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For hundreds of years, homeowners have been utilising the inherently imposing stature of their home’s doors and doorways to create a certain impression. It’s this vital first impression which can colour and shape the expectations of a visitor, which is why it’s so vital that, if you’re planning on selling your home, the doors should be the first place you look to make changes before calling in the estate agents.
A door can be so much more than just a means to an end. Doors provide not only solace and security, but can function as features in their own right. Good doors might not necessarily sell your house, but they will almost certainly give potential buyers the impression that you truly value your home, which surely means that they should too!
Consider your doors as framing devices for the rooms beyond. You wouldn’t hang a beautiful portrait from a rotten frame, so why allow your gorgeous home to be framed by anything less than the very best exterior and interior doors?
It’s been suggested that exterior improvements can (when done well) have a return investment of up to 95%, so let’s start there shall we?
Front Doors That Sell Houses
The front door is arguably not only the most important door in the house, but the most important feature, period. The gateway to your home needs to inspire confidence and anticipation, particularly if it’s freshly on the market. If the paint is peeling from the entrance to your home and the doorbell is hanging off by a loose wire, it’s unlikely that many prospective buyers will be able to see past that initial impression. Imagination is something many of us truly take for granted. As such, you’re going to want to make sure that your front door really jumps out and makes a statement if you want to make your house feel like a home to a prospective buyer.
Colour Me Impressed – Perhaps the most obvious first question when deciding how to transform your front door into a home-seller is what colour scheme to go with. If you want to give your home an instant lift, a fresh lick of paint can do wonders. Conventional wisdom dictates that red doors sell houses. This is not always the case, of course, but there are many good reasons why this half-truth has flourished in recent years. Red is a bold colour that oozes confidence and sits really well against brickwork. It is also a colour that has stood the test of time. So, whilst it might be tempting to go with the trendy hot pink or the ‘organic’ dark green finish, red is a colour that will always look good on a front door.
The same can also, of course, be said of black, blue and white, but you want to be aware of what impression you’re trying to create before you dip your brush or place your order. Blue is a classic, tranquil colour that is generally favoured by older homeowners, whereas black and white are seen as quite traditional. More subtle colours, such as grey or softer shades of green and blue, are, meanwhile, generally regarded as being more stylish and flexible. Simply put, there is no one perfect colour for every front door, but every front door has a perfect colour. Just make sure that it suits the décor inside your home and the front porch area. If you have a very green space outside your home, for example, a green door would get lost.
Aside from the colour, you’re also going to want to consider the finish. A high gloss finish is always preferable if you really want your door to ‘pop’, even though gloss paints are generally not as weather resistant as their less shiny cousins. This is largely irrelevant, however, as the vast majority of front doors will be covered by a canopy. That doesn’t mean they won’t still catch their fair share of the elements though, so you’ll probably want to replace or spruce up the finish on your front doors at least every 5 or 6 years.
It’s All Material – If a fresh lick of paint won’t do and you think you’ll need to hang a new front door to sell your house, you won’t only need to consider the colour, but the material of the door itself. Once again, conventional wisdom appears to dictate that “wood is best.” It’s classic, durable, looks great and can be sanded and repainted with relative ease. Which type of wood you opt for will depend on personal taste or what kind of atmosphere you’re attempting to create around your home in order to bag a buyer. Timber and solid wood are always popular, with timber offering a more modern, sleek look and solid wood lending any home a traditional and overwhelmingly secure impression. Composite or ‘engineered’ wood, on the other hand, is constructed from various layers of treated woods in order to create a longer-lasting and more affordable product. Good composite doors are generally indistinguishable from solid wood doors, so if you value efficiency over authenticity, it might be your best bet.
Whilst wood is the most common building material for most front doors in the UK, aluminium and uPVC can also be used if you are in the market for something a little different. Aluminium is obviously the most secure option, but it can look cold and unwelcoming. uPVC, meanwhile, is usually used in rear/patio doors, but can also be used as front doors. Your colour options with uPVC, however, will be severely limited, with the vast majority of suppliers only selling them in plain white. So, for flexibility, wood is always your safest bet.
Style – Finding the best colour door to suit your house is relatively straightforward, but style is often subjective. Which style suits your home will largely be dictated by the existing character of your home. Contemporary designs tend to favour clean lines and a lack of glazing, whereas traditional designs will often feature numerous glazed panels and more intricate detailing. Our advice would be to go with whatever suits your home, as you don’t want that first impression to be a false one!
Does Replacing Interior Doors Add Value?
The short answer to this question would be a concise and resounding “yes,” but of course there’s more to it than that. Chances are that as your home has become more ‘lived in’, it has started to reveal a certain character that you’ll really want to emphasise if you want to make a sale. Granted, many prospective buyers are looking for a ‘blank slate’ on which to paint their own character, but many more want to move into a house that already feels like a home. For the minimal cost of painting or replacing your internal doors, you could quite comfortably underline the charm and character of your home and help it ‘flow’ more organically.
In many cases, replacing internal doors can really open up a home, particularly if you choose to replace solid doors with designs that incorporate glazing. This can help light flow through your home and make it feel more welcoming and alive. You might also want to consider experimenting with different styles to see how they complement your décor. Internal doors are also a lot easier to hang than external doors, so you are more likely to be able to paint and hang them yourself, without relying on a professional joiner.
Ultimately, replacing your internal doors is not going to have as dramatic an effect on your home as replacing the front or rear doors. However, if you’re struggling to sell and are looking for a ‘secret weapon’ to help your home look its most desirable, there are few techniques less invasive and more cost-effective than painting or replacing your interior doors.
Do Patio Doors Add Value To A Home?
Once again, the simple answer would be; yes, but it depends on the home and the patio doors in question. Generally, swapping out a pair of tatty old rear doors for a sliding patio door, a set of ornate French doors or even bi-folding doors, will create the illusion of greater space in your home, which is always encouraged.
Of course, a set of new patio doors will also highlight your existing patio, so if this area is looking a little worse for wear, you might want to consider giving it some much needed TLC before you even contemplate moving on to the doors.
Sliding, bi-fold and French doors are all wonderful choices that will add value to your home and make it that much more desirable, particularly to house hunters with green fingers who like to spend a lot of time outside. They will also have a dramatic effect on the adjoining room and will bring so much light into your home. Either way you swing it, it’s an investment that will pay dividends and you certainly won’t regret it.
So, your doors might not necessarily sell your house outright, but hopefully we’ve been able to show you that they can reveal your home in a more flattering light (quite literally in many cases) and that they shouldn’t be overlooked when it comes to making the most of your home and showing off what it’s really capable of.
