Need help deciding what to do with our front Door!!!

14 years ago

We moved into our home around a year ago and would like to do something that really adds to the front of the house. We originally were thinking of stripping the paint off the wood door and staining it Dark and finishing it off by replacing the storm door with a nicer quality glass one. We also in the process, decided to strip the trim around the door as it was chipping and repaint it white again.

As you can see we are still in process but we are starting to have second thoughts on our plan. I would like any and all suggestions from people that have more taste than I on what to do with the door and trim. (I lack the creative visionary skills)! Click the link below for a picture of the front of my house.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://i42.tinypic.com/20fuhiq.jpg

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Comments (10)

endicottdr
Original Author
14 years ago
I figured out how to post the picture incase there was trouble with the link.
barb5
14 years ago
The door surround looks like it has been built up. Do you find evidence of that? It almost bumps into that wonderful detailing above it. And it looks too big for your house- it is off scale.

What to do? I would consider taking down all that big molding. If you're lucky you may find brick the way it is above the window to the right. But if you don't, I think the door framing should be simpler and not as massive. I agree with a new storm door that is mostly glass with a simple frame. And have you thought about painting the door and your trim brown, or perhaps a tan like the color of the detailing in the brick?

I would drive around and see if I could find some houses that kind of look like yours and see what their front doors are like, and see if you find one you like. Bring a camera to record the look.
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I normally lurk once in a great while but thought I'd chime in here. I agree with the others. I like the craftsman style door the best with your house and also think your door hardware and light fixtures are too ornante for craftsman style. We just got the occupancy permit on our house which is also craftsman-inspired. We used a fiberglass craftsman style door from ThermaTru (model CCA230). We plan to use the gel stain on it (once the weather is nicer) so that it looks like wood but it can be painted, too. The door is available without the dentil shelf or with one of two dentil options. You can also get different kinds of glass to go in the 3 windows or keep the plain. The door is my second favorite part of our house and I highly recommend it. It would look great with your house. You can Google the model number and manufacture to find pictures of it. For the lights, we used a very simple jelly jar light by the door and double bullet-style lights for the sitting area of the porch, both with a black finish. I would have loved to use more square craftsman style lights for those areas but we were on a tight budget and figured they'd be easy to change later if we wanted. For the door hardware, we went with a simple lever style with a rectangle backplate and a separate deadbolt, all in a matte black finish.
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flseadog
14 years ago
Yes, I agree with barb 5 that the door surround is a later addition that takes away from the fabulous brick detail on your elevation. Possibly the dormer was added at the same time as the door trim? I think you could stain or paint the dormer to blend more with the house and consider using the same colors on the existing door trim to keep all that white from jumping out from the fine restrained lines of the original house. But IMHO I would remove that door trim and bet you'll find something fabulous that a previous owner scorned as not sufficiently grand. Do something to blend the dormer with what you find after taking off the door trim. Do you have a local art or design school? This might make a good project to take to them that they would love their students to have to see what they will be doing in the real world.
karezz
14 years ago
I love your house - so much character!

I agree with the previous posters about minimizing the trim.

And although I don't know what color, I think the door needs color and should stand out.

I would also not go the route of a storm door - I think it will take away from the house's character. If you must, it should be the full glass variety. You might also want to get a larger light and house numbers for next to the door.
enailes
14 years ago
Yes, I love your home too! So pretty. I guess I'll be the exception, I love the trim around the door. It balances the window above and brings more focus to the entrance. I know it's not historically correct with this style of home, but my vote would be to keep it and remove the current storm door. My preference would not be to add a storm door. I would paint the door either black, a dark green that looks black, red/burgundy or rich brown. I would keep the trim white.
mclarke
14 years ago
I do think you need trim around the door, but it should look something like this:

You can buy door surround kits -- that's what they're called, "door surrounds" that you can assemble yourself. Inexpensive and easy to do.

I think the gable pediment over the door will echo the gable on the house and the gable on the dormer.

Pretty house!!!
juddgirl2
14 years ago
What a pretty house! I think I like the door painted, if not white than maybe a putty color to go with the great detailing on the face of the house? Usually, I'm a big fan of stained front doors, but you have so much great brickwork and I think the painted door might complement it better.
roobear
14 years ago
A couple of ideas. . .

a href="http://s215.photobucket.com/albums/cc133/hofreiter1/?action=view&current=20fuhiqAcopy.jpg"; target="_blank">{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}
endicottdr
Original Author
14 years ago
roobear, great photo editing!!! My wife and I really enjoyed looking at your pictures because it allowed us to visualize. I appreciate all the suggestions. We really love the neighborhood because all the houses have their own charm and no two houses look alike.
We have considered going without a storm door however we live in upstate New York and are therefore a little nervous to go without one.

More comments and suggestions are welcome!
fillagirl
14 years ago
Really like the last photo with the shutters...wonderful job with photo editing.

Need help deciding what to do with our front Door!!!

Comments (10)

endicottdr
Original Author

barb5

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Need help deciding what to do with our front Door!!!

Comments (10)

endicottdrOriginal Author

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