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Rustic & Contemporary Finish Options
 
         
    We welcome architects and designers whose projects require more than catalog production doors and finishes. From contemporary styles to historic preservation, we have a deep talent pool of master craftsmen allowing us to address a diverse range of styles.  
       
   
RUSTIC STYLES
 
       
    Rustic styled doors fall into several popular categories; European Old World encompasses many styles such as English Tudor, French Provence, and Italian Villa. Spanish Colonial incorporates several as well most notably the Mexican Hacienda. Middle Eastern has a myriad of styles with heavily carved Moroccan perhaps the most popular. Early American is known for its cottage and Dutch door styles. While the design style is important, the key element is the finish.  
       
    Styles can range from a square top “Z buck” (ranch type) door to a classic arched top and many options in between. Finishing for a rustic style is created first through “texturing, distressing or hand hewing” as it is most commonly known. When performed by a skilled artisan with traditional tools such as end shaves, chisels, adzes and block planes, a far more historically accurate is achieved... Many door manufacturers use power planners with a modified blade attempting to mimic distressing by hand. This is done to save labor costs at the expense of authenticity. McLean Woods uses only hand tools and skilled craftsmen.  
       
    Texturing is not to make a door look “beat up” with years of use but rather to replicate how wood was milled in the days before such power tools as planers and joiners. With the customer’s choice of light, medium or heavy, the result coupled with an antique finish using custom stains, glazes and pigmented waxes by a skilled artisan, the door becomes a true work of art. Using heavily figured grain hardwood such as mahogany or character cherry, it literally gives a museum quality reproduction. Under the “skin” however, are the best architectural wood working standards. Hand textured with traditional hand tools and highly developed artisan finishes is how McLean Woods’s doors are crafted.  
       
   
CONTEMPORARY STYLES
  
       
    While rustic doors will always be in demand for many architectural styles, contemporary architecture has been enjoying resurgence in recent years in areas normally associated with rustic themes. Examples would be the high-end mountain resorts noted for highly designed log homes with an alpine flair. Santa Barbara, California noted for its Spanish Colonial Revival architecture is also experience a greater demand for contemporary designs.  
       
    In these markets, a clean contemporary or “transitional” style such as Post and Beam are quite common. A contemporary style door begins with an appropriate style using better hardwoods such as mahogany, walnut, quarter-sawn white oak or cherry. These woods yield the richest color capability and offer the greatest stability, a vital factor in door fabrication.  
       
    Finishing is the key difference between contemporary and rustic. In contemporary styles, there is no distressing and finishing techniques are more comparable to that of fine furniture. Ultimately, it is the best design for the project, beautiful wood with a deep, rich finish in the color tones specified.  
       
    Whether rustic or contemporary, exterior doors must receive an appropriate finish for long lasting protection. The most common finish are the various types of polyurethane, however this puts a plastic skin on the door and if there is significant exposure to direct sunlight, both the wood and finish are severely damaged over time. The superior finish is oil with a UV protector such as Brazilian Rosewood oil. This is the only finish McLean Woods uses for either rustic or contemporary exterior doors.  
       
    For more specific information on this and other details on McLean Woods’s doors, please contact David Coe at 505 983 2644.