5 Reasons to Replace Your Door This Winter

After a long day at the office, we rush through the door, kick our boots off, remove the woollies, and we cosy up to enjoy the remainder of our evening. Having just passed through, the door is the last thing on our mind, and we often find ourselves pushing these jobs aside for another time – especially with the busy festive period!

What you might not know, however, is that the winter period is the perfect time to think about your home exteriors. Here are five reasons to replace your Victorian front door this wintertime.

1. Warmer Homes

If your new London front door project is long overdue, don’t put it off any longer. A new front door could be key to keeping your house warm and toasty through the winter months.

No matter how powerful your heater may be, or the size of your roaring fire, an old door with bad insulation will let all the cold air creep inside your house. Not to mention, decent insulation could keep those heating bills at bay!

2. A Better Fit

Even though old doors could be the root of poor insulation, the same situation could occur with a brand new door – especially if you installed it over the summer. Did you know, during high temperatures, the framework of your entire house can expand? This means, once the temperate drops and your house constricts, you may find gaps around the framework of your door, resulting in cold draughts and a hefty gas bill!

3. Extra Security

Unfortunately, over the busy Christmas period, break-ins and burglaries are more common. In fact, last year Halifax reported a 35% increase in claims for forced burglaries during the darker months, compared with summertime figures. And not only that, it has been reported that a massive 74% of burglars actually enter the home via the front door.

This is usually due to the darker nights, increased motive with expensive Christmas gifts, or even for shelter from the cold.

But, with a strong and sturdy new front door, it can act as a deterrent for intruders, preventing the likelihood of a break-in. There’s no better price to pay for the extra security for your home, and that all-needed peace of mind.

4. Cost-Effective

Another great advantage of winter door replacement is the likelihood of a good bargain! There is less demand for door installations over the winter period, putting you on a shorter waiting list with the probability of a decent discount. From Black Friday sales to holiday promotions, if you’re working from a budget, it could be the perfect time to tick this project off your list.

5. Visual Appeal

As well as being one less thing to do during the summer months, a winter front door installation also has its practicality and visual appeal. It’s the one time of the year you go all-out with exterior decor, whether it’s Christmas wreaths or hanging fairy lights.

Wouldn’t you agree that a brand new door to match would be the ultimate finishing touch to your outdoor winter wonderland?

It’s the perfect time to get creative, and make a smart investment for your home. Plus, doing so now will mean your home will look great in time for summer!

The Fusion of Old and New

Victorian Front Doors

Grandiosity was the theme of the 19th century, with the Victorian era making history in the innovation of British architecture. It’s safe to say that a statement was made in terms of style, layout and practical features of Victorian properties, all being instantly recognisable today. And, still celebrated of course – even by modern homeowners with the most contemporary of styles.

Technically, a property is only recognised as Victorian if it was built between the late 1830s to the early 1900s. Despite this, you still the classic and timeless design of Victorian-inspired homes up and down the country. From rich Victorian brickwork, gables, bay windows and most of all, Victorian front doors. In fact, it’s still one of the most common front door styles used today.

Typically, a Victorian door features ornate two-by-two panelling, elaborately carved with an imposing architrave. They also feature brass work and brightly coloured glass panels. This allowed plenty of light into those long narrow hallways but also offered a sense of privacy too.

It’s easy to see that not only are Victorian-era doors beautiful, but they also carry the bonus of modern security and stability, having been constructed from solid hardwood. This makes for a long-lasting and cost-effective choice in the long run, suggesting Victorian doors are the perfect ratio of style and price.

You’ll often find interior designers and general home-owners similarly turning to Edwardian style doors as opposed to Victorian. Although inspired by characteristics of panels and glasswork, Edwardian style doors made their debut a little later, flaunting six panels in total with an extra two at the top, usually with glass installed. Although slightly different in style, both eras are robust and sturdy in appearance, best suited for those looking to give their homes a timeless impression.

Today, you find homeowners turning to Victorian or Edwardian doors to maintain their property’s traditional aesthetic, but you also find modern homeowners jumping on the bandwagon too. You may not think it but the style looks just as wonderful complementing contemporary homes, especially for homeowners looking to add a touch of classic style and elegance to their home exterior. It’s a stunning trend in which the old is fused with new.

With antique and vintage styles being very much in vogue, it’s an easy and popular choice to take on such a classic and timeless look, whether you’re looking to restore your period property or update the overall style of your home.

Although the style remains very much the same, modern-day trends are paving the way for a more bright and bold era. Did you know the 19th century looks amazing in colour? Popular choices include vibrant primary colours of red, blue and yellow.

