Welcome Home: Is It Time For a New Front Door?
by Ondine Brooks Kuraoka

Your front door welcomes you home each day and greets your guests before you do. If your door has become shabby or you feel the need for something different, you’re in luck! There are lots of exciting options, including a wide range of materials and a plethora of styles.

Hardwood
A beautiful hardwood door makes a classic, warm impression. There are endless varieties of colors, and designs run the gamut from simple to elaborate. Many choose wood because they enjoy its maturing character over time. Wood doors also have natural insulating qualities. JELD-WEN marketing manager Elizabeth Souders says, “Exterior doors are playing a large role in the trend of bringing the outdoors in. Doors with sidelight windows and transoms (windows placed above the door) are an option for expanded views and to maximize natural light.” Dutch doors are also making a comeback. “This is a historic door style that is literally split in two, so the top of the door can operate independently from the lower section — a great way to open a home up while maintaining a sense of privacy,” Souders says. As far as maintenance, annual cleaning is recommended, along with application of wood oil to maintain color. Homeowners should expect to refinish wood doors every two to five years. 

Which Wood? When selecting a kind of wood, it’s important to consider the variety of characteristics of each species. Hardwoods include oak, walnut, cherry, maple and mahogany. Softwoods include cedar, pine and fir. Hardwoods are preferable for exterior doors, as they are very durable and weather-resistant. Oak ranges in color from pale yellow to medium-brown and its grain can be medium to fine. The fine-grained mahogany ranges from red to brown. South American walnut is very dense with a naturally distressed quality and ranges from light- to medium-brown.

Fiberglass
Fiberglass doors offer a wood-like appearance without the maintenance issues of real wood. “Installing a fiberglass entry system is an ideal choice because it won’t rot, crack or split like wood,” says Jim McElroy, General Manager of Product Marketing for Therma-Tru Doors. He adds that “fiberglass provides five times the insulation of a wood door.” Fiberglass has thousands of design and color options as well. It can also be a more economical option than hardwood.

Iron
Iron entry doors can offer a bold style statement, ranging from sophisticated to rustic. The hand-forged scrollwork is rich in visual and textural detail. The entry doors often have glass that opens for ventilation. There are also iron security doors which can mount on top of an existing door. Mitch Pepper, partner in Agave Ironworks, says “There’s an ongoing trend toward the rustic, Spanish or Tuscan style. Iron lends itself well to that type of look.” Low maintenance is a major benefit to iron. Warping and refinishing are not an issue. The main concern with iron though is, of course, rust. High-quality iron doors are treated with powder coating to prevent rust, the same process applied to automotive paint. However, if you live in a moist area, the door may not be impervious to rust. Use an oil-based cleaner for shine, and to help protect it from the elements. Mitch says, “If a little rust spot develops, you can sand it out and get some rust-inhibitor or Rust-Oleum paint to keep it from spreading.”

Stone Doors
Natural stone doors make for a stunning entry way. The avant-garde style has endless design options, and the naturally-occurring, vibrant colors swirl in mesmerizing appeal. Ingo Scholz, owner of Stonedoors.us and Fenstermann (which designs, engineers and manufactures windows, screens, shade systems and stone doors in Germany) says, “Stone doors are one-of-a-kind creations. There are millions of years of earth history in each one. Also, they are secure — a sledgehammer cannot break the stone.” The doors are well-insulated with thermal foam and have sound-dampening qualities. They have a maintenance-free, weather-resistant surface. Each door is custom-made from a slab of the customer’s choice and they are available with glass cut-outs. Stone doors are natural works of art, hand-fashioned by highly skilled craftsmen.

Incorporating Glass
A glass panel within a door is a lovely way to add light, beauty and character to an entry door. There’s no limit to the options, which can range from a simple beveled glass panel to a work of stained-glass art. Other choices in style include water glass, baroque, glue-chip bevel and double-chip bevel.