What To Consider When Selecting A New Front Door
You'll find a photo of the old door in our ORC Week 1 post, where I mentioned that the old front door was actually an interior door that previous owners had installed. I simply can't get over what a difference a door can make to both the interior living room and exterior porch space. It feels so much more of a home now. Perhaps, Akiko Busch was on to something when he wrote in his book, Geography of Home : Writings on Where We Live, that
"The front door continues to appeal to our sense of arrival. Call it the ceremony of coming home."
To be completely honest, we had a professional contractor install our door (we tracked the progress on instagram @Hygge_Spruce. As this is an old house, and the interior door was an odd dimension, requiring new framing for the standard size we installed. The work to incorporate the door into a double brick 100 year old wall was outside of our comfort zone. While we were adding the front door, we went ahead and scheduled the back door replacement, as well. Though we were able to replace the front door with a standard size door, we were not able to do that on the back door. Which leads me to a budgeting tip for anyone considering door replacement on an old house.
When considering renovating an older home, be sure to consider door size in your budget. Many old homes don't have standard door sizes which can mean doubling your cost, for a custom sized door. Also consider adding additional time for the manufacturing of a custom door.
The door we chose is from Feather River Door. The exact door style is the Craftsman Rectangle in Light Oak with the Phoenix-Patina glass. It was important to have glass that offered privacy, as the living room is on the other side of the door and I love the Prairie Style flair it brings!
Another tip to consider is the material of the door. Our contractor has been installing doors for 30 plus years and due to the Colorado climate, he recommended going with Fiberglass, over wood, for extended longevity and low maintenance.
I found the online Feather River Door Builder tool very helpful in visualizing all of the door options. There are many great options worth the consideration!
Also, if your curious the keyless door entry and handle trim is the Century style in matte black from Schlage.
It might not seem like a big update for week 2, but I can't stop admiring the upgrade! I'm looking forward to moving this porch project forward into week 3! Make sure to subscibe to our blog to follow our One Room Challenge adventure.
Also, check out other featured and guest designers taking part in the fun on the Better Homes And Gardens One Room Challenge Blog.