It’s mind-blowing to see how a coat of paint can give a piece of history a new lease on life. And, when you think of the little effort involved, it really is a no-brainer.

Shop our range of bespoke doors, inspired by the Victorian/Edwardian era.

The Top 5 Front Door Colour Trends of 2019

It’s usually encouraged to look beyond the external; it’s what inside that really counts, right? Yet, when it comes to home aesthetics, experts say it’s all about first impressions.

A stylish bespoke front door has the power to transform the overall look and feel of the front of your house, whilst immediately putting you in a good mood as soon as you get home.

One of the biggest factors in this is colour, and with the end of the year quickly approaching, we thought we’d revisit some of the most popular trending colours for front doors in 2019, and take a look at possible trends to expect in 2020.

1. Bright Yellow

Bright and bold colours on the London front doors were a major player over the summer months, adding pizzazz and vibrancy to your home’s exterior. Yellow, in particular, was a popular choice, and it’s easy to see why. The colour creates a warm and sunny look, greeting guests in a cheery fashion. And even though a bold yellow may not be a go-to choice for most, it can create a truly elegant look when used well. Think vivid pastel yellows to accompany white trims, or muted down tones to complement darker trims.

2. Sky Blue

From rich cobalt blues to more pastel tones, blue has always been a popular colour for homeowners trying to move away from traditional blacks, whites and greys. Whilst vivid royal blues have a tendency to be a timeless colour choice throughout any season, we have come to love this sky blue tone, creating a brand new form of livelihood whilst maintaining a calm and collected vibe.

3. Classic Hardwood

It would be wrong to overlook the classics, that being traditional hardwood finishes. A hardwood door brings natural warmth to your home’s exterior, creating that much-loved feeling of home-sweet-home. Not to mention, it suits any exterior paints and can’t be mismatched throughout the changing seasons.

4. Natural Tones

The love for more natural and subtle colour choices hasn’t got anywhere. Browns, blacks, greys and soft washed-out whites are still a massive trend after this year, especially when complemented with some greenery on the doorstep to really bring them alive. It’s the perfect choice if you’re opting for a more sophisticated and elegant look, and of course an easy choice for any colour palette.

5. Christmas Red

As you’d imagine, a red Victorian front door is a massive hit if you’re looking to celebrate the festivities in style, especially when decorated with Christmas essentials like holly leaves or a wreath. But don’t be fooled, this colour makes any door a real show-stopper no matter the time of year, symbolising hospitality and a warm welcome!

It’s easy to see that 2019 oversaw a mixture of style and character when it came to enhancing that curb appeal, and apparently, it’s expected to be no different in 2020.

As we venture into next year, many creative homeowners are turning to natural shades of sage greens, olive and coral tones to complement their home exteriors – and with the unique and quirky results, it’s easy to see why.

Some Simple Ways of Protecting Your Front Door from Extreme Weather

Your house’s exterior has to face everything that the environment can throw at it. Whereas walls and roofs have sufficient protection due the nature of their construction, it’s the front door that has to deal with the worst, and mostly without protection.

You might already know multiple ways of protecting your London front door from the murky weather. Expensive paints and good wood treatments are useful without a doubt. However, both these can make for a big dent in your bank account, while not providing enough protection in front of extreme weather. Instead, some simpler methods might just prove to be more effective.

Some of these alternative yet simple methods include:

Installing a Porch in Front of the Door

A porch makes for a very pretty addition to house. More than that, it’s also effective. First of all, the porch can be quite helpful for providing shade. The overhang of a porch protects everything beneath it from sunlight and rain, while also giving you a great place to sit beneath and relax.

While you may not bask in the shade of the porch every day, your Victorian front door will. It gets the protection it needs from the harmful UV rays and the moisture that’s so common here in London.

After all, sunlight is quite harmful for front doors. It discolours paint, which makes it weaken and sustain damage. Once the paint has been removed due to the damage, the wood beneath is exposed to heat, the UV rays, and moisture that could seep into it.

Hence, a porch provides effective protection to your front door. It might not be the first choice when it comes to considering protection for the door, but it is one of the most effective options. Its shade is going to keep your London front door from facing both sunlight and rain. It’s simple and effective protection.

A Storm Door

Another simple method of providing extra protection to your bespoke front door is through a storm door. You do not need to coat the door with multiple layers of paint or treatments. Just get another door that sits in front of your London front door; a storm door.

A storm door helps you keep your bespoke front door from having to face the extreme weather. Instead, the storm door faces them all on its own. Whether its strong winds, rain, sunlight, or anything else, the storm door takes it all. While it may not offer complete protection, the amount it does is considerable.

