Does your home bid 'Welcome' ?

The entrance and entryways to your home can have a dramatic effect on people. Visitors and those living at home. Not surprisingly, ... it is one of the most impacting 'remakes' that you can do to your home. The Main Entry Door is a relatively simple remodeling job, that you can do to improve the appearance, curb-appeal and real estate value of your precious nest. It takes relatively short time to redo, if you know what effect you want, it can be done in one or two days. Cost?? not that pocket breaking.

So, what are the things to consider to redo the entry to my house? It is a matter of simply picking a strikingly appealing new door and have a carpenter installing it right?? ... WRONG.

Just like designing an entire room, project and residential space, the entry door requires some considerations about what the home owner's likes and preferences. Not only the door is important, but some basic features surrounding the area of the entry / walkway and even the courtyard leading towards the main entry. External weather conditions and also daily habits need to be considered. Then, at last after the thinking through phase, you are ready to choose the style and features, material, color and hardware of the door itself.

The main factors that your decisions should be based on are: A) Weather and Natural Elements B) Safety and hazzard issues and C) personal choice.

For instance:

1) PRIVACY: Side panels for viewing arrivals thus having some control of the amount of privacy desired when people are comming to your house. We all have those instances when we know it is best not to be 'in' and since it is your home, it is your right to accept visitors or avoid them entirely or postpone them for a more opportune time.

2) LIGHT; the amount of natural light that filters into your foyer if you have one. Some people are morning people and are away from home at the times when the sun is flooding in. Others have a perfect scenery at sunset and would love to enjoy the view. Sun orientation as well as artificial light need be a consideration when you are planning your main entry way.

Another aspect of light, is the lack of it, is shade and shelter from elements a required element?

3) HEAT: spectacular entryways do not necessarily mean glass doors. Perhaps it is best to consider a heat blocking entryway or one that provides psychological security and blocks off views. We all know that 2 pm or 4 pm heatwave that comes in if you have a lot of light permeating glass as main entry. There are myriads of ways to block views, or hot or cold weather. The best way is insulation and selecting door panels that absorb or reflect temperature. First consult the region you live and also the solar path. AutoDesk offers a link that can help you check the amount of sun-light that your home will be exposed to yearround.

4) PRECIPITATION; Does it rain or snow a lot? Is there strong windgusts with the accompanied air-borne particles? Rain will drain to the lowest level, but did you plan for this? or will it shower away the recent fertilizer or gravel that you just put in?  If you live in an area that snows, is there space to walk either before or after you shovel it aside?
The last thing you desire is a puddle of water in front of your doorway. Gutters will solve with problem, but for entryways it is best to design them to be nicely tucked out of view.

5) WIND: Same as with precipitation, wind gusts carry with them a lot of air-borne particles, dust, pollen and if strong enough can blow items in the immediate opening. Depending on the region that you reside, these are considerations to take into account.

6) ALTERNATE ENTRY: How often do you use the main entry yourself? Do you prefer the easy-use kitchen side-door? Is the main door used primarily to receive visitors? So here it is, your daily habits as well as your wide circle of friends you entertain must be weighed in. If the repairman or the delivery man comes in, he may not have to use a formal entry-method.

7) VISITOR FREQUENCY; Do you like to entertain a lot, do your children's friends clap in and out all the time? Do family members, friends, or co-workers drop by with sufficient frequency?
If these people linger for 20 minutes or less, and not necessarily stay as real visitors, but are important enough to be treated in a friendly manner, you may want to create a 'waiting area' or formally named a foyer. A few benches, or chairs with a nice painting or picture may do. The degree of formality depends on the home type, not all residences have a full room as foyer.

8) WALKWAY; do you wish to include the walkway leading towards the entry as part of the story you tell the people that you allow to your home? Do you need overhang, pergola or awnings covering the walkway to your front-door? If yes and you have the budget, go for it. Just know that all of these items can be added later, just as long as you plan the idea entry and include all features, you know you will have the most appealing welcome of the neighborhood.
9) FLORA: Do you love plants? Do you like to take care of them? Garden maintenance can take up many hours of that Sunday you wanted to take it easy and need to be done on a regular basis. What's the use of a nice looking mini-garden if you don't keep it pristine, if defeats the purpose of a 'designer's entry'
If you like to have some vegetation but don't like the upkeep, try a fountain, some sculptures or over-sized urns instead, they can act like welcoming sentinels to your guests and add voguish flavor to your home.

10) SAFETY: Is there need for Artificial lights for nocturnal arrivals. Any possiblities for slips and falls? Are you using slip-resistant tiles? What areas should be well-lit? In a time where you can be held for the blame of anything that may happen on your property, you do want to take precautions for avoiding accidents. And even if your neighbor or friend may not sue you, you still will have to comfort the ouches and smoothen out an awkward arrival.

11) SIDE-WINDOWS: Do you have or wish to have side panel view? Windows can be for view and/or ventilation. Windows are versatile enough that you can filter, masque, frost, permeate or partially permeate views. If you prefer non-opening windows, all that need be considered are the shape and if they should fit into the whole entry scheme or not, just like Palladian windows. If you enjoy soft breezes and cooling off, there are a selection of shutters, hung, double-hung, slide, pivot opening windows that can allow the double function of view and ventilation.

Well, now that you've weighed in all these important considerations, now we are ready to look at style, color, material, look, and all the other aspects that have to do with the looks of the door.

Just check out my next blog where I shall detail all the ins and outs about the main focial point of your front façade of your home; the front door. Questions?? Just post them on this blog in the "comment" section and Paraizo-Disegno will be sure to offer you ample advise and solutions.