Looking for a Custom Dutch Door for Your Home? We've Got You Covered

Dutch doors are arguably one of the most stunning door designs you can add to your home. We only build the highest quality modern dutch doors that you can customize to your liking.

Not only do they look incredibly cool, but they're also very practical and perfect for day-to-day tasks such as collecting packages, passing objects from one room to the next, keeping your pets inside or out, and more. Get dutch doors with glass or dutch doors with sidelights for your interior spaces, such as living rooms and kitchens. In addition to our interior dutch doors, our exterior dutch doors offer the same convenience and privacy.

These custom dutch doors only come standard as black dutch doors, but we can customize it to the finish you like under a special order.

Dutch doors trends

Dutch doors add a unique character to inside or outside entries to a home. While the idea of a Dutch door predates American history, the Dutch door has timeless and sometimes surprising appeal by adding a rustic but functional feel to a modern home.

Let’s explore the history of Dutch doors, how they work, and some advantages and disadvantages. We'll also discuss how Dutch doors require some different hardware from your average home front or rear door.

What is a Dutch door?

A standard solid door is quite simple, but can be limited in function to some. The door itself can be opened as an entryway, but offers little utility besides being physically opened or closed. A Dutch door does a little more.

Dutch doors are a complete standard door with the twist of having a top half and a bottom half that can open independently. A latch halfway between holds the upper door and lower door together to open as a complete door or split door.

The concept of a Dutch door goes by many names including a half door, split doors, and double hung doors, among others. Regardless of their name, they represent a different style with both visual and functional impacts on the exterior and interior of your home or shed.

Single vs Double Dutch Doors

A single Dutch door looks like a typical door to many people. Double Dutch doors look like french doors and provide two half doors side by side. For the practicality of opening, the top halves are opened separately as opening two top or bottom doors at the same time would present weight and frame issues.

A bit of history

The Dutch door originated in 17th century Netherlands. As the Dutch began to migrate to the American colonies, they brought their building traditions with them. Originally called a Boerendeur, or farmer's door,  Dutch doors served a different purpose at that time.

The split door with a shelf allowed a Dutch homemaker to leave baked goods out to cool in a time before windows. An upper half open door style kept rodents out, too. You could often find Dutch doors implemented in barns as stable doors to keep farm animals like horses and cows in their pens.

Spilt doors made Dutch homes cheaper. Homes were subject to a tax based on their width. An openable window within the front door made it possible to a build a narrow, less expensive home.

Doors with a top half became less popular in the last 70 years of American history. Screen and glass doors became much more common. Dutch doors have seen a comeback in the last 20 years as American homeowners see them as more flexible than a screen or glass exterior door, though you can do both.

What are the advantages of Dutch doors?

There are numerous advantages to a Dutch door. Let's discuss a few:

• Interior Dutch doors make an excellent, highly durable barrier for children. In our opinion, they are also much more attractive than a baby gate. A split interior door means you don't have to store a baby gate.
• Especially when one half is left open, Dutch doors have a pleasing visual impact. An open top can make a room look more open and your whole interior look bigger. Home decor experts say that the presence of a split door with the right style gives a home's interior the feeling of a charming, spacious cottage.
• An exterior Dutch door helps keeps pets in and out. Your dog can hop up and see what is going on inside, so you can choose when to let them in. You can also see your pets at a glance when looking through.
• Fresh air! On a beautiful weather day, you can open the top half of an exterior Dutch door to let in some outside air. A nice flow of air could help with your heating and cooling bills! Let some light through, too.

What are some disadvantages of Dutch doors?

• Open Dutch doors easily let in bugs and flying pests. Adding a retractable screen to the door will help. PINKYS is capable of adding removable screens to our Dutch doors; however, the design of the door may alter or change to accommodate for the screen.
• You may want Dutch doors professionally installed. The process in general to install a Dutch door is a bit more complicated than a typical door; however, PINKYS Dutch doors come with a very well put together installation guide. All our products, including our Dutch doors, are well known to be installation friendly.
• More maintenance can come up. With more parts comes more potential hardware breakdowns, although this isn’t necessarily true with high quality construction such as you will find with PINKYS Dutch doors.