Choose a Lighter Colour

Your front door is regularly absorbing heat from the environment. The heat makes it expand, and this holds true for both wood and steal. The expansion can cause major problems. It can cause the paint to crack and the wood to splinter. Hence, people often use expensive wood treatments on their front doors. Instead of that, a simpler approach would be to paint the front door in lighter colours. Light colours absorb less sunlight and less heat, providing automatic protection.

Spicing up your plain front door

Does your front door, by any chance, need some sprucing up, but the idea of spending a boatload of money on a door isn’t that appealing? Look no further than this article, where we will elucidate the many ways you can make simple changes to your plain front door, which will go a long way in increasing its curb appeal.

If you’re redecorating the interior of your home, sprucing up your plain Victorian front door won’t hurt. Granted, doors generally fade in the background, deemed unimportant, but that’s not true. A door is an important part of the overall image of your home. Having a cozy, and beautiful interior won’t amount to anything if you have a shabby, or plain door, which delivers the first impression of your home.

 

Ways to spice up your door

 

In this article, we will elaborate on some of the ways you can add value to your door. You can also keep up with the latest trends or keep an eye on what the people around you are doing with their doors, instead of spending a fortune on a door.

Redecorating the door

Fresh Christmas Wreath Concept of live christmas wreaths

Redecorating the door is time-saving and gets the job done. You can use holiday decorations, for example, Christmas wreaths, shiny baubles, flowers, and pine cones to make your bespoke front door more appealing. The same decorations can be used for holiday decorations, or whatever the occasion calls for, saving time, and money, all the while getting the job done. You can even make wreaths from leaves which will add some much-needed colour to your plain door. This method is especially beneficial if you don’t have a lot of space at the front of your house, and want to limit the decorations to the door itself.

If that doesn’t gel with you, you can also change the knobs of your door, switching up from a simple doorknob to strike plates, knobs or locksets with different finishes, for example, brushed nickel, polished chrome, or antique brass.

Such a simple thing as a doorknob can change the overall appearance of your door.

 

Dress it up

Another way you can make your door appealing is by dressing it up. The door is your canvas. One way to go is by painting it with an eye-popping colour that makes it contrast with your surroundings. Not only is it eye-catching, but it also makes your door stand out.

Plain doors can also be framed to spice them up.

 

Art

You can improve the face-value of your door by adding beautiful filigree, art, or sun catchers. As afore-mentioned, wreaths are another option.

 

Garden statues

Though garden statues don’t contribute to your door directly, they do add curb appeal. You can choose unique sculptures, or have them crafted. Be it doves, owls, or the standard garden gnomes, they go a long way in helping you bring something unique to your door.

Lighting and decoration

Though slightly tricky, landscape lighting is also an option, though it is best to hire a professional for this particular job. Landscape lighting at the base of your steps can spice up your door.

Moreover, if you have a lot of space in front of your door, you can consider using decorative pots, sculptures, or anything unique, and eye-catching.

A Front Door: Your First Impression

The importance of a first impression is often talked about in numerous popular sayings and phrases. It’s the same case when it comes to houses. The first impression of any house, after all, is the front door. It’s not the architecture or the different design choices you might have made with the windows or walls. It’s simply the front door that drives the very first impression of your home.

This fact has become more popular amongst London homeowners of late. They are paying far more attention to their front doors and have been focusing on top quality Victorian and Georgian designs. Nowadays, designing a Victorian or Georgian home involves a lot of attention towards the front door since the owners wish to make a first impression that engages and lasts.

The importance of your Front door

The importance of your front door cannot be mentioned enough. In order to make a great impression, your front door can help you with:

Appealing Aesthetic

Imagine the first thing people see when they look at your house being a gorgeous Victorian front door with great finish as it shines under the sun. Such an appealing aesthetic is bound to get their attention and have them interested in what comes next. Hence, the aesthetic provided by a front door can never be underestimated.

It adds value to your home

A gorgeous front door brings a value to your house that most other accessories cannot, especially when it is a period front door. The front door is the very first thing prospective buyers notices, and as we have talked about before on this blog, it also influences their decision to buy your house. Hence, a bad front door, or one that is not pleasing to the guy, could also make them reject your house.

While this does not mean that your front door is what can sell your house, the influence it has cannot be denied. Another great aspect of a period front door is the fact that it sustains its value for a long time to come. It doesn’t matter if you’re not selling your house anytime soon. The door is going to stay there as long as the house, provided you maintain it. Hence, the value of your property is going to be high whenever due to your gorgeous front door.

