Craftsman Door | Craftsman Front Door | Craftsman Style Door

Many architectural movements have swept through America over the past few centuries, each with their own flavor and uniqueness. One movement is the American Craftsman style, which created homes, furniture, and art focused on natural materials and the handiwork of local artisans. Given these elements, we’ve compiled our top 10 craftsman doors that complement this historic and popular architectural style beautifully.

10 Craftsman Doors to Create a Charming, Historic Entry

Craftsman Interior Doors

Craftsman Interior Door
Chevron Interior Door

Craftsman Exterior Doors

Riverstone Front Door
Overland Front Door
Woodsman Front Door
Left Fork Front Door with Shelf

Craftsman Double Doors

Apprentice Double Front Door with Shelf
Skyline Double Front Door with Shelf
Hobble Creek Double Front Door with Shelf
Rocky Point Double Front Door with Shelf

One thing that makes Rustica’s doors unique is their quality handmade design. As such, you’ll find that all our doors fit the craftsman spirit in that way. However, there are other elements, such as the material and design layout, that create a craftsman style door. These elements are explored in more detail so you’ll have a better understanding of what sets craftsman doors apart from other door styles. Then, we’ll dive into each of our top 10 craftsman doors so you can find the perfect door to create a charming, historic entry of your own.

What is a Craftsman Style Door?

In order to explain what a craftsman style door is, we need to explain what the American craftsman style is, including its origin, historical relevance, and key design elements.

History of American Craftsman Style

The American craftsman style came about at the turn of the 20th century, just as the Victorian architectural and design era was going out of favor. It was inspired by and a counterpart to the British Arts and Crafts style, which was not only an architectural movement, but a social and economic statement as well.

Late 19th century England was the birthplace of the Arts and Crafts movement, as there was an intentional push away from Victorian style. This was due to the Victorian style’s emphasis on elaborate designs, cluttered rooms, and dependence on machines to mass produce infrastructures and furniture. The Arts and Crafts movement, by contrast, called for simplicity and integrity that honored local, natural materials and the craftsmanship of hardworking artisans.

The craftsman style is a branch of the Arts and Crafts style, but was made its own by the philosopher, designer, and furniture maker Gustav Stickley, who created the magazine The Craftsman. His design influence is the namesake for the craftsman style, which came into full force in the early 1900s to about 1929.

Elements of Craftsman Style

The Craftsman style focuses on the creative expression of the artist, high-quality design, and simplicity. Within those elements, the Craftsman Style is characterized by hand-crafted wood and or stonework, horizontal lines, low-pitched gables roofs and extended eaves, and wide front porches. These front porches have tapered, square columns supporting the roof, which usually has open beams or exposed rafters.

Houses often have wooden siding painted in natural earth tones and double or single-hung windows with four or six-paneled windows. Some glass elements, such as the sidelights next to the entry door, may adopt style influences from famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright, with many featuring stained glass patterns.

Craftsman Style Door Features

While those are the overarching elements of the Craftsman style, craftsman style doors also have their own features. While they can vary in design, craftsman style doors, whether interior or exterior, are predominantly wood doors with a divided glass feature on the top third part of the door and recessed or raised panels on the bottom. These doors are typically stained, rather than painted, to highlight the natural grain pattern and texture of the wood. Many traditional craftsman doors also have dentil shelves below the glass.

The craftsman style is still cherished and sought after in the housing market today. Given its renowned popularity, Rustica has designed many doors to match this architectural style. Each of the following doors pays homage to the historic charm and tradition of the Craftsman style.

10 Craftsman Doors to Create a Charming, Historic Entry

Because many architectural styles have overlapping tendencies, you’ll find that each door could also be seen as a mission style door or colonial style door. This way, if your historic home isn’t considered a true “craftsman style home,” you’ll find that these traditional style doors blend in well with a variety of home styles.

Whether you’re looking for a craftsman style front door or a traditional interior door, we’re confident you’ll find the perfect door for your needs in the list below.

1. Craftsman Interior Door

As the name implies, the Craftsman Interior Door features all the classic characteristics of the craftsman style: wood materials, two simple recessed panels, and a three-panel window at the top of the door. The three-panel window is divided into horizontal sections by thick wooden stiles.
One of the unique aspects of this door is that the three-panel feature at the top is customizable. You can choose between glass, wood, or metal (smooth or distressed aluminum) for the inserts. Metal will give this historic door a modern, industrial twist, while wood or glass will stay within the lines of traditional style.

If you opt for glass inserts, you’ll be able to choose from a variety of glass options, including regular clear glass or a decorative glass option, such as frosted glass. Fully customize this door to make it your own: choose your preferred wood species, wood finish or paint color, door thickness, and more.

This door is a beautiful addition not only to a traditional craftsman style home but also to home styles that incorporate other design styles, including shabby chic, cottage core, mid-century, and more. As an interior hinged door, the Craftsman Interior Door will create an elegant entryway to any room or space, including a bedroom, office, kitchen, or bathroom.

