Unique Front Door Designs for a Gorgeous Facade

When it comes to door design, the front door takes the spotlight for many homeowners. This is because your front door is the first interaction your guests and passerby have with your home. So, you want your front door not only to look stylish but also to provide a bit of personality along with the rest of your façade.

So if you’re looking for a front door that accentuates your unique taste and personality, you’re in luck because there’s a metric ton to choose from. Each type of front door is great in its own right and knowing what options you have available is always great for anyone looking to renew their facade or to liven up their curb appeal.

1. A Trip to Holland with a Dutch Door

The Farmhouse Aesthetic of a Dutch Door

Starting things off with one of the more unique entries on this list is the Dutch door. You won’t find these on most of the houses you visit and they’re certainly not as popular as the other door types out there. However, the Dutch door certainly has its charm and introduces a rural element to your home. What differentiates it from other doors, is that a Dutch door is comprised of two pieces — a top half and a bottom half. These can be opened separately or can be interlocked to open together as a regular door would.

Other than its rustic charm, homeowners like to use Dutch doors because of the extra practicality that comes with being able to open the top half to let the breeze in and bringing in some extra airflow, while keeping the bottom half closed to prevent the wind from blowing dirt into your home. Dutch doors are do require a very unique aesthetic, so, for example, a contemporary home would not look as good with one of these. But if you’re going for a cottage or farmhouse aesthetic, the Dutch door can be a fantastic choice.

2. Colorful Door Design

Bring Some Color to Your Facade with a Vibrant Door

The best front door design for any home is one that says a lot about the people living in it. During the holiday seasons, this is accomplished via exterior decorations. On normal days, little touches like potted plants or seasonal outdoor knick-knacks hit the spot. Whatever may be the case, your facade can and will say about you and your household. And color plays a huge role in how others perceive your home and consequently the people who live in it.

Anything from the doorknob design for the main door to the color is super important. If you use darker shades, that may give passerby and visitors alike a more somber impression of your home. Brighter and more playful colors can have the opposite effect, as they can cheer up your visitors before they even come through the door. 

3. Vintage Georgian Style

Georgian Style Doors for More Traditional Facades

Looking for something that is more vintage and gives you visitors a little taste of history? The vintage Georgian front door wooden designs are oozes with this vintage vibe. There are a few design aspects of Georgian doors that make them unique. Much like other vintage front doors, Georgian doors come with unique ornamentation with panels, windows, and unique door frame molding.

Vintage Georgian doors go well with classier facades, such as Victorian, Gothic, and the Georgian itself. The extra ornamentation does not work in more minimalistic facades, such as with contemporary homes, as well as the more rustic exteriors of the Farmhouse.

4. Posh and Slick Modern Aluminum 

Aluminum Front Doors for Modern Facades

If you’re in search of a modern stylish front door design then a slick contemporary aluminum door should be your pick. There are several types of front door materials out there to choose from and aluminum just so happens to be one of the sturdiest. If you want your front door to last, then aluminum is the perfect choice for a strong and durable front door.

But the stylistic advantage of aluminum is that it is very moldable and there are plenty of contemporary designs that you can pick from or get a door custom-made to suit the rest of your facade. Contemporary home designs like to put emphasis on geometric shapes and aluminum doors are the perfect fit for these kinds of exteriors. 

5. Composite Wooden Door

How Composite Wood Open Up Design Opportunities for Front Doors

Contemporary home facades are all about keeping details and ornamentation at a minimum, making the best of basic shapes and geometry. This is sometimes hard to do with wood, which naturally contains veins and has a grainy surface, making it visually complex. But this is where composite wood is different from solid wood. Composite wood is created using blended wood, certain kinds of plastics, and a mixture of other additives. This makes it a more practical material than traditional solid wood, as it is better at insulating the interior, as well as being more resistant to heat and moisture.

But another great advantage to composite wood is that manufacturers have greater control over how it’s shaped and what it looks like. As a result, you can have specially designed composite wood doors that can match various kinds of facades. For example, if you’re looking for something more minimal for your contemporary home design, then cutting out the door into neat geometric shapes can be the perfect addition to your facade. It can also work with many other home architectural designs, such as Mid-Century Modern, Spanish, and Japandi. Thus, wood proves once again, that it is a mainstay in even contemporary designs. 

6. Classy Front Doors with Sidelites

The Benefits of Having Front Doors with Sidelites

Sidelites can be found on a wide assortment of front doors. Even the more minimal Contemporary front doors can use sidelites. The addition has several benefits not only for your facade but also for the entrance interior. The addition of these windows increases the amount of natural light around the entrance. This means the entrance is generally brighter, as more natural light can come through the sidelites.

But these sidelites also have an effect on the facade of your home as well. Entrances are typically somewhat dark without the addition of a light fixture on the portico. Sidelites offer a bit of additional lighting from the inside that is a little more nuanced than the basic light fixtures you’ll find on the portico. Depending on the transparency of the sidelite glass, you can have the light softly protruding from either side of the door, gently lighting up the entrance without having an overhead fixture that is sometimes a little too much light for such a small space. This gives your threshold a unique look, especially in the early evening when the interior lights are on near the entrance and the front door lightly glows thanks to the sidelites on either side.