The Art of Custom Door Craftsmanship | Vintage Millwork & Restoration

A quality door makes an extraordinary difference. It serves as a portal, a divider, a security measure, and an enhancement to the aesthetic of a room or exterior. The importance of choosing the right door cannot be overstated. Knowing what qualities to look for will guide you to the best option, one that will enrich a structure for many years.

Building high-end custom doors is a trademark of Vintage Millwork & Restoration (VMR) of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Founded on a philosophy of blending old-world craftsmanship with cutting-edge technology, VMR produces exquisite, period-accurate wood doors, including interior doors, carriage doors, barn doors, and more. Exemplifying their attention to detail is their renowned stile and rail door. This traditional style, while simple in form, can be the ideal choice for elevating the aesthetic of any setting.

Using premium materials and engineering their stiles in-house are key aspects of VMR’s approach. A solid core of rustic white oak is ripped, planed, and sanded, then placed in a press before being laminated to the wood species of their customer’s choice. Constructing a door with this technique prevents the stiles from twisting or warping like a solid piece of wood might, ensuring exceptional durability.

Popular wood selections include sapele mahogany, reclaimed white oak, quartersawn white oak, and walnut, prized for their strength, coloration, and the beauty of their grain patterns. The quality of these wood species is best experienced tactilely: the way the door feels in one’s hand speaks volumes — as does the level of craftsmanship required to bring out the best in the wood.

“Our craftsmanship is fundamental to our success. Many of our artisans come from families of woodworkers with generations of expertise. Their forefathers understood how to identify the qualities in a piece of timber to create the finest end product,” says VMR sales executive Norma Jean Smith. “The confidence they bring to each project, combined with our CNC technology, makes every piece we create as precise and pristine as can be.”

With all of this work done in their own mill shop, VMR closely monitors each step in the process. “We have control over the quality of every piece we make to ensure it meets our highest standards — and exceeds those of our clients,” Smith explains. She credits this one-shop approach for the trust customers place in their work. “We’ve created doors for hundreds of residences, event spaces, wine cellars, churches, and commercial spaces. Recently, we replaced the doors of the historic Lancaster Central Market, creating identical replicas of those installed around 1870. We used the same wood species and reused some of the hardware, while hand-forging exact matches for pieces that were no longer serviceable. We’re confident these doors will last for over 150 years, just like the original ones did.”

The addition of forging capabilities to the VMR shop strengthens their control and oversight, ensuring each door handle, lock, strap hinge, or other accessory is crafted perfectly for the project at hand. This holistic approach to craftsmanship elevates each custom door, combining beauty, strength, and durability to support a structure’s overall aesthetic while also safeguarding its functionality.