Front Door Ideas – How to Choose the Perfect Entrance for Your Home

Which front door is right for your home? Choosing the right option will set your home’s design tone from the get-go, perfectly complementing your architectural choices while delivering on functionality and performance. Lindsay Blair takes a look at a collection of different front door ideas and design options

by Lindsay Blair

16th December 2024

When self building or renovating, it’s important to consider the different front door ideas and how your entrance will impact the overall look and feel of your property. The front door is one of the first design features that someone will see when arriving at your home, so considering all the options will ensure you choose a model that’ll boost your home’s kerb appeal while being perfectly tailored to your property’s architecture, your personal preferences and lifestyle.

From extra-strong steel models to charming timber entrances and striking pivot openings, there’s a wide range of front door ideas to consider when designing your entrance. Here you can find a collection of fantastic solutions alongside expert advice on what to note when you’re specifying a model.

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Extra-Sturdy Steel Front Door Ideas

Extra strong, secure, low maintenance and visually appealing, steel front doors present an opportunity to introduce design individuality to your home’s facade. Urban Front’s Terano Corten steel front door with concealed handle (from £12,600) will weather naturally over time, developing a unique patina.

Photo: Urban Front

Available as a hinged or pivot opening, in sizes up to 1,400mm x 2,500mm, you can opt for side and overhead panels in glass or matching steel. The door features a high-security, five-point locking system and hinge-side bolts as standard. Structurally, it is made up of steel panels and an insulating wood-fibre core, with U-values down to 0.8 W/m²K.

Choose a Timber Front Door for Charm & Character

Set against modern metal-framed side and top lights with an anthracite grey finish, this oak door by Grabex features a solid-core engineered reinforced slab for durability and stability, plus a modern steel bar handle. It’s finished in oak varnish for added UV protection and then topped with a clear matt coat to enhance weatherproofing.

Photo: Grabex

Fitted with autoLock AV3 Heritage Plus, a similar oak door would start from around £5,400. Grabex’s range includes other hardwood options, with each door made to order to exact specifications, available with installation or on a supply-only basis.

Incorporate Side Panels into Your Front Door Ideas

Made in Britain, the aluminium Origin Front Door can be paired with a choice of 10 side panel designs, in glazed or coordinating aluminium styles, and achieves U-values down to 1.4 W/m²K. Finished in RAL colour 7030M (grey tinned paint), this example features a central frosted glass panel and offset solid stainless steel bar handle.

Photo: Origin

The colour was chosen to match the property’s window frames, while the overall design adds a modern touch to a traditional-style build. Prices for this front door start from £2,160.

Specify a Matt Aluminium Front Door for a Sleek Look

The AT540 V Line by Internorm (£POA) is a low-maintenance aluminium door, designed to be flush mounted both inside and out for a sleek aesthetic, with or without integrated glazing or side panels. This scheme shows a dark aluminium finish with black ironmongery to complement the window frames elsewhere in the property’s architecture.

Photo: Internorm

For added personalisation, you can have a house number etched into the door’s surface and a range of glass finishes. Available with smart access control systems for enhanced security, the door comes with five-point locking as standard. A three-chamber frame profile, foam insulation core and triple gaskets offer high levels of thermal performance.

EXPERT VIEW What to look for when choosing your front door

Matt Higgs, managing director at Kloeber, reveals the key factors you should investigate when specifying a door

Check for high levels of door security

A modern front door should have multi-point locking at the top, bottom and in the middle, as well as heavy-duty hinges. It should also have security testing, usually to PAS24, which meets the criteria set out in Part Q of the Building Regs. Achieving this standard will ensure strength in all the components, as the door will have been through physical break-in assessments. These are the same tests that are used for Secured by Design accreditation – the official police security initiative.

Ask about fire regulations when specifying a front door

A front door is usually nominated as the main entry and exit point of the home, and is therefore a means of escape from fire. This means it must have a thumb-turn inside, so you can unlock it quickly; a clear opening of 0.33m²; and has to be a minimum of 450mm in both height and width, which of course a front door will be. There are different rules for shared-use buildings, such as blocks of flats. These would need to have fire-rated doors that resist fire for a given period of time, based on a risk assessment by a Fire Safety Officer.

Ensure good energy performance

A front door usually leads into a corridor and then onto lots of other rooms in the house, so it’s really important that it’s thermally efficient. Building Regs set a U-value limit of 1.4 W/m²K for replacement doors, or 1.6 W/m²K in a new build house. There’s also an energy rating system for replacement doors in existing properties, which accounts for airtightness, solar gain and U-values. You’d need an energy rating of Band B or Band C if the front door has more than 60% glazing in it.

If you’re looking to go beyond Building Regs, the Passivhaus eco standard requires a U-value of 0.8 W/m²K or less – which would typically push you towards a timber, alu-clad timber or aluminium door with an insulated core. To achieve such a low heat loss figure, this type of door generally needs to be thicker than a standard design.

