Set the Visual Tone of Your Home with the Right Doorway
Spring and summer are the perfect seasons for entertaining, both indoors and outdoors. Naturally, this is the time when home renovation projects turn to the exterior – creating the ideal oasis and space for hosting family and friends. To help you plan for an exterior home project, consider the following tips and guidelines for the most prominent and well-used feature of your home – the front doorway.
Colour + Style Tips
The first door you and your guests see is the front door. It establishes curb appeal, provides a warm welcome into your home, and should set the tone for your personal style and aesthetic preferences. In that case, it’s important to decide whether you want your door to stand out (perhaps with a bright, bold colour as has become the trend, or textured/tempered/stained glass eye-catching windows) or blend in harmoniously with the rest of your exterior.
So much can be done with entryway doors to customize to taste. Choices in colour, material, style, placement, size, etc. will not only benefit curb appeal, but will carry the feature indoors – a stylish door/entryway isn’t just an exterior aesthetic.
Choosing the Right Materials
You have a choice when it comes to materials used, so it’s important to choose the material that works best for the function and aesthetic. There are five different types of exterior door: steel, aluminum, wood, fibreglass, and PVC.
Steel doors are chosen for their longevity, airtightness, and easy maintenance. The material has incredibly durable insulation properties, yielding a very high energy-efficiency rating that makes them very popular.
Aluminum doors are used mainly for patio doors, storm doors, and screen doors. Because they are lightweight and easy to maintain, they’re ideal for a sliding door out to a porch, patio, or garden terrace.
Wood doors are becoming increasingly rare, and are installed for the most part on traditional or heritage homes. However, since they’re aesthetically pleasing, new manufacturing techniques and the use of wood laminates have made them more resistant to heat and wear warping.
Fibreglass doors come in a variety of colours and textures, and are popular because they are weather- and damage-resistant. Minimal use of wood in the manufacturing process means they don’t shrink in the sun or warp due to temperature fluctuations.
PVC doors are made from a lightweight material that’s weather- and corrosion-resistant. They’re also known for being extremely energy efficient, and because they don’t discolour over time, having exceptional longevity.