2. Chevron Interior Door

If you’re looking for a traditional craftsman style door with a splash of modern design, check out the Chevron Interior Door. At first glance, it looks to be the same as the Craftsman Interior Door. But upon closer inspection, you’ll find this door has pne key difference, which gives it a modern, geometric twist.

The Chevron Interior Door has two recessed panels on the bottom two-thirds of the door, and customizable panel inserts on the top third of the door. The recessed panels are divided by a prominent and thick wood stile. Within the recessed panels, there are multiple angled panels, which create the illusion of a tight grain pattern angled towards the center of the door. As a result, it draws your eye to the door, making this interior hinged door a statement piece for whatever room it occupies.

Like the Craftsman Interior Door, the Chevron Interior Door has customizable panel inserts. Choose between stylish glass inserts, metal inserts, or wood inserts. You also have the ability to input the exact door dimension you need, as well as its thickness. Then, you can customize the aesthetic details, such as wood stain or paint color, glass style (if you opted for glass inserts), door texture, and more.

3. Riverstone Front Door

Give your beautiful entryway an upgrade with the traditional and charming Riverstone Front Door. Simple in design, yet elegant and sophisticated in appearance, the Riverstone Front Door has the appeal of historic relevance with the quality of modern craftsmanship.

The Riverstone Front Door features a four-panel window at the top, followed by two symmetrical raised panels that run the length of the door. The window and raised panels are framed by wooden stiles and rails, with a prominent stile dividing the two bottom raised panels.

The glass feature is perfect for allowing warm sunlight into the space, and can be accompanied by sidelights to allow even more natural light into your front entryway. If you want more privacy, but don’t want to sacrifice natural light, consider a decorative glass pattern for your custom craftsman style front door. Rustica offers a variety of decorative glass styles, also known as textured or obscured glass, which effectively distorts or obscures any image behind the glass while still allowing warm sunlight to pass through.

This hinged, swinging entry door is handcrafted in the USA, and is made to withstand the elements. As an exterior door, it’s strong enough to stand the test of time as well as harsh winds, rain, and snow without warping. All of our exterior door glass is tempered, so you can be confident in the strength, durability, and insulation of Rustica’s wooden front entry doors.

4. Overland Front Door

The Overland Front Door is a classic craftsman style door with a three-panel window at the top and three simple recessed panels on the bottom two-thirds of the door. Clean lines accentuate the natural beauty of this wooden door, as the three panels are perfectly symmetrical and divided by equally sized stiles. The top glass feature is divided into thirds by two thin wooden stiles, creating three equal glass panels.

The simplicity of the Overland Front Door honors the essential characteristics of the craftsman style, all while still offering elegance and grace as the front entry door.

As an exterior front door, we recommend choosing cedar as your wood species, as it is highly resistant to decay and pests. Furthermore, when stained, cedar has a beautiful range of color tones in the grain.

In order to stay true to traditional craftsman style, we recommend staining the wood with one of our high-quality wood stains, such as clear, glaze, or mahogany, rather than painting it. Of course, if your heart is set on a painted wooden front door, choose the paint color you most desire. You can add even more texture and vintage charm to your craftsman front door by opting to add a door texture, such as weathered or distressed.

With Rustica’s one-of-a-kind customization options, there are so many ways you can make the Overland Front Door unique to your home while honoring traditional craftsman style. This door is handmade by our expert artisans with ball-bearing hinges and purpose-built layering techniques for increased strength and warp prevention.

5. Woodsman Front Door

Do you love the idea of an arched door, but don’t have an arched door frame? You're in luck, as the beautiful Woodsman Front Door has a built-in arch near the top of the door. The arch is part of the three-panel window feature; the top edge of the door window is curved to create a subtle, yet stylish, arch. The rest of the door features three symmetrical recessed panels divided by equally sized stiles.

The addition of the arch to this craftsman style door adds a slight romantic Tuscan appeal to it. In this way, the Woodsman Front Door is an elegant addition to a variety of architectural and interior design styles, whether that’s colonial, mission, craftsman, Tuscan, or mid century. No matter your home or design style, this front door is sure to add curb appeal and impress your guests as you welcome them into your home.

If you’re ready to make this door your own, all you need to do is finish the customization process by choosing your door hanging option (slab or pre-hung), door dimensions, wood species, glass style, and more.

All of our exterior hinged entry doors are outdoor use certified, so you can be confident in the durability, strength, and longevity of your custom front door. Plus, they’re made with real solid wood with guaranteed anti-warp technologies. The glass panel is made with strong tempered glass and is double-paned to maximize the its insulating capabilities.

6. Left Fork Front Door with Shelf

One common characteristic of traditional craftsman doors is a dentil shelf. A dentil shelf is an aesthetic detail, a protruding miniature “shelf” that sits just below the window. Because this is a staple piece to craftsman and mission style doors, we had to add a few of them to our favorite door styles.

