Leave A Place To Mark Your Child’s Height

I want door trim wide enough to write a child’s name beside a height mark. When I’m thinking about the proportions of a doorway, that old family tradition is part of what I’m thinking about, too.

“Oh, Junior, you’re 37 inches today. Wow.” You make the little mark and put their name on it. As they grow, you keep adding to it. But if the casing around the door is too narrow, there’s no place to put their name. You may never start.

That’s why I like four-inch casing on a 36-inch door. Casing is the trim that frames the doorway, so those four inches give you room for the marks and the little names beside them. To my eye, that combination also gives the doorway a more classical, correct proportion.

When you’re choosing door trim, think about where those height marks would go. Look at the width of the casing as well as its shape. Is there enough room to write a name beside a mark?

That’s the kind of stuff I’m thinking about in design: a doorway’s proportions, right down to leaving a place for a child’s name.