Last Updated on 5 April 2016 by ianr

5 Things to Consider, for a new front door

Things you may have forgotten to consider when choosing a new front door

The correct style and the perfect colour come out as the top two for most people when considering a new front door – but is that all you really need to think about?

1) As others see you – if it looks good flaunt it that should be the ideal for every new door – ornamental plant pots, hanging baskets open plan and even wrought iron railings all enhance the front of your property – wheelie bins and rubbish do not.

If you are one of the unfortunates who literally has nowhere else to put your bin other than your front garden, it’s always better to try to conceal it with some disguising screen that blends with the front of your home rather than leave it exposed to view.

If you are a follower of the more mystic sciences one way to make sure natural energy flows correctly to your front door is to create a smooth pathway which means removing any wheelie bins, or other unwanted items away from the entrance.

2)And maintenance will be by? – Choose carefully when you pick the colour of your new composite front door as the colour will be with you for a good few years to come, with an anticipated life cycle of up to 30 years you will need to love that colour. The option or should we say chore of repainting with a different colour every few years is undoubtedly a thing of the past as the majority of new composite doors have through coloured GRP or equivalent skins – a wipe with a damp cloth is the standard maintenance.

Once you have wiped your door down with the damp cloth a quick polish of the hardware and the occasional oiling of hinges and locks should be all the maintenance your door will need to keep it looking shiny and new for years to come just like the one below the perfect door in the perfect setting

3)That Colour? we all have our favourite colour but unfortunately it may neither be the correct colour for your new front doors location. Take the door in the above photograph an obviously bright and sunny location and the perfect choice of alight pastel shade the fact that the door is surrounded by flowers simply makes the whole scene look extremely light and airy and very very welcoming.

Compare and contrast this with the most famous black door in Britain – No 10 looks good and conveys the correct degree of authority –

But, we would probably all agree had it been a pastel blue shade it would not have been taken quite so seriously as the home of the leader of HM GOV.

The examples we have chosen are opposite ends of the spectrum but serve to illustrate how careful you should be when matching your door colour and style to your location.

Back to our mystic sciences if you are a follower of fengshui you will be aware that elements direction and colour all have a link – 5 elements fire, earth, metal water and wood each correspond to a direction for siting furnishings and each correspond to a preferred colour – e.g.

Fire – south – red, orange, purple pink or yellow

Here at GFD HQ we are no experts in this field but we know it does have a place in some of our client’s consideration process “How to use colour for good fengshui in your home” provides a tremendous amount of information if you need to consider this aspect.

4) Size does matter – Both Buildings and their door openings come in a multitude of sizes a suburban front door would look wrong on a stately home and vice versa the choice of your door should be in proportion with the remainder of the elements of your front façade brickwork windows etc.

One of our more recent and very successful examples of proportionate change was where a client requested that the door and window combo below –

be converted into a door with twin side screens –

The result, more light on the inside and cleaner and stylish lines on the outside while still maintaining the balance in the proportions of the property

A simple rule the bigger the house the larger the front door you will require

5) Looking from the inside out – the outside appearance is what the world sees but as the householder it is the inside of your new front door that you will see the most of, it has to be both light and airy and welcoming to both yourself and guests alike. The window dressing of wall décor, occasional tables lamps etc can only do so much to improve your entry hall if your new front door is clunky, dark and depressing –

Bright and light                                                                                                             Feels dark even with white walls.

Remember the front door needs to open without obstruction.

So where do you start to look for your new front door Global Door offer a range of traditional, contemporary and cottage doors in eighteen styles and thirteen colours check out our full range on the web site where you can use our online design tool and create a bespoke front door to suit your style of home.