Street Scene

Hand-Crafted Doors Add Value To Any Home

By Brittany Duque • Photography courtesy of Image Doors

Imagine finding a dry cleaner, a salon or a set of golf clubs whose quality far exceeds the standards you require. Would you tour their facility, inquire about their products and then be so enthusiastic about their processes that you’d decide to alter your life’s course and become an investor? Not everyone may be so passionate about the products and services that shape our daily lives, but Dennis Easter of Image Doors always has been.

Almost five years ago, Easter was faced with the task of finding a new garage door. Unimpressed with the quality and limited selection of products he saw in the Atlanta market, he ordered a door from Carriage House Door Company over the phone and soon thereafter spent a day at the company’s production facility in Sacramento, California. He was so impressed by the high standards and quality construction Carriage House Door offered that he and his wife Lynn decided to become distributors. As a result their company, Image Doors, is now the manufacturer’s sole distributor within a 100-mile radius of Atlanta, boasting sales of over 1,700 doors valued at more than $5.5 million. Lynn is President of the new company and Dennis is V.P. of Sales and Marketing.

Even the name of the firm evokes an image of functional luxury firmly rooted in history. “Carriage house doors were originally used to provide access to buildings that stored horse-drawn carriages and housed the driver as well,” Easter explains. These doors had to not only be functional, but they also had to reflect the stature and architectural detailing of the main home. In tribute to that past, Image Doors allows clients to customize the design, finish and decorative hardware of their doors, all of which “bring out other architectural aspects of a home. People are designing beautiful houses, and traditional doors won’t enhance the beauty of those homes,” he adds.

The period-style, insulated doors Easter’s company offers are available in two different configurations – solid wood and steel with a wood overlay. For the seventy-five percent of Easter’s clients who prefer wood doors, Image Doors offers Breckenridge plywood (a derivative of mahogany), MDO plywood (medium density overlay), Sapele (African mahogany), true Honduran mahogany, and multiple cedar choices including the highly popular Clear Western Red Cedar, Spanish Cedar and Incense Cedar, ideal for lake houses or cabins thanks to its durable, rot- and insect- resistant qualities. Reclaimed woods salvaged

centuries-old barns and farmhouses bring a vintage look to clients’ homes. Regardless of the material, “these wood doors are handmade and crafted one door at a time,” Easter says. “A typical worker will craft only two doors per day. That craftsmanship is why these doors last for 15 to 20 years.” Steel doors are another option that some customers prefer for their lower maintenance and affordability. “These doors start with a steel insulated core, then are overlaid with a 90 percent wood composite that can be painted, stained or faux finished to a customer’s specifications and last for an average of 10 years,” Easter notes.

Just as in days gone by, the aesthetic appearance of the product is nearly as important as its functionality. With this in mind, Image Doors offers several decorative hardware styles designed to complement any door selection, with most of the pieces made in-house. “It’s all in the details. We grind our own screws to ensure that they look hammered, matching the decorative hardware,” Easter explains. Capping off the firm’s offerings is an old-fashioned dedication to service. “We treat our customers as good friends. Our customers know they have myself, our highly experienced door technicians and the manufacturer standing behind our doors. We are 100 percent customer focused,” Easter says.

Each door crafted by the company is built exacting standards and designed to complement the archtictural character of the house

The distinctive doors the company offers are available in a wide range of sizes, wood, species and styles to fit any application.

Although it’s been hundreds of years since carriage doors became a necessity, Atlanta homeowners will agree that little has changed when it comes to their expectations for their garage doors – form and function must work hand-in-hand with aesthetics. “Curb appeal is important. A garage door is 33 to 50 percent of what you see when you look at a home with front-facing garage doors,” Easter says. In fact, recent surveys have shown that both homeowners and real estate agents see an increased value in homes with a stylish garage door. “We’ve seen home values increase by 1 to 2 percent just by replacing a garage door,” Easter says. “That’s a lot of money when you’re selling a $1 million dollar home – especially in today’s market.”

Image Doors is the exclusive distributor of Carriage House Doors in Northeast Georgia and has been customizing doors for the distinctive taste of Atlanta’s homeowners for the past five years. Please call (770) 740-9030 or visit www.imagedoors.biz to learn about the numerous design options available.