14 Places to Buy or DIY Mid Century Modern Front Doors

Mid century modern front doors can really improve your mid century home’s curb appeal — and we’ve found 14 places where you can find them. My list includes doors made of wood, fiberglass, and steel. And, I spotlight three DIY options to consider, too.

Reminder: As with other products, remember to check with professionals regarding state and local building codes and other such requirements before you order.

 

4 companies with mid modern front doors made from wood:

1. Simpson Doors

We first spotlighted Simpson Doors when reader Doug tipped us to their  midcentury Early American (aka “Cool-onial”) style doors. Several months later, reader Mitch saw that the company also had 9 mid century modern front door styles tucked in their catalog. All of the mid century door styles Simpson Doors offers are made of wood in the USA and can be custom ordered in a variety of sizes, wood species and glass styles. The company also offers many helpful tools such as their door test drive tool and glass taste test and per a comment from reader Kristine this Contemporary Flush door design tool.

• Read our full coverage on Simpson Doors

2. Frank Lumber — The Door Store:

Frank Lumber has been in business in the Pacific Northwest since 1948 — and they stock eight models of solid birch wood doors, with many available options for customization in different wood species, glass and sizes. The doors themselves are made just up the road in Marysville, Washington, by Kylemont Custom Wood Doors, their partner company. Frank Lumber also prides themselves in giving expert customer service and advice for your door project — however if you are too far away to visit the shop in person, they will ship doors.

• Read our full coverage on Frank Lumber’s Door Store and their midcentury door options

3. Rogue Valley Door makes mid century modern front doors:

Rogue Valley Doors offers three styles of handcrafted, made in the USA mid century modern front doors from domestically manufactured components. According to reader Virginia, who tipped us off to  this company, prices for Rogue Valley Doors are comparable to other companies we’ve featured — such as Frank Lumber and Simpson Doors.

• Read our full coverage on Rogue Valley Door

4. Mai Doors fancy wood mid century door designs

Mai Doors, based in Wylie, Texas, says, “Since 1981, MAI has been making doors of the finest quality Mahogany, Andean Walnut, and Knotty Alder.”  

• Mid century modern doors from Mai Doors

4 companies that make mid century entry doors from fiberglass:

1. Therma-Tru Pulse fiberglass mid century modern front doors:

It was big news a few years ago when we discovered that the very first mass-market door manufacturer — Therma-Tru — had introduced a new line of midcentury modern style front entry doors. The doors are part of their “Pulse” line — which comes in a variety of styles with lite variations — and are available in oak grained fiberglass, smooth (paintable fiberglass) and steel.

Getting a new door of any brand installed can be easy, or not so easy. We wrote about reader Barbra’s super easy experience with her new Therma-Tru midcentury modern front door installation, but also heard the long saga from reader Scott, who initially found it difficult to find someone to install a Therma-Tru door for him.

• Read our full coverage on Therma-Tru’s midcentury modern Pulse line of front doors

2. GlassCraft Door Company

Marcia discovered another source for midcentury style fiberglass entry doors. She writes: 

I’ve got another manufacturer who has mid century modern front doors: GlassCraft Door Company in Houston, TX. The dealer in Temple where I found these quoted me about $1600 for the 6’8″ Beverly door on p 123 of their catalog, about $300 less than their online price list, so maybe the dealer gets a discount? That’s prehung, with brickmold & hinges, and unfinished, with choice of glass. Doesn’t include installation or handle sets. There are 8 factory finishes available (all wood tones), and 4 glass options. They show 377 dealers across the US. Not cheap, but maybe a good option for some folks.

3. Escon Doors — fiberglass mid century modern doors

Escon Doors jumped on the mid century modern design revival in 2016. It offers 16 different designs, with the door lights varying in number, size, and direction. Like the Therma-Trus, Escon’s midcentury doors also are in fiberglass, which some homeowners prefer for climate reasons. And, they come with matching sidelight options — kind of cool!

• 16 designs of Escon mid century modern front doors 

4. Builder’s Choice mid century modern fiberglass front doors

You can order three different styles of mid century modern front doors in fiberglass through Home Depot’s website. The doors are made by Builder’s Choice and are available pre-finished in a handful of colors — including candy-apple red and skylark blue. Depending on the chosen features, these doors retail for between $599-$959.

