Fabulous front door ideas

Create an entrance with instant curb appeal

mubus 7 /Shutterstock

First impressions count and your front door is the key to adding that all-important curb appeal to your home. From welcoming guests to conveying your own personal style, a few careful touches can make all the difference. Whether you're repainting an existing door, freshening up with a new doormat or giving your porch a complete overhaul, these front door ideas will give you an entrance to be proud of.

Channel coastal vibes

Instagram / @vine.and.willow

Whitewashed cladding and a pale sand-coloured door will create a calming entrance that conjures up coastal vistas. Here, a blue porch rug, storm lanterns and a wooden swing chair create a stylish yet relaxed beach house vibe that wouldn't look amiss on the Californian shorelines. Plenty of leafy foliage in galvanised pots finishes the boho look.

Love this? Check out these beautiful coastal decorating ideas for every room.

Makeover with moody cladding

Garden Trading

Cabin-style wood cladding looks stylish and contemporary when painted in tonal shades of slate grey. Lift the look with symmetrical wall lighting, a touch of topiary and a simple iron heart wreath to evoke modern-country cool.

Choose iconic shades

Farrow & Ball

Famous for their refined and stylish colour charts, Farrow & Ball are our firm favourite when it comes to rejuvenating a front door. This subtle entrance painted in their 'Stoney Ground' shade blends in beautifully with its sandstone background to create a calming and elegant first impression.

Hang pretty baskets

Dobbies

Nothing beats hanging pretty baskets for an injection of colour, especially when matched with a petal pink door. This romantic cottage entrance is picture-perfect – the charming bumblebee door knocker adds a whimsical finish to this idyllic country home.

Create curve appeal

Dobbies

Front doors don't have to be all right angles. To soften your home's exterior consider going for an arched porch and a circular-paned front door. This rounded shape works with both double and single doors and adds a touch of elegant post-war nostalgia.

Mount a wreath

Instagram/the.daley.life

If you want to make a strong statement, turn the colour wheel up a notch. This yellow front door looks bold and beautiful against the black surround and crisp white brickwork. Soften the contrast with a seasonal green wreath and an array of potted plants.

Love a bold scheme? These colour combinations are so wrong they're right.

Choose vintage details

Melody Maison

Attention to detail will make your front door stand out from all the others in the street. With an embossed dove design, this vintage cast iron mailbox looks endearing and will make the perfect companion piece to a classic or country-style door.

Supersize your door number

Lisa Sarah Designs

Be a postman or delivery driver's best friend with a front door number you can't miss. This sleek monochrome porch looks smart and tidy, with large graphic numbering adding a bold stylistic feature. Follow suit with a well-kept lawn that's landscaped with a modern and minimalist planting scheme.

Update the doormat

House of Bath

A doormat will keep your hallway clear of muddy footprints and add some personality to the entrance. A durable and hardwearing material such as metal or rubber works better for exterior steps and this attractive scrollwork design will offer a warm welcome. It even has a secret compartment for hiding keys!

Screen it off

Lisa Sarah Designs

Modern front doors can be just as attractive as period doors, especially when they're integrated into the architectural design. Set behind a contemporary privacy fence and porchway, this black door is sleek and discreet. To tie the whole building together, colour-match the window frames and garage door in the same hue.

Run with a theme

The Painted Hive

This modern monochrome entrance has been lifted with a refreshing lick of duck egg paint across the front door and accessorised with an on-trend display of beautiful wall baskets. The look is tied together with a matching geo-style doormat and a lush faux fiddle-leaf fig plant that definitely won't wither!

Add some sunshine

Instagram / @blondegirlfrnd

Hardwearing door paints are now available in every colour of the rainbow so you can experiment with an understated neutral, a soft pastel or a daring, bold hue. Here, a bright yellow shade contrasts beautifully with the dark blue front of this home. When you feel the need for a change, you can simply paint it in another shade and it'll refresh the whole facade of your home!

Call on the classics

Jeld Wen

How you dress your front door has a major impact on the final look. Symmetrical fixtures such as the porch lighting and lavender pots here will create an ordered and elegant look. For a timeless finish, you can't go wrong with a wood stain, while a stained glass panel will draw in light and add architectural interest.

Love this? Check out these gorgeous outdoor lighting ideas.

Glaze the way

John Lewis

For an entrance hallway that's starved of natural light, it makes sense to opt for a glazed or partially glazed front door. If you're concerned about privacy, you don't have to use clear glass – you could go for patterned, frosted, coloured or tinted designs to blur the view in. To ensure that the door remains secure, it's advisable to install toughened glass.

Go with the grain

Urban Front

A solid oak door makes a beautiful addition to a home entrance, especially when it's in keeping with the rest of the house. Barn conversions and country properties, in particular, are the perfect choice for this type of door. Make sure it withstands wear and tear by regularly treating the wood to protect it from the elements.

Let it glow

Lights4fun

Pretty porch lights needn't be displayed just at Christmas time. Outdoor lanterns will add a welcoming glow to your front door as the night draws in. Opt for outdoor versions that are designed to withstand the weather, while a solar-powered model means no messing about with unsightly wires or batteries.

Channel rustic charm

Instagram / Desha @the.doors.collection_insta

You don't need a huge budget to create a delightful and distinctive doorway. Here, entwined wood has been used to create a rustic archway around this simple door, while the painted wooden plaque of the American flag makes a patriotic statement that's colourful and eye-catching.

