The first thing people see when they go past your house or come to your home is not the architectural style or the landscaping – it’s the front door. It leaves the first impression of you and your lifestyle. It displays your personality and complements the rest of the house. This element of your home can have a bold design and stand out from the rest of the neighbourhood.
Your front door gives your home instant curb appeal and acts as a safety barrier between your home life and the outside world. When buying, choose a sturdy, solid and superb quality door that will keep you and your family safe.
Popular Front Door Materials
There are many different materials to choose from when buying front doors. Your choice will depend on the style you prefer and your budget. You can go traditional with wood or more contemporary with glass; it all depends on the rest of your interior and exterior design.
Wood
Up until this day, wooden doors remained a favourite among homeowners. This is because of their diversity, timelessness and the warm natural feeling they give out. Wood can be transformed and used in many ways to create different styles, designs and finishes. You could get a rustic or elegant look with a raw board or a sleek wooden finish. Wood can expand and reshape when exposed to temperature changes, but if you buy it from a good manufacturer and maintain it the right way, it will last for a long time. You’ll get a stylish and elegant aesthetic that’s eye-pleasing. And if you have a pet, it’ll be easier to install a small dog entry.
Glass
Glass and fibreglass doors are perfect for highlighting scenic views and light, and they are getting popular in contemporary home designs. These glass doors, usually coupled with a steel frame, provide natural light while maintaining a clean look. They successfully blur the line between in and out while framing landscapes like magnificent pictures.
Glass front doors can be coloured, reflective, or tinted. They’re also sturdy and easy to clean, and the tinted ones solve the privacy issues by allowing light to pass through. You can reinforce them with window film, laminated security glass, or polycarbonate glazing shields to provide security.
Steel
Steel is one of the most durable materials for creating beautiful and durable front doors. It’s very versatile and budget-friendly compared to wood and glass. These doors are weather-resistant, don’t expand or contract and have better insulation properties. Even though “raw” steel doors with a rust coating can be painted and decorated to appear like other materials with the help of decorative panels, they can be aesthetically appealing, especially when you want to create a modern industrial look.
UPVC
This is the perfect material for you if you want something with low maintenance. These doors come in many designs and colours and are very affordable. Plus, they have excellent thermal efficiency. Some of the best UPVC doors have the latest, best of the class locking mechanisms, making them one of the safest options. The downside is that it won’t match any interior, and you can’t change the handles or the locks.
Consider the Different Opening Styles
Pivot
Front doors must provide an efficient flow of people and items besides having a visual appeal. There are a variety of creative styles to open the doors besides the typical single hinged door. Pivot front doors are perfect for modern homes when you want to make a statement. A pivot door rotates on a vertical axis, resulting in a freely moving panel with a dynamic movement.
They can come in many materials, including metal, glass or marble, and can be customised according to your needs in terms of height, width and weight. Because of their functionality and easy installation, these doors are gaining popularity each day. Plus, you have endless possibilities when it comes to design and style.
Double
Double entry doors, also known as French doors, provide a spacious and appealing doorway. Even though single entrance doors are highly functional, double entry doors offer some unique benefits you should consider. For starters, they provide a wide entry point that can be great when you’re hosting parties or moving big pieces of furniture. It’ll give a welcoming feeling to a bigger home and open up a smaller space. When the holidays come, you’ll have a lot of room to hang your Christmas wreath or some spring decorations to freshen up the space.
Their installation process is very simple as well because they work on the same principle as the single hinged doors. The only difference is that they open away from each other. And of course, if you have bigger doors, this means you’ll have more natural light entering the house. Good natural lighting and a broader landscape view are always appealing and satisfactory.
Sliding
Sliding doors can be great alternatives for small spaces even though they’re mainly used as dividers inside of the house. They’re beneficial in houses with limited space because they slide instead of opening inwards or outwards. Sliding doors are excellent insulators and are very secure. In addition to their functionality and simplicity in movement, they can have a beautiful appearance that matches almost every house design.
Buying Tips
When choosing the colour for the entry door, most people tend to go for a safer option. They choose the standard black, white, brown or some similar neutral colours. But if you add a bright colour or some kind of pastel tone, your front door will stand out from the rest. This will give it some personality, character and uniqueness. Adding a pop of colour can make a big change with not much work.
There is one globally trending option that people embrace, and that’s the oversized door. It only works with walls taller than the standard 203cm. Designers and architects embraced this trend and starter incorporating it into their designs. More and more people install oversized doors that give out a sort of elegance and style and leave a big impression.