One such door is the Left Fork Front Door with Shelf. The simple and elegant dental shelf sits below the four-panel window and just above the two recessed panels that run the length of the remaining door. These wide panels are divided by a stile, and the entire design is framed by a wooden rail.

While there is little functional purpose to dentil shelves, they add ample character and historic relevance to the door. A door with a dentil shelf is a staple design, one that reveals its traditional architectural origin at first glance. The Left Fork Front Door is no exception, and the rest of the door design also honors the simplicity and handiwork that the craftsman style is known for.

If you’re ready to add a beautiful historic door to your entryway, then go ahead and start customizing the Left Fork Front Door to make it your own. Choose your preferred wood species, glass style, hinge prep, door dimensions, and more. You can even include sidelights with your purchase if you want to further highlight the elegance of this wooden hinged door and bring more natural light into your space.

7. Apprentice Double Front Door with Shelf

Double front doors are the epitome of a grand entryway. They hold so much warmth, and can be the perfect welcome home.

The Apprentice Double Front Door with Shelf is a great example of this. These doors are certainly grand and sophisticated in their appearance, yet they also make you want to go inside and snuggle up next to a warm fireplace. Cozy and elegant all at once.

These beautiful handmade front doors feature a six-panel window at the top of each door, followed by a historic dentil shelf, which sits above the two symmetrical raised panels running the length of the bottom two-thirds of the door.

Customize these double front doors to make them perfect for your front entryway. Choose whether you want them as slab doors or pre-hung. Pre-hung doors include the door plus the jamb and hinges, as well as the threshold, weather stripping, sweep, and adjustable sill and brickmold for exterior doors.

Then, input the dimensions you need each door to be, and select your preferred wood species. For outdoor use, we recommend cedar, as it’s highly resistant to decay and pests. Next, choose your glass style. For decorative windows on your magnificent double front doors, consider a textured glass option such as vintage, fluted, or crested.

Finish things off by choosing your wood finish or paint color and door texture. Optional features include door knob boring, door bevel, hinges, hinge prep, and whether you would like a pet door.

8. Skyline Double Front Door with Shelf

The Skyline Double Front Door with Shelf is a lovely mix of design styles. It has the traditional craftsman style of a four-panel window and dentil shelf, but below these historic markers is a twist. Rather than the customary recessed or raised panels often found on craftsman doors, these front doors feature a classic barn door Z pattern.

This Z pattern is made by a single angled panel overlaying multiple vertical panels. The angled panel connects to the corners of the paneled segment, which is framed by wooden stiles on either side with a top and bottom rail.

The mix of the two styles allows for more variability and flexibility. In other words, these beautiful and rustic double front doors can fit a wide range of exterior design styles, whether that’s traditional or rustic farmhouse or something in between. No matter the style category your design preference falls into, these doors are sure to impress your guests with their country warmth.

Rustica’s exterior door experts handcraft these solid wood doors here in the USA with strong, quality construction. These craftsman style exterior doors are designed with anti-warping technology, so you can be confident they will withstand even the harshest of elements.

9. Hobble Creek Double Front Door with Shelf

If you liked the idea of mixing traditional craftsman style with classic barn door style, but want a bit more rustic charm on your double front doors, you’ll love the Hobble Creek Double Front Door with Shelf.

This magnificent residential front entry door features a four-panel window at the top, followed by a classic dentil shelf. Below the dentil shelves on each door, the Hobble Creek Double Front Door has a remarkable X pattern.

The X is made by two slanted panels overlaying one another, both of which are overlaid on multiple vertical panels within the X segment of the door. The result is a striking and truly rustic door with a touch of traditional appeal through the dentil shelf and divided window.

These one-of-a-kind front doors are perfect for historic farmhouse styles, as well as traditional and ranch style homes. Customize their final details to make them suited for your unique space.

10. Rocky Point Double Front Door with Shelf

If you’re looking for a set of double front doors that honor the traditional craftsman style in every way, you’ll love the Rocky Point Double Front Door with Shelf. It features the classic six-panel divided window on each door, a dentil shelf, and three symmetrical recessed panels divided by equally sized stiles.

Together, these doors paint a beautiful entryway that honors tradition. This door style is perfect for traditional home styles, whether that’s mission, craftsman, prairie, arts and crafts, colonial, or something in between. Even if you have a modern home, the simplicity and elegance of these doors are timeless, and can easily merge with a variety of design styles.

Make these doors your own and perfectly suited for your home with Rustica’s impressive customization options. Choose your preferred glass style, wood finish or paint color, door texture, and more.

The Beauty and Simplicity of Craftsman Doors

The craftsman style, while historic, is still very popular, and found in homes all across the United States. It’s important to honor that classic design with a handcrafted, artisan-designed, high-quality craftsman door.
If you’re ready for a new front door with all the craftsman characteristics you’ve been looking for, you’ve come to the right place. Start designing a one-of-a-kind craftsman style door with Rustica today! We can’t wait to help you bring your craftsman design to life!