If you find that you are renovating your retirement home, one thing you don't want to miss is the front door!
Photo of: Hannah Brown
It is important to have the perfect focus that gives your home a defining aesthetic. There is something to be said for the saying "you never get a second chance to make a first impression", and curbing attraction can surely vouch for that. The external appearance of your property gives everyone an indication of what kind of person you are, how you live and what the inside of your house looks like.
The importance of a door
Investing in custom French doors for your period at home is not only useful because it is worth it for your home, but a door also serves so many practical purposes. A high-performance door such as solid wood doors offers security, noise protection, energy efficiency and privacy for you and your family and blocks the elements in front of the interior. A door has to be resilient to withstand the daily abuse of every family member, from stocky to small. It must offer security in emergencies such as fire or possible break-ins.
The different materials for doors
When choosing a door, the material used is particularly important because the different types have their performance characteristics, density, durability and color. This will determine if it is suitable for a particular type of use. There are two main categories in which the different tree species are classified, either softwood or hardwood. Most of the different types can be used for either exterior or interior doors or other types of carpentry. Types include:
- European oak
- Douglas
- tulip
- Sapele
- Accoya
Photo of: L. Thibeault & amp; Assoc. GMBH
When choosing a door, you have to decide whether you want a door made of solid wood or a hollow core. The solid wood, as the name suggests, is made up of solid pieces of wood. A hollow core door has only a wooden frame, while the center is hollowed out and filled with either cardboard or construction paper. There have been improvements in the industry that offer other variants, including semi-solid and refractory types. In order to reproduce the design of the hardwood doors, the hollow cores are provided with veneer and various surfaces. Read here how to choose a door for your home.
Hollow core doors are much lighter and significantly cheaper than solid wood doors. However, they offer less security, minimal noise filtering and minimal energy efficiency. They may save money at first, but because of their quality, they need to be replaced much sooner than a solid door that ultimately costs more in the long run.
The different types of exterior doors
The outer door plays an important role in the household. It is the central barrier against the natural elements and the interior of the house, as well as any type of criminal activity against you and your loved ones. There are many types of exterior doors for you to choose from. Some come unglazed, or they can be partially glazed, and then there is fully glazed:
- front door
- Doors leading to bedrooms or living rooms, usually double doors or French exterior doors (see Medium for why French solid wood doors are a good choice.)
- backdoors
- Garage doors
Photo of: L. Thibeault & amp; Assoc. GMBH
Choosing a suitable color for your period door
Choosing a specific color to make your front door stand out from the rest of your home is the ideal way to personalize your space and improve its aesthetics. When choosing an epoch color, you have the option of being brave and effective or staying in a subtle, reserved family. If you prefer the door to stay true to the Edwardian, Victorian and Georgian flair, you should stick to this classic shade. But if you want to make a bold, contradicting statement about your home, the color options are endless.
- In a Georgian house for a classic look in a town house, a red or black front door sets accents against the brick. However, a dusty blue or gray pattern matches a neutral hue in a normal Georgian house. In the Georgian era, white and muted colors are said to have been mixed with earth tones or black to create a palette of subtle colors. Victorian houses are generally much simpler than Georgian houses, but they also tend to black and red. Their brick colors are much deeper, which gives them the richer colors.
- Edwardian doors were dark when the century turned black and dark green, but later turned lighter and even entered stained glass. Over time, the front door became an important element of the house. Many people chose to equip them with gables, colorful tiles and verandas.
Regardless of how you personalize your front door, the priority is that it serves as protection and security for your family. Then it just has to be a good representation of your house and your family.