A French door, also known as a French window, is a light door that has rectangular glass panes extending its full length. It is a very common as well as popular door since they provide additional illumination into a room and also enhances the overall appearance of a house.

To understand the French door name, one must look back to history. Back in 16th or 17th century times, France and Italy were at war.  After the French held victories in the Italian lands, the French were influenced by Italian Renaissance architectural design.  Italian form aimed at capturing the light and embraced symmetry and proportional elements.  By having full window glass across the expanse of the door, this would maximize the amount of light throughout the day (without the modern invention of electricity to power lighting all day).  With their stately beauty and elegance, French doors combined with the flood of sunlight enhanced the overall look of the home. 

Today, French doors continue to bring the natural light of the outdoors in, while improving the curb appeal of your home.  To get the historical feel of the individual panes, windows now have the option of grilles between glass.  In this design, you can get this look built into the glass, adding easy maintenance and clean up for years to come.