Federal Style Doors

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Federal style doors.

An elliptical fanlight or fan shaped window tops the door with long rectangular windows on either side. These are the hallmarks of the federal style. Federal style homes almost always have double hung windows typically with six panes per sash. Tall slender columns or pilasters frame the entrance.

Occasionally a side door may include a large area of glass. A fanlight ornamentation above the door was also common. Side doors share panel designs similar to main entry doors although the side doors are slightly narrower. Either semi circular or elliptical these decorative windows are the biggest design signatures of the federal style.

The most common window configuration is five on the second story and four on the first. The result is a richly textured look that is at home in both traditional and modern settings. These semicircular or elliptical details would often feature a window to bring in additional light above paneled doors. Wood or brick construction.

A panel door is a classic style. The first feature to capture one s attention in these houses are the fanlight doors. Based on a half oval these over door windows contain numerous versions of delicate tracery in wood and or metal creating a fan like shape. The door is simple but the ornamentation around it is grand.

The spaces between them are filled with thinner panels. The federal look today photo by antonis achilleos. Federal style hardware lots of leeway on what qualifies as federal hardware or not but this is the selection we have that we think might fit into the category of federal the federal period is generally accepted to have stretched from at least the last two decades of the 1700s through at least the first two decades of the 1800s. It usually has three or four horizontal rails and three vertical stiles.

The oval shaped carvings called paterae flanking the door are universal on federal era furniture mantels and interior woodwork. Often positioned over doors along with an elaborate door surround fanlights are distinctly federal. Windows are symmetrically arranged around a central door. Federal style homes typically emphasize the cornice with decorative molding most typically tooth like dentils or block like projections.

You can get the federal look with these new home furnishings that pay homage to the style s elegance but aren t too fussy to live with. Georgian federal style homes typically have one main entry door although there can be numerous auxiliary doors leading to patios decks the backyard or a side yard.