High-Design Doors

Dror Benshetrit's door, above, has a diagonal fold that reveals the inside of the door frame; at first glance, it looks like the door is slightly ajar. The fold gives the door a two-toned depth that's especially dramatic in the fire-engine red version. "A high-end door is one that is visually flawless, has seamless gaps, and an amazing finish," says Benshetrit.

David Rockwell's version, above, is highly tactile: its made of a rich walnut, either dark or bleached, with a brushed bronze frame and a vertical bar handle wrapped in leather. It's inspired by Rockwell’s design for the hand-carved entrance doors to the Chambers Hotel. "What we have crafted is the result of years of thinking about the detailing of doors in my projects," says Rockwell. "My obsession with doors comes from the fact that they really define the first impression of a space."

Robert A.M. Stern created a series of three more traditional doors, with crisply detailed paneling that reinterprets the doors of a classic New York pre-war apartment. My favorite is this bling-y gold-trimmed version, below.