A Comprehensive Guide To Updating Your Doors And Hardware

When did you last consider upgrading your doors, door/trim color, and hardware? With so much emphasis on décor, doors are a sometimes neglected aspect of home improvement.

Doors may not be the first thing you notice when entering a home, but doors have a significant impact on the overall appearance and atmosphere of a room. They can quickly revitalize a home and make it feel more connected and coherent.

Door Types

• Swing doors: Standard everywhere in residences. Commonly used for closets without locks, bi-fold doors conserve space. Ideal for situations when there is insufficient space for a swinging door; installation is more difficult.
• Barn/sliding: Used to make the door a design element and ideally suited for non-privacy/noise-sensitive areas.
• French doors: A popular double door selection for patios and exteriors, as well as a classic and attractive option for interior areas.
• Saloon/cafe: These partial-height, bi-directional swinging doors facilitate hands-free transit from one area to another.

Slab versus Pre-hung

If you are replacing an old door and don't require a new door frame or door trim, slab doors are the most cost-effective option. You must ensure that the new door has the exact same dimensions, hinge location and shape, and bore hole size and position as the old one. In older homes in particular, it might be difficult to install and operate a new door properly. For this reason, we prefer to spend a bit more on a pre-hung door; you can still attempt installation without the frame, but it's there as a backup option.

There are numerous economical style possibilities for your home, ranging from conventional to contemporary to craftsman to mid-century. We suggest selecting a design that complements the period and style of the home.

Use the same doors throughout the house for consistency, with the exception of "feature" doors such as external, sliding/barn, closet, and glass or partly glass doors (i.e., pantry or laundry).

Door Materials

For interior doors, the most popular options are wood, MDF, and particle board composites (either solid or hollow core). Solid core composite is a personal pick for most homes since it provides sound insulation, resists temperature and humidity fluctuations, and is less expensive than wood.

Exterior doors are available in an expanded selection of materials, including fiberglass, aluminum, wood, glass, steel, and iron. They vary significantly in price, size, and design, and each material has its own advantages and disadvantages. Fiberglass and steel are top recommendations for low-maintenance and cost-effective materials.

Paint color

While white doors and trim remain the standard in most homes, you do not have to adhere to the norm! Paint is an easy technique to transform doors from merely practical building components to decorative elements that increase the aesthetic appeal of your home. In the past years, we've been painting the interior doors of many residences white, and the results have always been spectacular. The signature is white walls with contrasting trim and doors, but you could just as well keep the trim white and paint only the doors.