Front door design: styling an exquisite entranceway

Your entranceway sets the tone for what to expect from the rest of your home, so styling it to reflect yourself and your dream home is important. 

Here, we guide you through what to consider with regards to front door designs (including colours, configurations and a contemporary vs traditional aesthetic) and offer tips on styling.

Before you even think about the look and feel of your front door, the practicalities should be carefully considered and tailored to your lifestyle:

- Do you need your door to provide a high level of insulation? 

- Will the door need to be easy to maintain over time? 

- Does the door need to be accessibility friendly?

- Is the door required to fit into a glass wall?

Your answers to these kinds of questions will help steer the configuration and design of your door. For example, if you require easy wheelchair manoeuvrability, you might consider front double door designs that allow for plenty of space while creating a sense of grandeur. Building your own home? You may need to have discussions with your architect very early in the design phase if you’re considering a front door that’s unique in its configuration.

Next, you’ll need to consider whether you’d like your front door to complement or contrast the overall aesthetic of your home’s frontage. Are you seeking an entranceway that boldly stands out against its surroundings, or something that blends in seamlessly?

The beautiful simplicity of modern front door designs means they often complement properties of many periods and styles. Even so, if you are refreshing the entire exterior of your home, be sure to choose the roof, windows, entrance door and garage door (if applicable) all at the same time so they work harmoniously to update the building. Discover our matching front and garage doors.

Natural light should be taken into account when determining your front door design. Front door window glass design can span from a single pane embedded within the door, to doors surrounded by two glazed laterals and a transom. Alongside allowing natural light to flood inside the home and create a feeling of space, glazing is a contemporary feature that can add effortless style and really complement the exterior of your house. Conversely, you may prefer to forgo the glazing to maintain a darker, more moody interior. This is a good option for homes that may be overlooked and would prefer to keep the interior of their house private from the eyes of passers-by. Oversized external doors create real statement style but if you’re building your own home, it’s worth bearing in mind you’ll need to discuss oversized doors with your architect in the early design stages of the build.

Your front door design ideas should take colour into consideration, as this is one of the first things people notice when approaching your home. There’s no hard and fast rule for establishing the ‘best’ colour choice, but there are a few prompts to help guide you - including; personal taste, your existing colour scheme, the style of the property, and the style of other properties around yours. Deuren doors can be produced in any colour, including Pantone, RAL and Farrow & Ball shades. What’s more, the reverse of the door can be matched, colour-wise, to your interior design for a seamless introduction on entering your property.  

Steps or paving up to your front door are a great way to add interest and personality to your home’s frontage, and are an often-forgotten way to add colour and pattern. Modern doors in concrete or wood are beautifully complemented by timeless stone steps in sandstone or granite, while period properties look incredible with intricate, Victorian inspired tiling. You can play around with shapes and layout too, laying slabs in a semicircular shape, using steps that descend in width as the staircase ascends in height, or accenting the staircase with impactful stonemasonry either side.

Whether you’re an architect or self-builder designing the dream entranceway or a homeowner looking to update your existing one, front door security is a key consideration. The highest security front doors are fully compliant to the PAS24 enhanced security standard and are designed to withstand the brute force used to break a door in during a burglary. Deuren’s high security front doors meet PAS24 and are compatible with home automation systems or feature keyless locking systems like fingerprint recognition or digital keypads.

Whether you’re looking to create a grand entrance or want a unique look to complement the overall aesthetic of your home, our bespoke entrance doors can help achieve your ideal home aesthetic.