Well I hate to bore you, but IT’S TRUE!
Having an interior to die for and a shabby front door is like wearing a designer dress to a party and leaving your pack-a-mac on all night. So here begins my campaign for a front phwoar…
A door worthy of a grand entrance…
"One has arrived”
A door with serious status…
“If your name’s not down, you’re not coming in.”
Door Decorum
Think of your front door as the vital organ of your home - the thing that lets life in and sees life out.
When you put it like that, doesn’t it deserve a bit of attention?
At all of the most impressive properties I have been to, the WOW factor starts and finishes at the door. It should be something you are pleased to come home to and proud to leave. Yet sadly for a lot of us, that peeling paint and broken doorbell makes it yet another job on the to-do list.
But there is a door crime worse than neglect and it is this: choosing the same front door as everyone else on the street. Welcome to Dullsville, please drive extremely uneventfully (yawn).
Come on, we can do better than this! After all, you never know when your five minutes of fame might strike.
So what’s new in the world of Door Candy? Well…as it turns out not that much, actually.
Really it's up to you, the homeowner, to use your imagination and create an entrance that speaks volumes about your individual style.
"Little Miss sunshine lives here"
"I am a member of the pistachio party"
Fashion wise, greys are (still) in and experts may point you in the direction of swanky sounding hues such as Downpipe or French Grey from posh paint pot favourite www.farrow-ball.com
Teamed with shiny silver hardware, grey is stylish and modern, without being too formal. A matt finish gives it extra edge.
This is my door, painted in exclusive “Grey-ish” from… well… from mixing a bog standard tin of black and white gloss actually, but don’t tell anyone will you?
Brilliant black is always going to be a winner and not because we all secretly dream of being Prime Minister. It’s the neutral that goes with everything. And like shiny shoes, it makes the entrance look instantly smarter.
Brass letter boxes, numbers and door knockers can be expensive, but how many are you likely to buy in a lifetime? Personally I think it’s worth investing in some quality door furniture. Like wearing a cheap necklace, you can spoil the whole look by scrimping on the accessories. Try this website for some brass with class: www.willowandstone.co.uk
Now is it just me, or does red instantly make you expect Fireman Sam to answer the door? Surely it’s sexier than that? A red door is bright and sassy and in-yer-face and I like that approach to decorating (even if does remind me of a certain flame haired fireman).
Then again this combination of bright red and charcoal slate is enough to set off my style siren…
For those of you who can’t commit to the upkeep involved with a painted timber door, walk this way.
Composite doors are made to look like solid wood, but have all the durability and energy efficiency of UPVC, which (sigh) explains their HUGE popularity. The good news is they are super secure and the style choice is immense so you can still be different, even if you err on the side of sensible.
A great option for lovers of contemporary design, composite doors come in a huge range of colours, but remember, unlike paint, this is permanent - no one season wonders here please. Let's keep things classy.
This contemporary door from www.everest.co.uk looks chic against white rendered walls and offset with lush green shrubs.
All double glazing firms will offer you advice and guidance as well as a full installation and guarantee package on a huge range of GRP or composite doors. Look them up and you’ll have a salesman calling quicker than you can say knock knock.
Name and number
House names look posh. Fact.
Be your own Toad of Toad Hall and splash your house’s name about for some extra postcode envy.
£24.99 www.designahousesign.com
Only a number? Pah! there’s no such thing. Do the style maths and spell it out. Your postman will thank you for it.
£55 www.next.co.uk
Door Laws:
So the rules are there are no rules, only choices. But I’ve been lucky enough to hold the keys to a few front doors in my time, and experience tells me this:
1) Match your windows to your doors. Collars and cuffs right?
2) Invest. This is the entrance to your world. Do the best you can do people.
3) Blend. Consider what frames the door: the bricks, the stone work; even the car if its always parked next to it. The more coherent the scheme, the more expensive the overall look.
4) Make it personal. I don’t mean a red and white striped door with a cannon shaped letterbox (sorry darling). I mean spending time to make sure your door matches your sense of style, so that a first time visitor would arrive and think - “ahhhh, it must be this one".
5) Don’t do comedy doorbells. Just don’t.
And most importantly…
6) Create your own front door moments. Take photos on the step, just like the royals and the politicians to mark the headlines of your life; The day you moved in, The day you were carried over the threshold; The first day of each new school year. In years to come you will look back lovingly and marvel at how you've changed and yet the door has mostly stayed the same!
I hope it’s a door where happiness keeps on knocking.
Oh come on it’s polling day, let’s have some fun. Share your #boredoor or #phwoardoor moments here. I’ll get the kettle on ;-)
Nice!
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