Hi Roxanddan, Did you settle on a finish you liked? Would love to see how your door turned out.

The door you want will certainly be custom. No reputable door shop will build this as a solid door as it is very prone to warping, especially for a 9' tall door. What you want are engineered stiles and rails using a composite such as Timberstrand, LVL, or Stave core with a veneer that is 1/8" or thicker. (Even the Chinese imports are built this way) If using raised panels the inside and outside should be 2 separate panels not one. In this way they can expand and contract with the temperature differential on both sides and the panels are floating, not glued in, as they will need to expand and contract. The beveled glass should be sandwiched between 2 pieces of clear tempered glass and sealed as an insulated unit. In addition to the thermal advantages the cleaning process will be infinitely more simple. In our shop, once we fabricate the beveled panels they are cleaned under halogen lights using alcohol and q-tips. A full lite sidelite will take someone upward of 8 hours to clean correctly! You definitely do not want to be doing this! You might also consider using a 3 or 5 point locking system. A standard tubular or mortise lock will only secure the door 36"-42" above the floor. You will have approx 6' above that with nothing to hold the door tight to the weatherstrip and frame. The multi-point lock will do this for you, or you can use a surface bolt but I would suggest 24" so you can reach it without a chair. Hope this helps, and good luck!

Veneers used in making doors can mean a lot of different things. One key to look for a in a quality, solid wood entry door is typically engineered stiles and rails. These provide the backbone of the door and if built properly will prevent it from warpage. the engineered stile has a core of laminated wood with a veneer or "skin" of the wood species of the door. A veneer of 1/16" thickness may not hold up to the elements but a 'skin' of 3/8" to 1/2" laminated to the core is a high quality product. At a minimum, 2 pieces of solid wood are laminated together to created a more stable piece of wood.

I might consider painting the trim out with the wall. I don't like the dark stain around the FP. Kind of a heavy handed details which fight the architecture of the room. You have: Wood finish for the floor Wood finish for the cabinets Wood finish for the fireplace Wood finish for that big 'armor', (do you mean armoire?) Wood finish for rain hood (do you mean range hood?) I think you should stop adding more and more finishes. See image below. Paint the trim out.