Beautiful and practical, inspirational Dutch doors are everywhere in Carmel-by-the-Sea

I love great doors and I've written about them. There are great entry doors, pocket doors, barn doors and today, I'll discuss other my love, Dutch doors.

Also known as half doors, double-hung doors and stable doors, Dutch doors have been a favorite of mine since I used to help out my mom at church socials and a Dutch door divided the church kitchen from the large meeting room. Even then, I thought that Dutch doors were ingenious the way the bottom half remained closed, while the ladies in the kitchen could pass food to the serving area through the top half. Back in the day, Dutch doors were found mostly as back entry doors; they kept the animals on the farm out of the house and the children in, while letting in plenty of air and sunshine.

Today, Dutch doors are a stylish addition to any home, inside or out. In fact, you you want to see some of the most beautiful exterior Dutch doors anywhere within about a five block area, check out the exquisite California oceanside town of Carmel-by-the-Sea. Here are some beautiful doors I found there on a recent trip.

Below is a more contemporary Dutch door with its clean lines and oversized glass window panes.

This one is my favorite in Carmel-by-the-Sea. I guess that's true because I'm a sucker for a red door.

This one, in a pale shade of robin's egg blue, is more rustic. As you can see, this town doesn't need a lot of air conditioning. Just open up the top half of the door and let the breeze in.

This one has a more nautical feel. It is stained where all the others were painted. It is appropriate for this menswear store. By the way, there are home with Dutch doors in the town, too, but I limited my photo excursion to the public areas.

This door is thoroughly rustic. Notice the window is considerably smaller than any of the others.

Okay, I'm cheating here. This one isn't a Dutch door, but I love this arched entry anyway and I couldn't resist. It is also in the town of Carmel-By-The-Sea.

I was so inspired by these doors that I had to put a Dutch door in my home, too. In my case, I used it inside as a way to separate my mudroom from the kitchen and therefore, contain my dogs in the mudroom until they were thoroughly dry from the rain or the snow. We've been using it for eight months now and it is one of the best design decisions we made.

The dogs like it too because they can see and hear what is going on everywhere else in the house. We even keep them in the mudroom if we don't want them around company and they are very content. To read more about using Dutch doors as an alternative to pet gates or child safety gates, click here.

How about you? What is your opinion of Dutch doors? Do you have one in your home?