Which rooms could use a Dutch door?

Installing an interior Dutch door helps separate a room for kids from laundry rooms or a home office where intermittent quiet is needed. You'll commonly find Dutch doors in childcare centers to separate playrooms from offices and lobbies.

From a design standpoint, Dutch doors have become very popular in the most trafficked area of the home: the kitchen. An interior door to a pantry enables quickly removing stored goods in the front. Instead of taking down a wall, a kitchen Dutch door makes the rest of the interior more visible while cooking compared to a normal door.

While not a room, Dutch doors are most commonly seen as a front door in most American homes.

Dutch door hardware

The hardware for a Dutch door is a bit more complex. Let's go into detail about what you'll need to make everything work.

Hinges

A regular door has two to three hinges. Thankfully, a Dutch door only adds an additional hinge for a total of four hinges.

Latch

Standard doors tend to not have a latch. A Dutch door needs a latch to connect the top half and bottom half. Homeowners like the latch to be easy to release so that they can quickly open or close half horizontally.

Knobs & Locks

A doorknob should be installed on the bottom half. A deadbolt could help secure the top if you you want more security. As an example, this is true for https://pinkysirondoors.com/collections/dutch-doors/products/air-dutch-single-flat?variant=31693367574637

Our Air series Dutch doors only have a bore hole at the bottom, so you will need a knob that locks. https://pinkysirondoors.com/collections/dutch-doors/products/air-4-dutch-single-flat?variant=31109917016173

Making your Dutch door unique

You can add some style to your Dutch doors. Door style matters for curb appeal, and door design offers more opportunity to add your own flavor to your house.

Farmhouse

Dutch doors fit well within the farmhouse and craftsman style since they were frequently present on farms. Darker and rustic looking door knobs and hinges give your place a worn but homey feel.

Modern

Painting Dutch doors brighter colors helps make them a focal point of a contemporary home. Modern interior design welcomes the presence of a Dutch door as a mix of new styles with older, more historic door 17th century ideas.

Traditional

Traditional Dutch doors can be a key element of a thoughtful, traditional home design.

Final thoughts

Dutch doors gives homeowners the opportunity to create an eye catching and functional statement in their home. A Dutch front door enables easier airflow in good weather and a convenient way to prevent kids and pets from escaping.

Dutch Door Frequently Asked Questions

Is a Dutch door safe for kids?

Aside from providing safety by securing rooms in a different way, the method of a top half and a lower half does pose potential problems for children and their fingers.

Teaching those who can reach high enough to slowly move the split doors with a light touch will help prevent pinching fingers. You should also teach them to keep their hands away from the top of the bottom door when opening or closing.

In terms of overall safety, a being able to open just the top portion has advantages for children over standard doors. We just suggest using a child proof handle for the bottom, and don't teach them to use the latch yet.

Can Dutch doors help sell a house?

Dutch doors help your home stand out more - and be more memorable during showings. We would also say that home buyers with kids like the idea of an interior Dutch door as a built in method to keep rooms separate for little ones.

A seller should let the realtor know about exterior Dutch doors so they can demonstrate their usefulness to prospective buyers.

How are French doors and Dutch doors different?

The primary connection between Dutch and French doors is a contingent. French doors amount to a double side by side door without the additional split.

A French door is traditionally made from glass and holds the advantage of allowing a panoramic view of the outside as well as allowing more light in.

From a design perspective, a French door with attractive metal and the right paint adds a striking, beautiful presence to a room.

Where are ideal climates to install a Dutch door?

Homes in places with temperate weather make an exterior Dutch door a great choice. They create active airflow while keeping a closed lower half.

Cold or extremely hot weather climates will find the opposite in trying to keep fresh air out part of the year. Some homeowners might find a screen or glass door more practical to install because they won't want to leave their upper half open often.