11 Front Doors With a Bold Welcome

Sarah Tolle—Homify Canada Sarah Tolle—Homify Canada
homify Asian style doors
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door can be a simple piece of painted wood that acts as a gateway to your home, or your front door can be a creative, interesting, and bold piece that makes a daring first impression. This list offers a collection of eleven bold front doors that go beyond ordinary, representing various architectural styles and parts of the world.  Enter if you dare…

1. Eastern-Inspired

These weighty wooden doors are fit for an ancient temple, offering a reverent frame for the statue sitting against the interior wall. These doors appear to be steeped in history—many Asian cultures carry the historical legacy of a door god, statue of a god, often in the form of a mythical beast, that guards the front door. Here, both the serpentine creature carved in the wood and the central statue beyond echo this tradition. The inclusion of door gods are said to ward off evil spirits from the home (and in the case of these doors, the apparent weight of these thick, sturdy doors would certainly do the trick as well!).

2. Classic Statement

This crisp, black and white entrance offers a stately welcome to the home—with an entrance like this, one can only begin to imagine the luxuries within! Grand and almost imposing, these black doors look like a modern version of something you'd find on a countryside estate in one of Jane Austin's historical fiction novels—you might expect to see a giant, lion's head door knocker on their panels, or perhaps a glimpse of a tidy butler as the double doors are pulled open. 

Notice how the black colour is accentuated by a picturesque black frame just beyond the doorway's edges, placing greater emphasis on the strong rectangular shapes in this design.

3. An Unexpected Colour

A great door doesn't necessarily have to be stately (like the lovely doors above) to be grand. An eye-catching colour choice is also a great way to turn a simple entry way into an alluring element. In this scene, a deep blue door perfectly mirrors the blue in the tiled floor, while neat, matching chairs place on either side of the door create another mirrored effect. The overall result is a well-balanced room with a clear focal point—the doors of deep blue, reminiscent of summer skies, and ocean waves. This room also offers a subtle gesture to the blues and whites of the Mediterranean—think of a seaside Greek village or iconic patterned blue and white Moroccan tile.

4. Ornate Glass

Some doors are installed for the purpose of keeping curious eyes from peeking in, but this door, in decorative defiance, invites curious gazes in! While this ornate (and fragile!) style may not be a good fit for homes with young children running around, it certainly adds a luxurious, opulent note to this home. The colourful paintings and yellow light from inside the home is visible in a partially-hidden view through the stained glass door, blending in a warm, watery mix of color in the glass entrance. The appeal of the stain glass door is its obvious reference to history, particularly to the Gothic cathedrals of Europe where stain glass windows were popularized in the 12th century. This crystalline entryway surely has an interesting backstory!

5. Industrial Reflections

Leaping from the 12th century to the 21st, this industrially inspired door makes a statement without saying much. The simple combination of a lighter molded panel and narrow vertical metallic strips offers a fun juxtaposition of modern materials, with the natural and man-made materials standing beside each other in stark contrast. The construction is simple and streamlined—with a sleek, vertically oriented handle to match—but it's eye catching nonetheless. An industrial door like this would be a fun addition to any contemporary structure that's looking to add a little more edge to its first impression.

6. Of Course, The Hobbit Door

A list of interesting doors simply must  feature a snapshot of a playful Hobbit door. This green-roofed, underground home features an appropriately tunnel-shaped circular door—a highly unconventional entrance that's sure to delight guests every single time they pass through.

7. Inlays

These doors are a wooden work of art! Various tones of smooth wood are inlaid in a symmetrical pattern of multi-toned squares, resembling the eyes of a watchful owl. Unique bent handles align perfectly with the geometrical pattern, tying the functionality of the handles into the artistry of the doors themselves. 

8. The Effect of Multiple Mediums

Drzwi kobbe, Kobbe Kobbe Modern style doors Aluminium/Zinc Doors

This door is a simple, flat sheet of metal (it could even be mistaken for a sleek, stainless steel fridge!). There's nothing too special about it. However, when you take into account the brick backdrop, the creamy walls, the jagged tile roof, and the rectangular-patterned cement walkway, this metallic door finds its home as the central finishing touch in an eclectic blend of construction mediums. 

9. An Eco-Friendly Statement

What to do with an old warehouse door? This rustic example is a lovely demonstration of the beauty of the old, used, and forgotten. A repurposed door is not only eco-friendly, but it's also a great, one-of-a-kind conversation piece, something that's sure to spark intrigue as new friends enter your home.

Enjoy eco-friendly architecture? Have a look at this ideabook featuring a tour of a newly-constructed eco-friendly home.

10. Layers of the Puzzle

Interesting glass-on-wood cut outs resemble puzzle pieces in this entryway. In this clever photo, you can see how the door's design is copied three times over—on the very outside, in the front entrance area, and once again in the door nearest the viewer. The transparency of the glass allows you to fully enjoy the dimensional aspect of these repeating layers of doors (and it also functions to let plenty of light enter the home). 

11. Positively Medieval

The resemblance to a medieval fortress in unmistakable, as the iron-like grid mimics a draw bridge gate in both its shape and its use of weathered-looking materials. The surrounding stone wall builds on this medieval impression, with the shiny glass frame acting as the only element to bring us back to the present day. Otherwise, you'd be expecting to catch a glimpse of a moat below! This medieval door certainly doesn't make the most welcoming of statements, but it does offer a fun, unique theme.

Thinking about upgrading your front door? Get more inspiration for your entryway in this ideabook featuring a collection of fabulous facades!

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