Have you priced doors yet? We've been pricing them for the past two years since we desperately need ours replaced. More glass = more expense. If expense isn't an issue, my point is moot. Also, if you are doing doubles versus the single with sidelites, you will be talking a custom size which may cost even more. On top of that, unless you go with a very well made door, the glass may not be warrantied for as long and the insulating levels will be less. In shopping for doors, Provia has an excellent warranty on their door AND glass, most others like Therma-Tru have very limited warranties on their glass; it's a read the fine print type of thing. The downside is Provia is a higher priced than Therma-Tru and only sold through dealers who install the doors themselves. I live in a center hall colonial in New England, I don't think double doors fit my house style or my neighborhood. I've lived in homes with them in the past and when they are full sized, double doors, they are indeed quite nice to have. Do you have a standard 36" door with 12" sidelites? Your double doors would be two 30" doors. Privacy would be a concern unless you covered the windows or opted for designer glass. With the expense, be sure you truly want what you think you want, consider all the changes, before going that route.

Aw, thanks awm03, yes, we designed it around the door (vintage, picked it up at a garage sale for $5) and the transom, which came from an auction. A fabulous company in NNY, Vintage Doors, took our drawings, the door and transom, and fabricated the sidelights and porch panels. There are single pane windows in for the winter and screened panels for the summer. fallingwaters, nope, we're not on Paradox Lake, but I do know it well (used to drive from BTV to Albany, NY all the time), it's a beautiful area. Here's that close up, exterior: Interior (kinda dark, sorry): sandyponder

thank you for the rendering, since the picture was taken all the burgundy paint trim (making all the rectangles) was painted the same as the rest of the area so that it just blended in. The door itself is being replaced, right now it is 6 panel with no glass/window. The side lights are each 24 inches wide and the texture is such that at night you can see in pretty clearly. The sidelights are also older glass that has little to no insulation value and we are in a cold climate. We don’t want to make the entry smaller because of the brickwork that would have to be added. Instead we are looking at building up trim in between the sidelights and the door. because the house is a tri-level and no one is building those anymore (I believe) I am struggling with what kind of door to replace with. We are not mid-century and don’t really like that style anyway. while I can scroll through images and doors for sale I just don’t know what the right look for the house should be.

I agree with everyone who suggests removing the shutters. You could put a slightly larger wood frame around them if you don't like the "plain" look of the windows. Your house has a simple classic modern look, so I would suggest doing plain glass, or a reeded glass, no pattern; the blinds will be enough pattern, anything else could look too busy. As decoenthusiaste said, you need much bigger (but simple) lanterns, and in a color that will match the metal trim on your new doors. As for the door color, I think you need a color scheme for the whole front of your house before you decide. But if you don't want to change anything: it looks as if your roof is brown, and I would go with the English walnut or colonial brown so that both doors could match. However, the white trim doesn't work well with your brick. I would change the trim and siding color, for example, or even consider a limewash for the brick. The wood-look doors are probably the most versatile color to go with whatever paint colors you choose. And finally, this could be a really good-looking house, but it is in desperate need of some landscaping, especially under the windows, and a front sidewalk. Good luck, and please post more pics as the work progresses. ]