# Craftsman style house- "Gentleman's Door"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 7, 2012, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craftsman-style-house-gentlemans-door/640197 "2012-11-07T11:44:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craftsman-style-house-gentlemans-door/640197/1 "2012-11-07T11:44:40Z")
There are are a lot of Craftsman style homes in my Texas neighborhood. Mine is from the 1930’s. They have boxy, four-square floor plans and are quite charming. Many of them have a door that exits to the outside directly from the master bedroom. An architect friend of mine says that’s called a “Gentleman’s Door.” He says it’s so the Gentleman or Gentlemen can leave discreetly without going back through the main part of the house. I said, “Where are they going?” He just shrugged and said, “Out.” So you have a front door and a kitchen/backdoor, and the master bedroom, which is one of the squares of the four-square, extends out just enough for a single door/exit on the side of the house, right into the driveway. Has anyone ever heard of this explanation for that door? And if so, where are those Gentlemen going? Out to smoke, gamble, pee? Presumably if he’s leaving a woman in bed, she’ll notice that he’s going. Maybe it was so a man could arrive and leave without a servant having to let him in and out the front door? Many of these houses, including mine, have servants quarters (just a small bedroom and bathroom) next to the garage. Not sure if this is the correct forum. Move if necessary. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craftsman-style-house-gentlemans-door/640197/2 "2012-11-07T12:45:39Z")
A lady never asks. ---
**Author:** ![tapu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@tapu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapu)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craftsman-style-house-gentlemans-door/640197/3 "2012-11-07T14:31:48Z")
My first thought when you said “Gentleman’s Door” was that it was to accommodate the whims of the lady of the house–her suitor could scoot out if necessary. But, I doubt that was part of the culture back then… 🙂 I love craftsman architecture and have lived in a few houses like that, but I’ve never seen or heard of this door. Interesting inquiry. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craftsman-style-house-gentlemans-door/640197/4 "2012-11-07T14:39:57Z")
It’s not so they could leave discreetly, it was so they could return discreetly. When husbands were out with the guys and coming home late at night, this allowed them come into their house directly into their bedroom, without potentially waking up the kids etc. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craftsman-style-house-gentlemans-door/640197/5 "2012-11-07T14:46:56Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > A lady never asks. I guess that tells you everything you need to know about me… > [@Omar\_Little](#): > > It’s not so they could leave discreetly, it was so they could return discreetly. When husbands were out with the guys and coming home late at night, this allowed them come into their house directly into their bedroom, without potentially waking up the kids etc. Now THAT makes sense! You are so danged smart! Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craftsman-style-house-gentlemans-door/640197/6 "2012-11-07T16:14:37Z")
My grandad got up and went for coffee every morning at 5:30. Visit with his friends and go to work in the oil fields. He still did that after retiring, except he’d come home by 7. Grandmother still snoozing away in bed. A door directly off the bedroom would have been convenient to avoid going through the house. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craftsman-style-house-gentlemans-door/640197/7 "2012-11-07T16:20:32Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > A lady never asks. And neither does a gentleman. ---
**Author:** ![sidecar\_jon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@sidecar\_jon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sidecar_jon)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craftsman-style-house-gentlemans-door/640197/8 "2012-11-07T16:50:29Z")
just a small question, what is a “Craftsman style home” ? ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craftsman-style-house-gentlemans-door/640197/9 "2012-11-07T17:01:27Z")
[Craftsman Style Homes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Craftsman). There’s one that looks almost exactly like that picture a few blocks away from where I work. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craftsman-style-house-gentlemans-door/640197/10 "2012-11-07T17:05:02Z")
usually small bungalow, porches with stone or brick columns. Inside you’ll find built-in cabinetry and lots of gorgeous fine wood molding. Nice photo at this link. Small homes that have incredible details in them. [http://thelcn.com/2009/10/01/inside-a-craftsman-bungalow/#.UJqTsGei9K0](http://thelcn.com/2009/10/01/inside-a-craftsman-bungalow/#.UJqTsGei9K0) > [@](#): > > The philosophy of bungalow design and specifically in the Arts and Crafts style– beauty and simplicity – appealed to them. > The one-story home has a gentle roof pitch, overhanging eaves, natural woodworking on the interior, and a wide front porch covered by the main roof, all typical attributes of a bungalow style home. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craftsman-style-house-gentlemans-door/640197/11 "2012-11-07T17:21:36Z")
