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by Rachel Lyon, Editorial Director for The House Designers®
The front door of a home should invite the eye. As the part of the façade you interact with regularly, it has special status, and a door that doesn’t draw attention to itself makes for a very plain, unfocused, and often unappealing exterior. So, take a step back and imagine the view from the curb! There are plenty of ways to make your entry stand out with style—here are some of the most popular.
A Striking Color
Most homeowners love choosing colors. It should come as no surprise that this is the easiest way to give a front door the oomph it needs! Doors come in a variety of hues, and the possibilities are practically endless if you decide to do a custom paint or stain job. If you have an exterior palette in mind, consider a complementary tone from the opposite side of the color wheel for the door—it’ll immediately draw focus, whether you go bright and vibrant or deep and subdued with the color. And for primarily white or grayscale palettes, any hue will do!
Those who prefer the look of wood doors should start by identifying the undertones of the options, because wood comes in its own rainbow. Warm yellow, orange, and red tones are common and naturally pair nicely with cool backgrounds. Faded browns make great neutrals, but there are also purply and very dark stains that come off very dramatic. Whether you opt for complementary colors or an analogous scheme featuring other natural materials in the same general color family, try to make sure the door is the darkest or brightest part of the façade so it’s set apart. You can learn more about wood-look colors in Stunning Entry Door Stain Options for Your Home—the effect can be as bold as with a painted door, believe it or not.
A Unique Build
Unless you’ve shopped for a door before, or are fascinated by carpentry, you probably haven’t noticed just how diverse they are in build. Between panel patterns, whether those panels are raised or flat and have square or mitered edges, and the size and shape of lites, you could get lost comparing different products. Tools, technology, and popular aesthetics have varied through history and today, people favor a wide range of architectural styles and finishes. That’s why there are so many choices!
If you want to make a statement with a unique front door, you need to know what kind of home you’re working with. Taking a step away from the usual door style is sure to get noticed, but make sure to do it tastefully! In general, cleaner, more modern finishes can dress up traditional architecture well, but the more ornate designs of traditional doors can clash with sleeker modern homes. The trend toward contemporary style in recent years means that there are now crisp and simple doors designed for older home styles, and super bold options for the other end of the spectrum. Explore a catalog to see what strikes you!
Attention-Grabbing Glass
Perhaps you’d like to let the door shine with a glass element? It can really stand out against relatively plain siding and regular windows! Decorative glass comes in all sorts of patterns to suit your style, or you can fill in lites with privacy glass—again, available in a variety of textures—if you don’t want anything too fancy. Either way, it’ll give your door some extra interest! If you want glass to be the highlight of the entry and have your heart set on a particular type, you should know that glass and lites have to work together; some patterns require large lites, while others adapt well to lites large and small. But you might as well go big if you want the glass to be the main appeal!
Are you looking for the perfect front door to complete your home and make a stylish statement? Therma-Tru® Doors can help! They have collections of steel and fiberglass entries totaling thousands of door builds, and each can be personalized with sidelites and transoms, glass elements, and paint and stain colors, of course. Try the Design Your Door tool to see what you can come up with, or find a local dealer for an expert’s opinion.