I have always believed in first impressions, that when looking at the façade of a home, one’s gaze falls on the front door—just as one finds a person’s eyes when looking at the face.
Our door had to be eight feet tall. It needed a glass pane in it that met impact ratings for the state of Florida. The door had to be unique and budget friendly. Lastly, it had to meet the approval of four people sitting on our design review board. This was a big task—not easy.
Form and Function
Writer Flora Whittemore said, “The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live.” While Ms. Whittemore referred to the metaphoric doors of “new opportunities,” I considered her sentiment as it applied to the appearance of a front door.
For me, form was first priority. A door’s look really mattered. I wasn’t just being emotional. It made sense. As a realtor, everything was about curb appeal and resale value. So choosing a good-looking door translated to building a wise investment.
The realtor in me continued to think, “As a general principle, a front door should match a home’s architectural style.” In our case, the door must correspond with the exterior craftsman form. And, if we were lucky, we might find one designed with a subtle modern twist, allowing us to integrate the interior.
There are plenty of craftsman, rustic, contemporary, and traditional doors—so many doors; so many options.
There is a Chinese proverb that says, “Insects do not nest in a busy door-hinge.”
Perhaps then my priorities were backward. The definition of “door” in the Oxford Dictionary reads, “A hinged, sliding, or revolving barrier at the entrance to a building, room, or vehicle, or in the framework of a cupboard.”
It says nothing at all about a door possessing decorative content.
It’s true, a door is meant to allow passage. It offers privacy and protection to those indoors while keeping natural elements and riffraff outdoors. Whatever aids in these sole purposes is most important, right? I am sure there are plenty of building contractors who would agree and would say, “form follows function.”
Living in humid and sticky Northwestern Florida, we required a door with minimal future maintenance, durability, and a triple-locking system that would support the door’s large body. And let’s not forget hurricanes.
Since us modern folks love natural light and beautiful views, we opted for glass in our door. But it would have to withstand potential impacts from hard, flying objects and heavy gusts. If we didn’t consider this function now, and purchase impact-rated glass, we would make up for it later by paying higher insurance premiums.
Decisions
So what did we get? Like most things in life, it seems the best outcome arrives when taking the middle path. We didn’t choose the most expensive front door, nor the cheapest.
With the help of our builder and architect, we chose a full-glass, impact-rated, fiberglass door with craftsman-style grill patterns to match our window grills. The exterior of the door would be painted bronze to match our window frames, and its interior would be painted to match our stark, white walls and cabinetry. The full glass would complement the modern interior by allowing natural light to flood the living space, creating harmony between the indoor and outdoor worlds.
I recently found another door-related proverb which reads, “Kind words will unlock an iron door.” While the door itself is necessary, it is equally important to remember what is inside the home: people. This proverb was a gentle reminder that the character of my family, how we interact with each other and our neighbors, was far more important than the front door design of our home, or even the house itself.
Well, yes, nice doors are cool. But good people are better.