It gives a sense of security

A good front door is one which serves your house. It’s not just there to make your house more appealing, but it also functions as a line of security that keeps intruders away. The most common entry point of any house is the front door and it’s where burglars and intruders try to gain entry from. If you don’t have appropriate locking systems and security installations in place, your front door security is going to be flimsy, and your house vulnerable. Look for something solid. A strong door with the right lock system will deter any intruder.

The Importance Of Good Design

It is important that the architectural period or era of your home influences your choice of front door.

The best choice of door for a Victorian home is a Victorian front door. The best choice for a 1920s home is a 1920s front door. Mix the two up and you have a recipe for an aesthetic and financial mistake. To most people their home is their largest financial asset. Replacing your battered, warped front door with a beautiful new one, that looks perfect for the house which surrounds it, should make an appreciable difference to the value of your home and is a shrewd investment. Choose a door from the wrong era and the reverse could be true.

Georgian houses have simple flat frontages. Windows and doors are set back at least four inches from the brick face. Georgian front doors sometimes have a simple semi-circular fanlight above. Later in the Georgian period more detail appeared. Stone work to provide a grander entrance with classical pillars, pediments, hoods and porches.A typical Georgian door have a simple six panelled design without glass. The two smaller top panels may been changed to glass in the later Georgian or Victorian period.

Victorian houses tended to have narrow hallways and entrances. The front door was often made of softwood and painted, stained or grained to look like hardwood. The doors would have been panelled, divided into four or six sections with some panels filled with glass. A beautiful front door would have been very important to the Victorian home owner so it would have been well maintained with gleaming brass furniture.

Edwardian houses were often built on wider plots so a side window sometimes flanked the main door letting in more light to the hallway. The Edwardian front door was often large, panelled and painted with Art Nouveau or Neo-Georgian glass. It was popular to paint the doors red or green. By the Edwardian period most householders no longer had maids to scrub the step and polish the brass knockers so door furniture was finished with a maintenance free black coating. Steps were made of stone or covered with a simple sheet of metal.

The ideal look for a 1920’s home would have been heavy oak doors but often a more affordable choice was staining a cheaper wood. When doors were painted they would have been in dark colours of green and black with edges and panels picked out in cream. Traditional style doors would have used cast iron door furniture. Handles would often be seen two thirds of the way up. Decorative led glass work would have been found in the top half of the door or as a sidelight.

1930’s style homes would likely have had painted softwood doors with geometric shapes of coloured glass, often using patterns of sun rays or chevrons. Door furniture tended to reflect the Hollywood fashion with chrome.

Bespoke Front Door

Why is Your Front Door Important?

If you have asked this question to yourself many times, here’s the answer offered by some people who make it their business to know the perfect answer.

“So many people neglect the importance of their front door. Painting your door in an attractive dark shade, and either polishing or replacing your door furniture can make a huge difference to a buyer’s first impressions. Dark colours are said to work best, but take a look at your neighbours’ doors and if light colours are a theme consider a more muted grey or pale green, neither of which colours are likely to alienate potential buyers.”

Says Phile Spencer in this extract from a guest blog that he did for Ratedpeople.com.

http://www.ratedpeople.com/blog/kerb-appeal-phil-spencer/

Often times the very first impression that a property makes on a buyer dictates how the rest of the visit and dealing will go. Buyers find all kinds of irregular things to be a major turn off. This includes front gardens that are unkempt and full of cars or derelict fencing and gates.

The same thoughts are echoed by a certain Leeds sales agent, ‘If they’re not smiling as they step over the threshold then the rest of the viewing is generally a waste of time. If the vendor doesn’t sort it out then you can end up reducing the price. For every eager buyer put off by the surface appearance there’s a shrewd old pro waiting for the price to tumble. It’s the vendor who loses out.”

When looking at it from face value, the condition of your front door (Victorian, Georgian, or modern) might not seem to be important or significant to the overall value of your property. However, experts suggest that you would be wise to reconsider that thought.

Here’s a reason why: “The period front door is a very important part of a home’s curb appeal and contributes greatly to the home’s overall value,” says Lipford.

“It’s usually the first opportunity to influence a guest to your home, or a potential buyer of your home, because they’re going to see that from the road,” explains Lipford. “It’s the nose on the face of the house, and it’s important to showcase it in the best light that you possibly can.”

This extract comes from an interview with Danny Lipford. He’s the executive producer and the host of the Home Improvement show on television: Today’s Homeowner with Danny Lipford.

http://homes.yahoo.com/news/renovations-that-add-value-to-your-home-201815529.html

Don’t just take what we say to heart. Have some insight from the experts instead.