Thelmalou, does that bedroom door go out to a wrap around porch? I can see how nice it would be to enter the bedroom directly off a porch. Or sit out there for coffee in the mornings. If it goes directly into the yard then… I’m not sure why the door is there. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craftsman-style-house-gentlemans-door/640197/12 "2012-11-07T17:32:25Z")
Perhaps it was so that the gentleman of the house could return from the saloon without interrupting the WCTU meeting in the front parlor. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craftsman-style-house-gentlemans-door/640197/13 "2012-11-07T18:06:58Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Thelmalou, does that bedroom door go out to a wrap around porch? I can see how nice it would be to enter the bedroom directly off a porch. Or sit out there for coffee in the mornings. > > If it goes directly into the yard then… I’m not sure why the door is there. 😉 The Gent’s Door goes down some steps right to the driveway on the side of the house. There is a front porch also… in the front. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craftsman-style-house-gentlemans-door/640197/14 "2012-11-07T18:27:55Z")
> [@jasg](#): > > Perhaps it was so that the gentleman of the house could return from the saloon without interrupting the WCTU meeting in the front parlor. That gets my vote. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craftsman-style-house-gentlemans-door/640197/15 "2012-11-07T18:33:27Z")
> [@jasg](#): > > Perhaps it was so that the gentleman of the house could return from the saloon without interrupting the WCTU meeting in the front parlor. That’s exactly what my suspicion was; the only reason I could come up with for the man of the house needing to avoid the entry or dining areas would be because of guests that he was politely trying to avoid. ---
**Author:** ![sidecar\_jon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@sidecar\_jon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sidecar_jon)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craftsman-style-house-gentlemans-door/640197/16 "2012-11-07T20:13:26Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > [Craftsman Style Homes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Craftsman). There’s one that looks almost exactly like that picture a few blocks away from where I work. ah thanks to aceplace57 too. i did not know anything about the US “Arts and crafts” movement. Shameful as i make arts and crafts sort of things!..thanks ! " Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” as William Morris said.. ---
**Author:** ![sich\_hinaufwinden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@sich\_hinaufwinden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sich_hinaufwinden)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craftsman-style-house-gentlemans-door/640197/17 "2012-11-08T01:56:13Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > My grandad got up and went for coffee every morning at 5:30. Visit with his friends and go to work in the oil fields. He still did that after retiring, except he’d come home by 7. Grandmother still snoozing away in bed. > > A door directly off the bedroom would have been convenient to avoid going through the house. Maybe I’m just not following but what is the benefit to avoid going through the house. Every place I’ve ever lived, the exterior doors are far noisier to open/close than the interior doors. And I don’t know who might have been living with your grandparents at that age, but I can imagine the interior bedroom door not even being closed if no one else was there. Why not leave and return to the bedroom silently through the interior door if your grandmother was still asleep rather than opening and closing an exterior door coming and going? ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craftsman-style-house-gentlemans-door/640197/18 "2012-11-08T02:14:03Z")
Total WAG, but back then people died and also gave birth, including stillbirth, at home. Something to do with situations where genteel folk wouldn’t want traffic through the front parlor or the kitchen? ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craftsman-style-house-gentlemans-door/640197/19 "2012-11-08T04:48:20Z")
The gentleman’s door is a small door from the master bedroom directly to outside the house. This is a one story house. Coming and going through that door wouldn’t disturb anyone, probably not even the woman in the bed. Also, if there was a servant, the coming and going would be done without her knowledge. Here’s the floor [plan](http://i851.photobucket.com/albums/ab72/EveOz/FloorPlan1.jpg). You can see the door off the master bedroom, top right. This is a quirky layout, but I love it! ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craftsman-style-house-gentlemans-door/640197/20 "2012-11-08T04:55:05Z")
It’s so the dude can go piss in the yard, shake off and return to bed without awakening the Missus. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craftsman-style-house-gentlemans-door/640197.md?page=2)