Design decision: should your external doors match?

When you have more than one door on the same elevation, the front door should always stand out, so visitors know where to head. The front door should be bigger and more impressive, which can be achieved through finish, design and size.  

You don’t have to match the doors in colour and finish. For instance, you could have the front door in hardwood and the secondary door in the same colour as the windows. Looking at our examples, however, most clients choose the same finish but different designs for their external doors. If both your doors have the same finish, make sure your front door has a bigger and/or different handle and larger sidelights to make it stand out.

Your decision about whether to match or contrast may also depend on the proximity of the doors to each other. It may be more pleasing to the eye to match when the doors are very close.

For example, at the luxury Birch Grove development in Chalfont St Giles, one of the properties features a utility door on the same frame as the front door. The doors match but size negates any possible confusion for visitors. The utility option offers somewhere to dispatch muddy wellies while keeping the main entrance pristine and ready for guests. 

When making your decision about doors, remember:

• Size matters: the front door should always be wider and taller than other external doors.
• Large sidelights can help identify the front door.
• Different design and size of handles is a good differentiator. Usually, side or utility doors have a lever handle rather than a pull handle, which is often chosen for front doors.
• Side and back doors often have glazing in the door itself, which helps identify them as secondary doors. If the back door is visible through the house, opting for the same finish is a good idea. 
• Doors on another elevation don’t have to match if they aren’t seen from inside the house and choosing something simple can be a good way of reducing costs. We would recommend matching such a door to the colour of the windows to make sure there aren’t too many finishes.

Moodboards: matching and contrasting door options

Great design is one of the foundations of Urban Front and we know that visualising choices can make the process and decisions easier to manage. Take a look through these moodboards created to help our clients choose the best multiple-door options for their property project.

Did you know we offer a free moodboard service to help bring your ideas to life? It's an effective and quick way to check if what you're considering will work - you may be surprised by the results!

Need help with this issue or something else? No problem, we welcome new ideas and requests for guidance on any door-related needs and can offer the same service on other frontage options.