Front Doors: Creating a First and Lasting Impression

Choosing front doors is best done using a "big picture" mind set, as you can get distracted when focusing on front doors that aren't attached to your home. You'll want to consider your home's style, color, interior, and windows when selecting front doors.

Front Doors and a Fish out of Water: Don't Go There!

• Complement your home's style and decor: Massive wooden front doors with accompanying hand leaded glass windows on each side might be a masterpiece, but if your home is mid century contemporary, no amount of craftsmanship is going to make such a style work. You'll want your front door to "go with the flow" of your home's styling indoors and out.
• Provide a transition: Your front doors can compliment your home's exterior, while providing a hint of what's inside. This works well in "themed" homes; a hand crafted and festively painted front door can highlight a hacienda style home that's filled with southwestern and Mexican decor.
• Adding light: You can choose French doors, or single doors with glass inserts and windows along each side. Entry doors featuring leaded, etched, or textured glass can illuminate a dark entry hall while providing privacy.
• Security: Solid entry doors provide privacy, and if constructed of steel, can reduce the potential for break-ins.
• Personal statement: Front doors welcome visitors by providing hints about who lives behind them. Choose a whimsical door knocker or your favorite color for your front door.

If you're selling your home, front doors can make or break potential buyers' impression of your home. Make sure that your entryway is clean, stylish, and that your front door provides a hint of your home's overall appeal.