Entry Doors

The day we realized our door frame had been rotted out, we made our way to Home Depot to look at some new options. We figured if we're going to put in a new frame, it's time to put in a new door. We've been talking about a new door pretty much since we moved in. Our current one is in rough shape. The peeling paint shows at least a few colors. Since the previous owner was the original owner, we think the door has seen some better days.

 

Now we come to the decision of do we just get a decent new door or do we splurge a little bit. After some online research, it seems that many people think if you are going to get a door at a big name home store (i.e. a Lowes or Home Depot), you should go for at least the mid-range. I wasn't thinking about a post on this, so I don't have links to actual research, it's just what I seemed to notice as a common theme on forums and reviews. Also while doing some research, I learned that front doors have a decent rate on ROI (return on investment). Steel doors seem to have a better ROI than fiberglass, but we've been told to go for the fiberglass. Jim happens to have a friend who works in the door and window department at our local Home Depot and he's the one who gave this recommendation to us. Not sure if it's an across the board recommendation, or specific to our issues. However, it definitely narrowed down our choices a bit.

 

I originally wanted a solid door. I prefer not to have glass, mainly because I like the idea of wreaths on a solid door. Not really a great reason, but I tend to think of holidays when making home purchases. Jim really wants a window though, so we started looking at the options. I figured we could compromise and get a door with a smaller window.

 

Of course, I instantly fell in love with a door with a pretty big window. It also had more details than I thought I'd like. I didn't expect to like something like this, but it definitely has character.

The other option I liked was more of what I originally was thinking, once we drove home, we noticed our next door neighbors recently purchased this door. It probably doesn't matter, but the homes in our neighborhood all look pretty similar, so it's nice to have something that stands out a little and gives a some curb appeal.

The third options is Jim's favorite. I like it, but I'm not in love with it. I think the reason I love the first and can get past the big window is the details. This one is a little more modern, which I usually like. I'm also wondering if I'm loving this less because we want a black door and even though I know this can be ordered in black, I'm already seeing my first choice in the color we want.

So, now we have three doors to choose from as the main door, but we also have to decide if we want to do black on black between the entry door and screen/glass door or a black entry door with a white glass/screen door frame. I originally thought hands down we want black on black, but the sales people said no one does that, everyone gets white screened doors because they blend with the molding surrounding the door. I wasn't sold on this, but Jim started leaning more towards it. So, I had to find some examples.

These photos below kind of show the difference. I think the white trimmed glass door on the bottom cuts down on the size and impact of the black door, where as the black on black in the first blends together. I'm still pulling for the black on black.

Both photos from Beneath my Heart

Decisions, decisions.....

Which door do you like? If you have a screen/glass door, is it the same color as the entry door?