Weigh up glazing options

For a new build, the glazing in a front door would need to have a laminated pane to meet security regulations. This isn’t required for replacements, although they would still need to be toughened at least. Depending on the U-value of the glass, this could increase or decrease the thermal efficiency of the door. If you used a good standard triple-glazed unit, it should increase the product’s overall thermal efficiency.

Get a warranty for your front door

When you buy a new front door, the warranty should cover your area geographically, as well as not having too many restrictions. Some warranties exclude any locations that are near water, for instance, which discounts most of the UK. You should also look to see what components are covered. Ideally, all the moving parts (hinges, locks etc) should be comprehensively covered for a number of years (10 years is common), with replacements guaranteed.

Front Door Design Options, Materials & Costs

Consider a Pivot Front Door to Create Visual Impact

The pivoting Apertio entrance door from IQ Glass is available in a range of styles and configurations – in sizes up to 4,000mm tall and 2,000mm wide. It can be designed with finishes such as timber, lacquered glass, ceramic, metallic panels, and seamless ironmongery and lock systems to maintain a contemporary look.

Photo: IQ Glass

A steel reinforced core and PAS24 compliant locking (whether mechanical, fingerprint, keypad or bespoke electronic locking) provide high levels of security. With a U-value of 1.0 W/m2K, this triple-glazed version features a minimal aluminium frame and two sidelights, complete with a solar coating to help control internal temperatures. A similar bespoke Apertio door would cost around £16,000.

Highly-Efficient Composite French Doors

Create a grand entrance with a twin design like Solidor’s Flint 5 composite French doors in Painswick from the Traditional Collection (£POA). Comprising a 48mm-thick solid timber core, ABS plastic skin and PVCu edge banding, it achieves a U-value of 1.4 W/m²K. The weatherproof exterior finish is designed to maintain its colour and wood-like appearance over time, requiring minimal upkeep.

Photo: Solidor

Solidor’s products are available with the Ultion Nuki Plus smart handle and Bolt lock – offering conveniences such as keyless entry, a night mode that can automatically lock the door on a timer, and the option to send guests an electronic key.

Add Wow-Factor to Your Entrance with a Colourful Front Door

Self builders and renovators are becoming braver with their colour choices in recent years with bright yellows, pinks and oranges all adding personality to a project. This Timber FunkyFront Westfalia Frame 9 door from Kloeber stands out against the monochrome cladding selected for the property. At 2,100 x 1,800mm, it costs around £3,840. It is made from FSC-certified engineered timber and offers U-values as low as 1.1 W/m²k.

Photo: Kloeber

There are 42 styles to choose from in the FunkyFront range, in more than 200 RAL colours, alongside a wide array of ironmongery, including the bar handle shown here. A microporous paint system ensures a low-maintenance finish.

Make a Statement with a Bronze Front Door

With its warm, rich colour and ability to develop a naturally protective patina over time, architectural bronze is a quality option offering benefits such as anti-seizing, rust resistance, high strength and enhanced durability. Plus, it does all this without the need for galvanising, powder coating or painting – though a periodic waxing with a specialist formula is recommended.

Photo: Architectural Bronze Casements

Architectural Bronze Casements offers double glazed doors with either an Argon or Krypton gas filling to suit your performance requirements, and with a range of contemporary and classic ironmongery. The custom installation shown here comprises double-height curved bronze door screens with a panelled design (£POA).

Create a Natural Look with Your Front Door Ideas

Although it looks like real wood, the Atris door from Weru UK is made from aluminium, renowned for its strength, durability and easy upkeep. This front door set includes laminated security glazing, with 6mm safety glass on the exterior.

Photo: Weru UK

You can choose from triple- or quadruple-glazed panels, achieving U-values down to 0.67 W/m²K, with the option for Condense Stop PVCu glazing spacers to help mitigate moisture. A self-locking AutoLock and three sturdy hinges provide peace of mind. This door costs £3,800.

Specify a Heritage-Style Front Door

Part of Mumford & Wood’s Conservation Entrance Door collection, this heritage design is made from red grandis with a larch frame. It’s painted in RAL7003 Moss Grey with polished brass ironmongery in keeping with the property’s style (a colour-matching service is also available).

Photo: Mumford & Wood

The door is complemented by 24mm toughened double-glazed side panels, with a decorative obscure finish. The insulated timber panels achieve a U-value of 1.5 W/m²K, while the AV2 multi-point locking system engages as soon as the door is closed – meaning there’s no need to lift a lever handle. Expect to pay from £4,254.

Create a High-Performance Entrance with a Timber-Look Front Door

Want a timber design without the upkeep? Hormann’s ThermoSafe aluminium Style 860 front door in hardwearing MatchDecor Barnwood finish adds natural warmth to your home’s facade. It has a jet black handle and coordinating frame and sidelights, which pick up on the dark tones within the door’s pattern.

The 80mm-thick unit features a five-point locking system with options for barrier-free access systems, such as radio buttons, finger scanners or smart home systems. The door costs £8,578.80.