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Design Ideas

Stylish Entry

When guests visit your house, your front door is the first thing they’ll see and, most likely, is the key element that will influence how they view the rest of your house. An attractive, welcoming entrance does more to greet friends and family than any other element of your home’s exterior.

Most front doors do nothing more than serve their purpose--to let occupants and visitors in and out. Ironically, this is also an area where you can make a huge impact without breaking the bank. Take a look at the front of your home. Does your front door have any accents? Trim work? Is the paint cracking and peeling? Does your current lighting scheme work?

Many front doors lack style due to the simple fact that they have no accents, and are improperly lit creating a shadowy entry. Fortunately, you can create a splashy, beautiful entry to your home without spending a fortune.

Some options include:

Replace the door. Replace the old door with a newer model of the same size. This will spare you the cost of resizing the opening, and still give you a lot of bang for your buck. Many models are built to fit into existing word work, which will also spare you the cost of having to replace the entire unit.

Add a storm door. Add an attractive storm door to protect the entry door and keep heat inside in the winter, and bugs out in the summer. Choose a door with a movable sash to allow for more flexibility.

Install trim work. Trim the exterior of the door with finish carpentry such as columns and a crosshead pediment to extend the width of the door. Ask your carpenter about high-density urethane foam millwork, a great option to high maintenance wood.

Lighting. Outdoor lighting can go a long way to create a warm welcoming effect for your guests. Lighting installed above or at both sides of the front door are good options. Be sure to hire a qualified electrician to install your new fixtures.