• Read our full coverage on Builder’s Choice doors available through Home Depot

5. MMI fiberglass doors

• I see that MMI also makes doors in midcentury styles in fiberglass.

Mid century doors in steel:

1. Home Depot steel mid century doors by MMI — four designs: 

It’s been my experience over 12 years that hotlinks to product on Home Depot and other large stores change a lot. So if this link doesn’t work, use their search box to get to mid century style steel doors from MMI. I see four designs — swinging right or left — in a prepainted lollipop rainbow of colors.

3 ways to DIY your own mid century front door with Door Lite Kits:

1. Make It Midcentury door light kits:

Make It Midcentury is the newest player in the market for door lite kits, and they have an expansive, super stylish set of offerings. Indeed, I count 69 — yes, 69! — different exterior door lite styles. If you are an individualist who wants a front door with next to zero chance of looking like anyone else’s in the neighborhood, this company and its options are for you! 

• Make It Midcentury Exterior Doors

2. ODL door lites 

Emily tipped us to this company, but it took me a while to figure the company out. It makes door lites. Check the materials they are framed in — I think it’s fiberglass, but check. See the diagrams above — find a retailer, and you can order the door lights and install them yourself or have a contractor do it.

• Go to “Spotlights” collection for the mid century modern sized door lights. 
• ODL main website, including where to find retailers

3. Make your own, affordable midcentury door lite kits

Inventive reader Sarah — owner of the fabulous Gilbert Spindel designed round house — shared the steps she used to make her own mid century modern front doors using a plain wood slab door and her local glass shop. For just $30 — she did her own carpentry — Sarah was able to make the door above, a perfect complement to her 1964 home. Note: Get with your local building inspections department to ensure the glass and other materials you are using meet building codes. See more info below on what Therma-Tru told us about safety glass.

• Read our coverage on how you can make your own DIY mid century front doors

Find vintage mid century modern front doors:

1. Search out vintage mid century front doors:

And of course: You can always seek out vintage, salvage midcentury front doors. I see them at my ReStore quite often, and as I recall, they typically cost $40 or less. Thing is, ya gotta get the fit right, and I am not an expert on issues related to current life safety codes — that is, do old doors meet today’s building codes, fire codes, etc.; on this, get with your own properly licensed professionals to assess what you are dealing with so that you can make informed decisions. For example, see the info below from Therma-Tru about today’s requirements for safety glass. 

— Safety glass and the “blaze” issue, —

Note: Glass on new doors lites may have a “blaze”:

We also want to add this learning: When Scott bought his Therma-Tru door, he discovered that each pane of glass on the door had a watermark that he found distracting. We asked the helpful team at Therma-Tru about this, and they explained:

….By federal law, safety glass must be used in doorlites and sidelites, no matter who the door manufacturer may be. This same law requires that each individual piece of glass must be clearly marked with a visible code number. This is generally called “the blaze” within our industry and is required as a federal safety regulation. Most manufacturers also choose to put their company name on each glass panel.

While this coding is not required on most windows, it is required on every individual piece of glass within a door and/or sidelite. When the glass is larger or has a decorative design, the blaze is not very visible. However, when the glass pieces are smaller and/or completely clear, the blaze does tend to stand out a bit, as Scott has experienced.

We understand that Scott has replaced our glass, and we’d like to suggest that he make certain that the auto glass installed meets the federal safety regulations, both to comply with the laws and for his family’s safety. He can check on this with the person who supplied the glass, or look for the code numbers on each pane of glass.

Finally, we want to thank Scott for his feedback. We are committed to providing the best product possible and appreciate his comments as we continue to look for ways to improve our products.

So note, dear readers: It sound like, no matter where you buy a new door like this — no matter who the manufacturer — you’re going to get a watermark “blaze” on each pane of glass… although the manufacturer’s logo may or may not also be on there, depending on their practice.

It’s great to see the growing number of options for front doors. Cuz, as they say, you only get one chance to make a good first impression!