The Front door.

In the last article, I talked about the importance of a home's front entry. This week, we'll look at the front door itself. The key piece in the equation. There are a lot of manufactured options out there. And most of the choices you'll find may leave you unispired. Perfect for a new developer house in the suburbs, but not very inspiring for your San Francisco home. There are some other options that will let you express yourself, and respect the design of your house no matter what the style.

 

Time for a new door

The typical door replacement goes something like this: You go to a local door and window shop, or maybe head down to Depot land and look through catalogs and choose something you like. Maybe even buy something off the shelf. There are lots of choices from many manufacturers. But it's tough to find something that feels right. They mostly follow America's "default" traditional styles: re-interpretations of colonial, craftsman or country/rustic. And even though some of them are quite ornate, they rarely capture the character of the time period they are mimicking. They are just too new, too clean and manufactured. They have thick plasticized finishes which will probably last a long time. But somehow, these new creations look bad on a modern or traditional house.

 

What Style?

Why not look at the front door as an opportunity to bring some character, and some of your own personality in to your home. If you're living in a Victorian, why not stir things up a little? Maybe elude to the detail and motifs of the facade, but throw in something new and unexpected? Or maybe even go a little more modern and tie into some of your interior features? The front door is a perfect place to pull from an exciting palette of materials: Unusual woods, natural metals, patterned glass. Don't be afraid to mix things up a little. Remember, these houses evolve with the times and their inhabitants.

Ghanbari Design

 

If you live in one of San Francisco's mid century row houses, what better place to go modern? These houses were a built in the peak of the modern movement, and are rich with that design ethic. A pre-fab panel door looks even worse on these houses. Stay true to the design! Keep things clean, but warm things up with interesting materials.

Ghanbari Design

 

Where do I get this wonderful door?

There are some manufactured options, which borrow from commercial applications. Many of the choices have metallic palettes, but can work well in the right application.

Neoporte

The other option is to have it custom made. It may cost a little more, but even prefab entry doors are pricey. You may be surprised. Your designer should be able to source the fabrication, or you could go directly to a custom builder with design abilities. Going custom, you can break away from the uninspired masses and have some fun. Make it something with character. But one of the nicest things about a custom made door, is it's imperfection. It bears the marks of a human: artifacts of hand tools, and hand applied finish. This makes a huge difference, no matter what the style. It adds a human element, and a natural timelessness. Even if you decide to go with a more classic, understated design, a hand crafted door will have much more character, and will go better with an older house.

Ghanbari Design

 

Resources:

Neoporte - Stainless steel doors with custom configurations and glass choices.

 

Ghanbari Design
Custom Cabinets and Doors
725 Gilman Street
Berkeley, CA 94710
Phone: 510-849-1510
Fax: 510-849-1516