HOME > ONLINE BROCHURES > A TO Z INDEX

Designer Doors

Kent Forsland, Founder of Designer Doors, previously founded a steel garage door company. In the late 1980s,he noticed two great things about carriage doors from the 1880 - 1920s: They complemented the home's architectural details and other exterior doors; Even though the doors were about 100 years old, they were solid, functional, and usually 90% rot-free. 

This sharply contrasted with the wood garage doors manufactured in the 1970 - 1980s, which did notcomplement the architecture, and would literally fall apart as they were removed from the home.  

Through his business, Kent met many homeowners desiring the appearance of authentic carriage doors, but requiring the functionality and convenience of push-button overhead operation.

Kent saw a market opportunity. He started with the heritage of handcrafted garage doors designed and built to complement the home's architectural details including window shapes, sizes and clusters; then he added the innovation of push-button overhead operation by building the door with nearly invisible horizontal section breaks. Designer Doors, Inc. began selling handcrafted garage doors in 1987 and incorporated in 1989. The company began marketing garage doors nationally in 1993 and has experienced rapid growth. Designer Doors moved from Minneapolis to River Falls, Wisconsin in October 1996. Corporate headquarters includes two factories and a national sales office located along the scenic Kinnickinnic River in Western Wisconsin. 

Free Brochures & Historical Product Literature
HOME • About Us • Subscribe