Doorway Options

Location and Purpose

• It is a rare homeowner who would select glass doors for a bathroom entry. Yet glass is a comfortable and attractive option for living room, study and patio doorways. The location and purpose of doors -- whether for creating privacy or a transition, establishing status or providing outdoor entry and exit -- have a major affect on choice of materials. In contrast to the obvious privacy issue of glass, materials for entry doors present issues of consumer perception versus reality. Some homeowners, for example, may think that using anything other than solid hardwood or pine for a front door makes a poor impression.

Entry Doors

• Solid wood tends to warp, unlike lower cost doors of composite materials engineered to avoid warping. They are also far more costly than composites. Furthermore, composite doors often are finished to look like wood and insulate the home better. Yet homeowners may feel more comfortable relegating a composite door to a back or side entry.

  Composite entry doors aren't limited to solid-core wood laminates overlaid with hardwood veneer. They include lightweight but sturdy aluminum doors that don't require repainting as well as steel and fiberglass doors containing wood bracing and insulation. "This Old House" magazine says steel doors are particularly inexpensive, durable and secure. Some higher-price models even have wood-veneer finishes.

Interior Doors

• Open arches are a doorway option. Sometimes, replacing an interior door and, perhaps, a section of wall with an arch can make a space feel larger or create a more open floor plan, such as divisions between kitchens and family rooms. Pocket doors that slide into wall cavities are another good choice for opening space between rooms or for eliminating the intrusion of open doors into tight spaces. Obtaining help from a structural engineer is wise in order to make changes without adversely affecting support for upper stories and the roof.

  Other interior doorway options range from inexpensive, hollow-core doors that break easily to heavy, solid hardwood doors. Once again, composite wood doors are much less expensive than solid hardwoods and pines. They also come in a wide variety of architectural styles ranging from simple Craftsman panel designs to arched cottage and Mediterranean looks.

Aesthetics

• Whereas the aesthetic appeal of an interior door may rely on it quietly and harmoniously blending with the rest of the inner house, the success of a home's facade partly depends on its front door creating an eye-catching focal point. Often, the front door may be the only one that requires fancy detailing. It may also be the only one painted or stained a dramatic color. A well-chosen color or combination of colors is an inexpensive but effective way to draw attention to the entry.