Designer Doors: Functional Goes High Fashion with Hand-Carved JELD-WEN Doors

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. January 11, 2006 —

For some, it’s only a door. For others, it’s a blank canvas just waiting to be transformed into a masterpiece.

JELD-WEN^Ò Custom Wood doors are blurring the line between what simply provides access and what’s great art, thanks to the incredible talents of a family of carvers who have been perfecting their skills for nearly two decades. 

In the hands of the Reyes family who works at the JELD-WEN Custom Wood door plant, beautiful pieces of mahogany, clear alder and cherry are carved, chiseled and shaped into doors worthy of hanging in a gallery. Carving is a strong family tradition for the talented Reyes family. Four members of the family are JELD-WEN door carvers, including Andres Reyes, a third-generation carver, and his uncle Roberto, who learned the skill from Andres’ father in 1967.

From detailed palm trees so realistic you can almost hear the breeze rustling through them to plump clusters of grapes that embellish a wine cellar door, these master craftsmen turn purely utilitarian entry doors into opulent entryways.

At IBS this year, Andres and Roberto are showcasing their skills by carving designs onto solid wood door panels by hand. In addition, JELD-WEN will exhibit its new coast-to-coast custom wood door featuring hand-carved scenes from around the nation: New York’s Statue of Liberty, San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, Seattle’s Space Needle and a Cape Canaveral space shuttle launch.

“It’s incredible to watch,” said Shane Meisel, JELD-WEN marketing manager for wood doors. “They can shape and carve a piece of wood as if it were butter. The end result is so detailed and lifelike, people are amazed when they find out the designs are all created by hand.”

A Backlash Against Boring

But in the age of mass-produced, mass-designed, automated everything, is there really enough demand for hand-crafted, one-of-a-kind products? According to Meisel, the opportunity is greater than ever, given that many homeowners and builders are saying enough is enough when it comes to cookie-cutter style. 

“People don’t want the same things as their neighbors down the street and that’s sparking a lot of creativity and original designs,” said Meisel. “Both homeowners and builders alike are looking for ways to truly personalize their homes and incorporate top-quality features. Having a door that also serves as a work of art and an interesting conversation piece fits right in with this trend.”

JELD-WEN estimates that about 90 percent of its custom carved doors incorporate pre-existing designs, but as more builders and homeowners learn that the creative possibilities are nearly limitless, the demand for one-of-a-kind doors is rising. JELD-WEN recently created a series of beautiful doors with detailed profiles of an Arabian horse for a customer who plans to use them in his stable. Texas A&M University installed

JELD-WEN Custom doors with the school insignia carved into the solid mahogany. 

Meisel predicts that “featured” rooms such as wine cellars, pantries and home theaters are perfect candidates for hand-carved doors, as both homeowners and builders look for ways to highlight these rooms.

While a handful of small independent door crafters offer custom carving craftsmanship, none are doing it on the scale of JELD-WEN, which offers custom wood doors through an extensive national network of dealers and retailers. Through JELD-WEN, homeowners can choose from a variety of species, including clear and knotty alder, cherry, black walnut, genuine mahogany and red oak, all of which can be custom carved. Surprisingly, the amount of time needed for even some of the most intricate designs isn’t extensive; it takes only eight weeks, three weeks longer than the standard JELD-WEN lead time for orders.

Moving from Commodity to Customized

Custom carving is just one of the many ways homeowners and builders are personalizing their doors. Other custom capabilities include the ability to select the wood, finish color, metal accents such as clavos or grilles, hardware and decorative glass. A variety of sizes, shapes, sidelights and transoms, panels and raised moulding details, prehung and prefinished capabilities, and trim are also available.  For each species, JELD-WEN offers a plethora of options for stains and finishes.

With all of the options available, Meisel says that homeowners and builders are putting a lot more thought into the types and styles of doors they install. 

“The average home has 19 doors and the trend is to install taller doors than ever. Why waste that space with boring, run-of-the-mill products? More people are getting creative and using doors that will not only help accentuate and add beauty to their home, but are designed to be treasured family heirlooms,” said Meisel.