If you have asked this question to yourself many times, here’s the answer offered by some people who make it their business to know the perfect answer.

Making the Most of Your Home

Owning a property in London helps you attain a special status. It’s not about class or anything. What you own instead is a piece of history and your automatically become a custodian of just one part of the country and city’s incomparable cultural heritage.

One thing you might have never thought about is just how much of a role your front door has to play as the focal point of your home’s overall aesthetic, along with both its appeal and its unique character. Whether it is negative or positive, the effect of the front door cannot be diminished. One thing you can notice is that a trip down London’s streets looking for good looking houses will show that the best-looking ones have a wonderful front door.

It’s quite saddening to think about the act that it has not always been financially possible, or even something fashionable, to preserve the original period features expressed in architecture. When homeowners were compelled to change the front door, what they found were mass produced, poor quality doors made out of wood, plastic, or aluminium. These have been the only options for so long that they have slowly crept across the entire city’s visage.

Thankfully, we now live in an era where homeowners actually care about and appreciate the traditional aesthetics found in our domestic architecture. It’s not just about giving off a rustic appearance either. The homeowners are well aware that keeping the period aesthetic of their home intact is bound to maximise the value of their property, which is usually their most important and valuable asset.

With a beautiful front door, you can pretty much transform your home’s entire appearance. Furthermore, you can also add some value to it which is bound to give you a thrill full of excitement whenever you look at it or use in the future.

Bespoke Front Door was established from a passion and love for the British period aesthetic, with an undying commitment towards the preservation of our cultural and architectural heritage. We offer a number of services, specialising in production, design, and installation of period front doors. Furthermore, we are always available for consultation and can offer you all kinds of advice and guidance on how to get the best out of your home’s most prominent and important feature.

1666 and all that …

The diarist John Evelyn lamented in 1666 that “London was but is no more” in regards to the Great Fire that consumed the city with its towering flames. It burned down the mostly timber-built buildings of the City, with many of them medieval. The 1667 Act for the rebuilding of London was not actually the first attempt ever made to control building construction, with thatched roofs having been banned far back in 1212 by the Mayor. However, it was still just the start towards getting a greater grip on the standards of building, with materials, fire safety, and sanitation all being looked after.

Furthermore, the rebuilding was also the first Act to appoint surveyors to ensure all requirements were followed. From the thickness of the walls to the number of storeys, each single aspect was specified for the buildings which would now be built in stone or brick, with the streets needing to be wide enough to fulfill their purpose as fire-breaks. The ‘jetties’ (projecting upper floors) were a common fixture in houses from the old city and caused the fire to spread from house to house rapidly. They were now banned.

Wren & Hooke’s colossal antique Doric Column

A sliding sash window recessed behind 4 inches

More Building Acts came forth in 1707 and 1709. They implemented some more lessons that came from The Great Fire. Wooden eaves that projected out were banned while roofs were now non-existent behind the propped up parapet walls. The terraced houses had party walls that had to be continued through the roof, creating a barrier that would block the spread of fires. Following this, a comprehensive legislation was passed to encompass the entire constructed area of London rather than just Westminster and the City.

This particular Act was passed to prevent poor quality construction along with reducing the spread of fire from building to building. Before 1709, you would find London front doors and the window frames flush with the brickwork’s outside face. However, after 1709, the timber doors as well as the window frames had to be set back by 4 inches, which was the thickness of a brick, while windows needed to have a projecting sill. After the Act of 1774, the window frames now had to be recessed into the brickwork in order to keep most of the sash box hidden.

Raised parapet-wall, Georgian Terrace, Canonbury, N1

Now, for the very first time, houses started to be rated according to their floor area and their value. The rates were four in nature, each with its own specific rules for foundations, external walls, and party walls. The largest houses were awarded the ‘First Rate’, with four stories and over 900 sq ft of floor space sprawling over a basement. The ‘Third Rate’ houses would face principal streets, while the ‘Fourth Rate’ ones were less than 350 sq ft of floor area and faced minor streets. The Georgian street widths had a system of regulation based around the height of the building adjacent to them.

This rating system and the measures against fires led to entire neighbourhoods consisting of flat-fronted brick terraces. The 1774 Act was thus called ‘The Black Act’ due to its prescriptive nature. Its criticisms mainly lied around the fact that it led to repetitive terrace structures which were condemned by the Victorian critics for their uniformity. Nowadays, this act is looked upon favourably since it provided a rich legacy of harmonious and gently urban architecture from the Georgian era.

Bedford Square, WC1