Choose your front door

Go with glass

Add extra interest to your door with glass. As well as being a design feature that sets the style, either modern or traditional, glass also lets light into a home’s interior and is a good idea for dark entryways. Modern doors have either vertical or horizontal panels and there’s a wide range of choices within each. For the semi-traditional look, try an arched window set above a panelled door. On a period-style home, leadlight windows are well suited

Door designs

If glass isn’t your thing, there’s still something to suit every home with designs routed into the face of the door. For the contemporary, there are designs featuring a range of geometric patterns. Traditional homes have more choice in this range. The standard four-panel design is common but you can also give the door more depth with timber mouldings added to the face around the routed panels.

Don’t forget the hardware

Door hardware is a term that refers to everything that is attached to your doors such as handles, locks and hinges. Security is a big factor in your choice but looks also play a part. Modern doors look great with a large rail handle combined with a dead latch to keep it closed and secure. Traditional doors suit a sculpted handle in either brass or silver. These are combined with a keyed lock within the one unit.

Choose your colour

Apart from the style, colour is the biggest way you can have your front door set the style of your home. For a coordinated look, why not choose a colour from another feature of your home like the roof and gutter? To really make it a beacon to guests, go for something bold like bright red, yellow or green. If you home has lots of natural timber accents or is a montage of materials that you want to add to, choose a door with a timber veneer that can be varnished or stained.

This article originally appeared on Better Homes and Gardens.