2 manufacturers — 18 styles — Screen door inserts with herons, flamingos and more

Remember Gabe and Amanda, who found a vintage blue heron screen door insert in sad shape on a house in their area, inquired about purchasing it from the owner and ultimately got it for free? Not everyone can be this lucky, but if you love the look of vintage style screen doors and want an easier solution, you’re in luck. We found two manufacturers of retro screen doors and inserts and count 18 styles — including one insert that’s close to Amanda and Gabe’s vintage blue heron. 

1. Hip Haven & Moon Shine Lamp and Shade: Steel inserts

Hip Haven owner Kelley didn’t initially plan to offer vintage style screen door inserts when she started her company in 2003, but after finding a vintage screen door insert and installing it on her own home, she received a lot of positive feedback. Seeing a need for reproduction vintage style screen door inserts in the market, Kelley teamed up with friend and mentor in the retro reproduction business D’lana — owner of Moon Shine Lamp and Shade’s Home store — and the two decided to start producing both vintage screen door inserts — in their favorite vintage designs, jointly. They also jointly manufacture hairpin legs jointly, sharing the tooling costs. Today, both the vintage style screen door inserts and hairpin legs are available at both websites. Note: Hip Haven is a longtime advertiser her at RetroRenovation.com. This story is not part of “the deal,” though.

We asked Kelley if she knew more about the history of these stylish screen door inserts, and she replied:

… I know is that they were very commonly used during the first half of the 20th century (at least here in Texas). I remember seeing them on many older houses when I was growing up, and as a child I always appreciated them. Before houses had air-conditioning, windows and doors were always open and covered with screens. We typically don’t have storm doors here, so screen doors were a way to add a little beauty to the entry. Some were decorated with sparrows, some swallows, some herons, some flamingos. When D’lana and I came up with our ideas for the decorative silhouettes, we settled on two of the birds, the cactus, and we added two 3-D forms that were available from our suppliers—starbursts, and a cowboy on a bucking bronco. I have tried over the years to google this subject, or look for old ads for a little more history, but with no luck. If you find more information, I would love to know it.

Hip Haven and Moon Shine’s vintage style screen door inserts are made of steel — manufactured in the same Texas factory that makes their plant stands — and are finished in primer grey. They are available in eight styles: Plain (no silhouette), Bronco, Stars, Heron, Sparrow, Cactus, Maple Leaf and Atomic Stars. The door inserts are made 28 7/8 inches wide to fit the inner opening of a 36 inch (3-0) single panel screen door and can be ordered for either a left or right door hinge.

These vintage style screen door inserts retail for $250. Shipping is free from Moon Shine Home and while it’s normally $35 from Hip Haven, Kelley of Hip Haven offers free shipping on this item for this blog’s readers — use the coupon code RETRO.

• Hip Haven vintage style screen door inserts

2. PCA Products: Complete aluminum screen doors with insert

Unlike Hip and Moon Shine, which sell steel inserts to go into the screen door frame of your choice, PCA Products sells complete aluminum screen doors inclusive of the aluminum insert. The complete doors are made in the USA and are powder coated in any of five colors: white, bronze, ivory, sand stone or clay. The company says this powder coated finish exceeds 4,000 hours of salt spray testing, providing a maintenance free finish even in coastal areas.

PCA Products offers seven styles of decoration: Palm Tree, Heron, Marlin, Dolphin, Manatee, Pineapple and Golfer — though some of their dealers seem to also stock an additional three styles: Flamingos, Pelicans and Sailboats.

The doors come with groove splines so that the installer can add the screen material of choice behind the insert.  And like their competitors, the door/design can be oriented for either right- or left-hinge hanging.

Pam called Door Depot (a PCA Products dealer listed below) to inquire about the cost of a PCA Products aluminum screen door and was told that it would cost $429 including installation.

• PCA Products vintage style aluminum screen doors
• Check PCA Products’ website for instructions to find a local dealer. Meanwhile, we found these two, as examples:
• Blackshears (PCA Products dealer)
• Door Depot (PCA Products dealer)

Cynnamon’s grandparent’s door — displayed as art

Above: Ooooh, we couldn’t resist showing this gorgeous vintage screen door insert — adorned with a swirly tailed peacock. The door belonged to reader Cynnamon’s grandparents. She saved it, and now uses it at wall art — beautifully! Thanks, Cynnamon, for posting this on our Facebook page, and for giving us permission to archive it here.

More links:

• For mill-finish aluminum screen doors — 3 places to find mill finish screen doors
• For midcentury front entry doors — 6 places to find midcentury modern entry doors + DIY tips

Can any of our resourceful readers find any vintage advertising for screen door inserts like these?