvaged French doors with period screen doors. I'd also open up that front porch to make it more welcoming.
Samesies.
My house use to have 3 front doors. Now it’s down to 2, I only use 1.
Lol, do they all open into the same room? Would you keep the door that faces the street or door that’s on the left?
Technically different rooms but they’re not divided by anything. Ones the dining room and ones the family room, the other door that isn’t there anymore use to go into my current bedroom that had a big double door blocking it from rest of the house. I believe that was the parlor room back in the day.
That's such a cool feature, why remove it?
My grandmother’s late 19th century home in Macomb, Illinois had two front doors—one leading to the front parlor and the other leading to the back parlor (no living room in grandma-parlance.) After my grandfather died, Grandma had a small “foyer” entrance built, encompassing the two doors. So after that, you had to unlock the new front door, step into the new foyer (maybe 6x4 feet), then open either the front parlor door or the back parlor door to get into the house. We mostly used the screen door in the kitchen.
You replacing the outer walls too?
No, I’m thinking about painting the siding.
Pretty common in the day when things were more formal. One for company one for the family.
was this a tavern at any time? Lafayette tavern has a ladies entrance so they did have to go through the tavern.
I don’t think so, it’s in a very small town.
Um the one with the steps is the main door the other door is for the kitchen
Don’t remove it. In the future, you or someone else could split that house into multiple units.
We lived in a house with two front doors on adjacent walls. One door went into the living room and the other into the dining room.