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Hi All

My name is Cory and I just joined the site a few moments ago. I closed on a home last week and I am excited. However, since it was a foreclosure, it does need a few things fixed up. First things I need are a new front door and a back door.

I am a single 28 year guy, sooooo I'm sure you can conclude that I do not know a darn thing about decor and all that stuff that makes houses pretty. If anyone can provide suggestions for the type, style and color of door I should go with, it would be much appreciated.

A pic of the house is attached

Hi Cory, welcome to the boards!

Curious what the issue is with the door or doors? Security? Do they need repair? The door pictured does appear basic but -

I could definitely see painting it with a vivid accent color and possibly replacing the overhead light with a more prominent one. It appears that a porch railing and upgraded landscaping in that area might provide an additional living area.

You can spend anywhere from a few hundred to thousands of dollars plus installation on a new door. So, if you can let us know the issue, it might help.

Good Luck!

Congrats on your home purchase! It is beautiful!

There are many very helpful folks on here who will give you lots of great advice! Welcome!

Welcome and congrats on your lovely new home. Regarding the front door, consider a style that offers both. Privacy and security. The home's exterior is quite neutral. The door should be noticeable from the street and since it is in the shadow, consider colors that compliment the facade as well as the roof. View potential chips on the door at various hours of the day. If you lean toward a cool color such as a blue, it could have a warm undertone. I agree that you should change the light fixture over the front door to something larger and more upscale since the existing fixture appears to be builder grade. This will also illuminate your front door better. Blessings in your home and happy decorating!

One further thought. I would paint the garage doors the lighter tan from a portion of your exterior so that it is not as prominent since the garage doors face the street. I would leave the trim and cross bars white.

I dont mind the entry door but I would DEFINITELY do something about those garage doors....so UGLY in my never humble opinion.

quote:

Originally posted by Love, Lu:
I dont mind the entry door but I would DEFINITELY do something about those garage doors....so UGLY in my never humble opinion.

The house is beautiful. I rather like the front door but there is something about the garage doors - they are much too prominent plus I don't particularly care for the framing on them. You are very lucky to be the owner of such a lovely house. I wish you many years of happiness there.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Love, Lu,

It appears the builder was attempting to make the garage doors appear as carriage house doors but he fell short. If you painted the interior portion the same colour as the body of the house and added some interesting hardware it could help to complete the style.
http://www.coachhouseaccents.c...ies-hardware-bronze/
Look at the before and after photos.

I agree with the last poster. Paint the garage doors solidly the same color as the siding. Choose the correct paint and primer from a pro paint store for a lasting job. It will reduce their visual impact and let the eye of a visitor find your entry door easier.

Entry doors serve many purposes depending on your wants and needs. What do you like or dislike about your current door?

Some people love to have glass (stained inserts, beveled inserts and just large areas of glass to let light in) Others may be more concerned with privacy and security. We live in cold winter climates and will always have a storm door (mostly glass) outside the entry, to help with energy and allow air flow part of the year. But not everyone wants those.

One idea? Collect the brochures of doors from your shopping and then reduce them in size on the scanner/printer. Sometimes then you can paste them over your enlarged house front photo to try out different styles?

quote:

Originally posted by Froo Froo:
One further thought. I would paint the garage doors the lighter tan from a portion of your exterior so that it is not as prominent since the garage doors face the street. I would leave the trim and cross bars white.

I like that idea! Thanks! I will check with the HOA

quote:

Originally posted by BearCat49:
Hi Cory, welcome to the boards!

Curious what the issue is with the door or doors? Security? Do they need repair? The door pictured does appear basic but -

I could definitely see painting it with a vivid accent color and possibly replacing the overhead light with a more prominent one. It appears that a porch railing and upgraded landscaping in that area might provide an additional living area.

You can spend anywhere from a few hundred to thousands of dollars plus installation on a new door. So, if you can let us know the issue, it might help.

Good Luck!

I am already set/prepared to have the door replaced and went to home depot for rough pricing. So far I'm looking at 1k for a basic door and basic clear glass sidelights. I was more concerned of choosing the right door style and color that will properly match the house, and I'm willing to spend more to get it right. The door is damaged with several holes on the inside along with some cracks and big dent in the frame on the inside. Kind of looks like whoever lived there didn't give a crap when they moved their stuff out and almost busted through the door. If it was not a security concern for me, I would consider holding off for a while since I am a cheapskate.

It was a foreclosure, so yes, the landscaping has been neglected. That will all be taken care of in due time

quote:

Originally posted by Grapefruit:
Congrats on your home purchase! It is beautiful!

There are many very helpful folks on here who will give you lots of great advice! Welcome!

Thank you so much

Here are a few options I was considering - please everyone, let me know your thoughts and feel free to provide recommendations. The door has sidelights on both sides, so keep that in mind.

