Crestview Doors



Feb
15
2007
 15

Cat. Bag. Out.


I let the cat out of the bag in a comment on Ranch Redo on Monday. I'm starting a new company to sell a very narrowly defined, but otherwise completely unavailable style of front door. The Company is called Crestview Doors. I named the company after the neighborhood where I live. This is where I have noticed and slowly...


Feb
17
2007
 10

Door Buzz


Thank you house bloggers for all the buzz and links to Crestview Doors. Many people are posting photos of their doors. It's really cool to see the regional differences in these doors. Meanwhile Back at the Ranch has a "Madison". I highly recommend this placement of a devil tiki mask when installing a "Madison". Ranch Redo...


Mar
1
2007
 14

Retro Door Research


I spent some time over the weekend photographing, and measuring some of the more unusual vintage 50s entrance doors in my neighborhood. I'll be adding these to the list of reproductions available at Crestview Doors when the site is updated. The vintage of the doors below are: 1957, 1952, 1950 1952, 1954, 1957 Check...


Mar
15
2007
 11

A Big Week for Crestview Doors


It's been an exciting week for Crestview Doors. First we were blogged by houseblogs.net. They have kindly lent us their support and helped with a call for photos of unique mid-century doors. We've already got several new designs in the flickr pool. I had not seen the sunshine design before. Then Modern Austin gave us a shout-out. And...


Apr
16
2007
 0

Grover Grandfather


I've wondered where the Grover design came from. No design happens without history. Either it is a reference to an older design or a rejection of it. I think the Grover is a reference, but I'm not sure what to. On a recent trip to see family in Fort Worth, I spotted this door on a 1925 house. This was a nice neighborhood...


Apr
19
2007
 2

Putting the Pieces Together


This is the glass that goes in the first Crestview Door. It's really cool to start having the physical reality of the company. But, boy is it a lot more work than I thought. I ordered the glass about a month ago. In the first week, they made 3 not 5 pieces. In the next week they made two more, but broke one. The next week...


May
1
2007
 2

Crestview Doors Update


The first 4 doors are in production. They are looking soooooo good. For all the delays and phone calls and damage and returned wrong stuff, this is the big pay off. Just look at the grain on this door. It will be a "Pasadena" (three square windows) with frosted glass and a vintage doorknob escutcheon. This is the glass...


May
7
2007
 0

Door Production Photos


I returned 11 of the first 15 windows to be rebuilt. I still don't have a finished door to photograph. It's amazing to me that 5 people have bought doors from me based on illustrations. So I'm getting photos as quickly as I can. BTW, those are not my hands. (I hear that's an old Martha Stewart trick. You photograph someone...


May
10
2007
 6

Two Doors Left


The first run of Crestview Doors is almost over. We've sold 10 of the first 12. After the last 2 are sold we will stop taking orders until June. That should give us enough time to build and ship those doors, evaluate the business model, and to build the online store. With the Violet Crown Festival over, I had a little extra...


May
15
2007
 7

Little Glass Shop of Horrors


I had decided to work with a local glass shop. They are close, not corporate at all and, I am beginning to learn, totally incompetent (see below). My first door was ordered on March 15. I bought glass right away. Here is the comedy of errors in order: 1. Made 3, not 5 pieces 2. Made two more, broke one 3. Replaced that...


Jun
4
2007
 7

Being in Business


I have so much to say, I don't know where to start. In no particular order. 1. We've sold all 12 doors and we're pausing production until July. 2. Having built and shipped 5 doors, I know my costs much better. I updated the price range on the web site to $1500 - $2500. Most doors will be about $1700 including shipping....


Jun
16
2007
 3

50 Doors in Crestview


This image is the result of about an hour of driving 10 or 15 blocks. Maybe about 10% of Crestview. By the time I snapped that last pic, they boys were taking turns slapping each other in the back seat, the baby still would not sleep, and Christiane and I were seriously car sick. Research is not easy. Normally I take photos...


Jul
2
2007
 4

Warming up the Website


The big drum roll to the launch of the Crestview Doors online store has been going for a while. It's very exciting to see all the product shots together. More soon. Promise! ...


Aug
3
2007
 0

New Designs at Crestview Doors


         Our research has yielded more designs. Meet the "Langston", the "Pomelroy", and the "Westhaven." The "Langston" was spotted in the nearby neighborhood of Allandale, the "Westhaven" was spotted in Crestview, and the "Pomelroy" came to me in a vision. I really want that to be the next...


Sep
13
2007
 3

Puerta Poetry


We finally launched the Crestview Doors Online Store. You can shop all our models. You can even buy one if you want. It was a huge effort to build the site. Our deadline was Labor Day weekend and Christiane and I stayed up past 3 am that Friday night perfecting it. It was very cool to see how our knowledge and skills meshed....


Feb
4
2008
 0

Erwin House also endorses…


Now that we keep separate websites and separate blogs, I don't blog much about Crestview Doors here anymore. But I have to take a sec to brag about our awesome new site design! David and I have been working loooong hours to figure out how to best address three issues: 1. "Your doors take too long." Last fall, our lead...


May
11
2009
 1

Our 50′s Game Room


For us, the Activity Room is kind of like a 1950's game room or den.  We're breaking some rules here.  Architecturally speaking, the room is a formal living room.  Before the remodel, it was the master bedroom.  But with three children and one on the way, it is the true heart of the house.  Well, okay, it is the heart...