Welcoming Ideas For Your Front Entry

Your front entry serves as the first impression visitors get of your house. It's the literal transition from the outside to the inside. You'd probably like your front door to welcome guests. Update your front entryway so that visitors get a sense of how welcome they are in your home.

Select a Homey Door

One of the first decisions you'll make about your front door is the material. Wood has long been the premier choice for exterior doors, and with good reason. The material is sturdy and durable while maintaining timeless hominess reminiscent of cottages and farm homes. It's relatively easy to customize a wooden door with glass panes, panels, or other features. Once installed, it's a simple matter of adding a coat of paint or stain if you want to change the look of your door.

The exact style of your front door depends on the style of your home. If your house is traditional or even historic, consider a classic craftsman door with glass panes and trimmed paneling. However, a more modern house calls for cleaner lines. Omit the trimmed panels, and widen the glass panes for a sleek look that still invites visitors inside.

Choose a Cheerful Color

The other big decision you'll make about your front door is its color. As Better Homes and Gardens points out, both the color and style of your house's façade drive this decision as well.

For a farm house, you may want to leave the door natural with attractive staining to enhance the wood grain. If your farm house is predominantly white, though, choose a deep color such as red or navy.

Additionally, certain colors are inherently cheerful. For example, bright yellow is a very inviting color for many styles of homes. Red is also a classic welcoming color. However, a bold color, such as lime green or fuchsia, can be just as attractive in a contemporary façade.

Add Entry Details

The door itself isn't the whole story when it comes to your house's entryway. It's important to consider the surroundings as well. For instance, the windows surrounding the door help it make its statement.

For a traditional home, maintaining symmetry is often the best plan. Flank the door with matching side windows, and keep the height of the transom window above similar to the width of the side windows.

Ranch and modern style houses often present a wide façade. In that case, consider taking up more of the breadth with a single wide side window, and omit the transom window.

Farm house and cottages give you a little more leeway for creativity. Maybe you want to play with geometry by adding a porthole off to one side or a bank of perfectly square windows above the foyer.

To update your front entry to make it more welcoming, select a homey door in cheerful colors and surround it with inviting windows. For assistance, talk to a professional like Active Doors & Mouldings Ltd.