After discussing the JELD-WEN door design competition in my design studio, the first place I looked for my inspiration was an old architectural history book. I flipped through the pages and paused on a few that I liked. There was one page I kept going back to - a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1902. The house was designed for a rising businessman, Ward M. Willitts on Chicago’s South Side. It had a symmetrical façade of stucco accented by thick wooden beams. This particular house was not one of Wright’s famous public works but it had a simple design quality that I was striving for with my door. The beautiful proportions of the stucco squares and long beams of dark wood were striking. In my design the thick beams were replaced by thin strips of lighter wood that accent the proportional divisions in the door. The stucco to wood contrast is altered with a glass to wood contrast in the door design. The sleek cold feeling of the glass is offset by the warm traditional feeling of the wood, making it suitable for both contemporary and traditional homes.MICHELLE PYNE
Junior Interior Design Major
Virginia Tech
