We started talking about the design of the portone, or front door, last fall. For awhile, we thought we could do a double door with an arched window above, which is very traditional. Then we discovered that the door opening isn’t really big enough for a double door, so we were left with a single door. It’s less common to have an arch over a single door, for whatever reason, but that’s what we decided to do.
So, what will this portone look like? Typically, it’s quite a bit heavier and thicker than an interior door, so settled on that. Our problem was the look of the exterior. Should it be flat or with some “texture”?
We studied Italian doors online and in person and decided there are three main design categories: horizontal slats, vertical slats, and panel.
Originally, I liked the horizontal slat design because I’d seen it in other houses I looked at. Anne was leaning more toward a vertical slat design that incorporated a bit of a panel door design.
We have settled on a raised panel door, sort of like one side of the double door in the picture. We’re now waiting for the door company to draw up the design and cost it out.
We’ve also selected the hardware for the door. Interestingly, the typical portone has only a door knocker on the outside, with no door handle. You push it open and pull it closed with the knocker.
For the inside, we chose a simple handle that’s similar to the interior door handles. Just for fun, we added a slide bolt that just seemed to go with a heavy, traditional door.
We’re still a bit confused about whether the door is always locked when it closes. That seems inconvenient, but it’s the way we understood it from Kevin. Anne has written for clarification.
Sources:
First three door images: Pixabay CC0
Three hardware images: http://www.ilforgiato.it
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