Also, these are just quick choices...feel free to suggest colors.

this in a different color, maybe with the wood grain




this one i think might have too much glass for my liking


this is similar to what i have now

I really like the first one and the last one!

Thank you for your suggestion! I actually do think I will go with the first one. It matches the house best without having too much glass.

Another thought:
Pick up the charcoal color from the roof and paint the shutters and door the same charcoal color.
I too agree in using the same color on the garage doors as the siding.
I also like the first door the best.
The house looks really pretty from the outside.

Don't know if you're still around, Cory but thought I'd offer you an alternative idea -

Except for #2, the doors you selected all correspond closely to the home's style. The front door, IMHO, can be used to set your home apart from the other tract homes with decorative style and also attract visitors to your home - instead of blending in to the builder's boxy exterior (no offense).

#2 doesn't thrill me but #5 at least gives the glass a slight curve. You might want to consider how you're decorating the home and then select a few more options. Some type of stained wood might be terrific, e.g. Mission or Craftsman - whatever you like and works with your interior. You could then also enhance that style with your exterior lighting choices, etc.

Your selection of #2 will work well - just wanted to give you something else to consider. Other options s/b available in every budget, BTW. All of the above is JMHO.

Best of luck with your new home!

ETA: Corrected above - it's #5 not 4! Should have said "the last option"!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: BearCat49,

You've already spent a chunk of change on the house. I would save money by trying to do as many of the other changes suggested in this thread by yourself. You can always call the distributors of the hardware with questions on uninstalling and re-installing doors and fixtures. Beautiful house! You are well on your way!
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Since you live in Atlanta, here is a link to local garage dealers within 50 miles of Atlanta, GA:
http://www.clopaydoor.com/sear...e=residential&rad=61

Your present front door is the right color it just has too many panes of glass.It looks too "light" in comparison to the heavier, masculine, Shingle Style your home is based on. If it fit the opening of your rear entry I would swap it out and save some money. Agree with the other posters that the garage doors are less than ideal. (contactors are often lacking in the aesthetics department) Since garage doors are expensive to replace I might consider painting the interior panels the same color as the body of the house. As much as I love crisp black accents, the two doors side by side would be too large a field of black facing the street.

Door #1 is the most classic - definitely the best choice in my book if you don't want to replace with what you had.

As for the exterior, the stone has taupe, earth toned greige with accents(reads gold brown with a touch of red) and the paint heads burgundy (red brown) There is just one stone in the stone mix that goes that direction, and it is picked up in the roofing too.

The shingle gable wall color is a better tone to match the stone taupe tones than the other main body color which really gets a little redder. Match these two tones when you paint the garage - the lighter one for the big area, and the other mid tone (redder) one for the face trim.

Using that shingle body color on the field of the garage door and painting the trim on the face of the garage in the other wall tone that gets redder (leaving the surround above white like the rest of the house) will give you the most unified look on the garage. Adding some carriage "hardware" to the garage door per the photos above will make it look more expensive.

If you decide to try out a gray for the front door (+ shutters), make sure you match it to the taupe stone so it is a warm gray rather than a charcoal.

Since you have a lot to do inside, sticking with a burgundy front door right now is probably a good idea. Make sure it looks good together when you hold the chip up next to your shutters complimentary tones) but you would do better if you don't match that shutter tone exactly. Use a high gloss on the front door and match the tone of the hardware to the metal of any new light fixtures and carriage hardware to keep it cohesive. (black pls)

Believe we lost the OP. Appears the thread was bumped up by poster EricEffers (above) in order to embed a door advertisement.

Reported to HGTV -

Are you needing a lot of privacy or do you want more light? Doors with glass can be very classy but but there are so many great doors available. I agree with the other posters that the garage doors could use fresh paint. The house is absolutely adorable and congratulations on purchasing such a great place at such a young age. You did good!

my blog: www.alwaysnesting.blogspot.com

Hi all

I didn't disappear. Well....maybe I did, but only for a little while. I am back now!
I ended up choosing #1 for the front door and #3 for the back door. They are being installed this Wednesday. Thank you all for the suggestions and advice. I will definitely paint the garage doors, but will leave that as a spring project.

If all my interior knobs are stainless steel/nickel finish...does that dictate the color knobs I get for the front/back doors? I was thinking black would go best for the exterior.

Welcome back, greenc51!

JMHO but if you like black, go for it! I'm sure the hardware police (lol) will pass your house by on their rounds -

Nice to hear you made the decision and your projects are progressing. Best of luck -

Some door sets are available with different colors on the inside and outside so you can get the black for the outside and still match your inside if you want to.

I'm getting a full-view front door with a full-view side light on ours...I wanted two sidelights, but no room.

Hey all

Here's my door installed...I still need to snap an outside pic and also paint the outside to match the shutters.

And the back door. I have a paper stick up shade on it for the time being

Exactly what I was going to say - I like the doors you chose!

Your new doors look great! Thanks for coming back to show us!!!