Ring the changes

TakaTomode

A doorbell is a necessity but that doesn't mean it has to be mundane. Think outside the box for a fun twist on tradition – you could opt for a sleek and contemporary video doorbell for extra security, a brass push button for a classic look or even a wall-mounted bell in turquoise that's sure to make visitors smile.

Light it up

Evalution

Porch lights serve both a practical and aesthetic purpose. Movement-activated models can help you navigate the way when returning home after nightfall, as well as deterring would-be intruders. With an array of designs available, they can also create ambiance and help frame your entrance way – we love this stylish orb-style fitting.

Experiment with unique lighting

DelightFULL

Create a playful first impression with a colourful front door and bespoke statement lighting. This fun porch is a perfectly balanced scheme, pairing lemon curd yellow with a dazzling one-metre-high neon letter in royal blue.

Style it sympathetically

Jozef Sowa/Shutterstock

The first thing to consider when choosing a front door is what kind of style will be in keeping with the rest of the house. Try to choose a sympathetic design that looks like it belongs there. If in doubt, do a little research into the history of your house to find out what would have been there originally.

Pick a pivoting door

Urban Front

Most front doors are hung on a door frame with traditional hinges, but pivoting doors are on the up in modern homes. Fixed with pivots at the top and bottom, they are particularly suited to very heavy doors, distributing the weight more evenly and making opening and closing a doddle.

Keep it colonial

David Papazian/Shutterstock

Make a regal entrance with a classic Colonial-style front door. Formal in design and pleasingly symmetrical, they're a treasured choice for their refined aesthetic. Here, high windows in the door and side panelling allow light to flood into the entrance hallway whilst maintaining privacy.

Go for Georgian

Instagram/madamecherry

Known for strong craftsmanship and attention to detail, a Georgian front door traditionally features panelling and a glazed grid window pane. Generally painted, this style of front door is well suited to country homes and cottages. Here, this blue-grey design is beautifully offset with an arch of foliage and ornate cornicing.

Glaze in swathes

BondRocketImages / Shutterstock

If you have an inner porch door or live in a gated property, a fully-glazed front door is a great option that'll give instant wow-factor to your home's facade and draw in plenty of natural light. Toughened glass and the latest locking systems will ensure it's super-secure.

Love this? Get inspired by these amazing glass door and window ideas.

Call on composite

Anglian Home Improvements

Designed to look and feel exactly like wood, composite doors usually contain an outer skin made from glass reinforced plastic (GRP) or UPVC to prevent them warping, expanding or shrinking like timber. Lighter in weight, they also tend to be cheaper than wood models and come in a variety of colours.

Create your own

Edward Suzuki Associates

Design your own unique creation using a selection of reclaimed wood for a modern and eco-friendly front door that's bang on trend. If you're not handy with a saw and a drill, search for a local carpenter to team up with who can bring your design to life.

Settle on steel

Samson Doors / Hormann

Popular in America, steel doors are great thermal insulators and one of the hardest materials to break into. Steel doors now come in a variety of colours across both traditional and contemporary designs, and as they're now commonplace in the mass market, the price is coming down too.

Evoke Edwardian elegance

700billionreasons.com

Heavily influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement, Edwardian-style front doors tend to be elegant and refined. Sometimes set within a wider intricately glazed frame, these entrances often feature simple panelling, organic shapes and stained glass. If your home has the history, why not show it off?

Style-up both sides

Farrow & Ball

A well-designed front door will look good from the inside of your home as well as the outside. Don't feel constrained by the external colour – you could opt for a completely different shade for the interior to match your entrance hallway's aesthetic.

Love this? These hardworking hallway ideas don't scrimp on style.

Makeover with metal

Urban Front

Our interiors are awash with metal finishes at the moment, so why not take the trend outside to your entrance way? This boxed metal porch is cleverly engraved with the house number for a stylistic, industrial-inspired finish. A glass roof and sides offer a dramatic modern finish and illuminate the hallway.

Embrace engineered

Benchmarx

Cheaper than solid hardwood doors, engineered wood doors are made from layers of wood pressed and glued together with a hardwood veneer skin applied on top. An engineered door is less likely to warp or move than a solid wooden door, whilst offering all the traditional charm of the real thing.

Keep it country

mubus 7 /Shutterstock

Traditional chocolate-box cottage doors tend to be simple in construction with minimal detailing. Here, the letterbox is inserted vertically to reflect the lines of the planks in this traditional design. Painted a classic duck egg blue and accessorised with a rustic wheat wreath, we think it looks picture-postcard pretty!

Swing for a stable door

Endurance

A stable-style front door, or Dutch door as it is sometimes known, is especially useful for homes that have few windows and require extra ventilation. Split horizontally, the top half of the door can be opened independently of the bottom half to allow airflow. The design lends itself best to rural homes but can also be very effective in quirky industrial-style properties.

Dare to go double

David Papazian/Shutterstock

A double front door will give your home's entrance a regal feel. For ease of opening, one door tends to stay bolted shut, while the other is used day-to-day. This wide design isn't just aesthetically pleasing – being able to open both doors means you can transport bulky items such as beds and sofas with ease.

Create contrast

Benjamin Moore

For a refreshing entrance, paint your front door and porch a contrasting mix of white and green. Pick out the door, shutters and bannister with the botanical hue and accessorise with plenty of potted plants. Balance with bright white walls and a dark wood floor to warm up the space. Seashells decorate the steps and add a whimsical touch.

Loved this? Check out these alfresco ideas for outdoor dining.