These are rounded doors with an arch located at the top. This style can be used for elevated panels attached to rectangular doors. Cathedral doors are often used to improve entryways and can be used to enhance the decoration of cabinet doors. Cathedral doors were first used during the medieval period when quarried stones were the most popular materials used in construction. The entire weight of these quarried stones needed to be evenly distributed across the window and door openings. Arches proved to be the most practical solution.

 

Cathedral doors permitted proper functioning of windows and doors even under the pressure imposed by the enormous weight of the stones used in the building construction. With the advancement of various other construction materials, cathedral doors ended up being strictly ornamental. These doors are now widely used to incorporate elegance to homes and other buildings. Certain cathedral doors have rounded tops while others have rectangular tops with raised arched panels attached to them. These arched panels are made with the aid of simple hand tools such as a router, and a lot of homeowners love to have them added to their inventory.