Ready to give your home the makeover it deserves? Tired of how it looks but short on renovation funds? Updating your front or entry door is your best bet. As the first thing you and your guests see, the right door can make a big impact on the mood and feel of the house, without the time and financial investment of a full makeover.
Choosing the right front door, though, is tough. You might think it’s all down to function and personal preference, but doors have trends and ever-changing design guidelines of their own, just like any other element of your home. Its job is bigger than just to greet someone: it needs to match your personality, match the style of the home, and be up to date with what’s trending.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the door design trends emerging for a very interesting 2019. If you want your door—and your home—to keep up with the times, this is what you should look out for!
The Major Style Choices
Like many other interior and exterior design trends, front doors are looking in every direction for inspiration this year. Some have their eyes on the future, some are yearning for simpler times, and some are emphasizing the mish-mash postmodern culture of now.
Modern
Different from what is called contemporary design, the modern style refers to a type of industrial minimalism made popular in the middle of the 21st century. Think straight, clean lines and absolutely no fuss around the edges. Bare metal is in, as are big panes of frosted glass.
Craftsman
Think about clean, modern living but out in the middle of nature, and you’ll have an idea of what the craftsman style is aiming at. Straight lines and big glass panes are in, just the same as with a modern design, but, more often than not, they’re matched with smaller glass panels, all transparent so you get a good view of the outdoors.
Naturally, wood also features heavily in the craftsman look, often providing the framing for the smaller panels. Interestingly, stained glass is also becoming a common pairing with these kinds of doors, injecting a little splash of color and personality.
Rustic
Surely rustic is the same as craftsman? Not quite. Rustic is your grandpa’s craftsman, before moving to the country became the trendy thing to do. It’s big, it’s heavy, and it’s almost always entirely made of wood. It’s the kind of door a lumberjack makes for their winter cabin, although you might find this year’s editions with a single glass pane in the top half just to lighten the mood a little.
Traditional
Everything old is new again and, just as with the rustic style, everybody is rediscovering that their grandparents did, in fact, have some taste. The traditional design is coming back in a big way, and it hasn’t changed much at all from centuries ago. There are two basic variations: wood and iron, each featuring between 2 and 12 raised panels. A wooden door will most often feature wooden panels, and iron doors glass panels, although the traditional wooden door does sometimes also have glass toward the top.
Another common feature of the traditional design is curved, intricate metalwork, usually matched with an equally ornate door handle. The final touch to these iron French doors is added with either a stained glass pattern or a solid pane of colored glass.
Popular Features
Apart from the defined styles, 2019’s trends are also in the little details. It’s not so much about making bold choices with the entire door, but choosing features that make the door stand out, that reflect our need for safety, or that just make life that little bit easier.
Arches
Most people would tell you that it takes a certain kind of home to pull off an arched front doorway, but we’re in 2019, now, and we’ve got the freedom to do exactly what everybody else says we shouldn’t. Arches are popular because they’re so individual, and so unusual that they give the front of your home a totally different personality with minimal effort. In most cases, they’re custom fitted, making them more expensive and, therefore, even more desirable.
Size
Size is about psychology so much more than it is about physical space. A bigger door is one that’s more welcoming, more stable, and more secure; it allows much more light in, and blurs the boundary between outside and in. For all those reasons, doors are bigger and wider than ever in 2019. 10-foot doors are increasingly standard, and huge 10-by-6 footers are not at all uncommon.
Pivots
Standard door hinge assemblies are seeing some strain with these bigger doors, which is why there’s also a slow shift to pivots. Pivots are a set of pins above and below the door—as opposed to hinges, which are on one side—and, apart from their functionality, large doors provide a neat and interesting addition to modern-style entries.
Security
With the world what it is today, we’re noticing an interesting shift in both directions when it comes to door security. On the one hand, reflecting modern fears are the rise in integrated smart-home locking mechanisms and added wrought iron security doors. On the other hand, many homeowners are emphasizing light and air instead, choosing big glass panels glazed directly into their front door and not worrying about potential problems.
Colors
By and large, the color palette for doors reflects contemporary design trends. In 2019, that emphasis is on natural, eco-friendly tones—in other words, neutral colors like:
- White
- Gray
- Tan
- Beige
- Ivory
- Taupe
In most cases, the door should blend in with its surrounding frame and let its glass, material, and texture do the work for it. However, those who are going bold with door design and choosing elements like stained glass and arches might want something completely different from the rest of the façade. In that case, the most popular shades for this year generally include dark blues and warm reds.
Always Choose the Right Door with Universal Iron Doors
Feeling inspired? There’s no better place to get started than with Universal Iron Doors. Our incredible variety of iron front doors covers every style imaginable, so, no matter what look you’re going for, there’s a perfect iron exterior door to match.
If you’re after something completely unique, we also offer custom-made iron entry doors to suit every taste and budget. All you need is a vision, and we can do the rest!
Universal Iron Doors offers five generations of craftsmanship at fantastic factory-direct pricing, shipped to anywhere in the mainland United States. Browse our range today or call us at 818-771-1003 for a consultation on your perfect door!