"A very little key will open a very heavy door."

It has been said that “when you open the front door you are shaking hands with the house.”

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve admired a house because it has a cool front door.  Usually the door is painted a bold colour which I find irresistible.  The house down the street has a stunning tangerine door that goes beautifully with the rest of the home.  I comment on it every time I walk by.  I just love it!

The front door has a huge impact on the look of your house from the outside.  And in this case, since our home is going to be so open, it will have a big impact on the inside as well.  So you can imagine how I am freaking out right now trying to get a handle on what our front door will look like.

In modern designed homes you don’t see a lot of brightly painted paneled doors.  As much as I like hearts and flowers this door is an absolute NO!  (However, I think I will pin it on my Pretty Portals pinterest board.)

Modern doors are sleek and clean-looking.  They can be made out of wood, glass, steel or a combination of the three materials.    Here are some über funky doors by Snickarper from Sweden.  Very nautical in design like doors on a cruise ship.

The most advanced technology is the pivot door which requires a rather large space for maneuverability.   The key feature of a pivot door is the placement of the offset hinge.

A traditional door hinge is located on the left or right edge of the door and jamb. The pivot door uses a hinge, located at the top and bottom of the door.  When the door pivots open it creates a sizeable entrance.  Talk about impressive!

Yesterday our design team sent a rendering of our front door.  The idea is to install a pivot door made with blackened steel and corten steel.  The opening we have is 6’6″ wide.  The door itself will be 4’6″ wide!  A standard size door is less than 3′ wide so you can imagine how big this door will be!!!  I’m guessing it will be at least 9 or 10 feet tall.  Paul Bunyan could fit through this door.

 At first I wasn’t crazy about the idea, but it is starting to grow on me.  If the corten steel can look as pretty and bright in life as it does in this sketch I will love it!   My fear is that corten steel can often have a dull brownish look.  Our designer has good reasons for picking these materials.  To quote Stefan,” wood would not be a good choice simply because it would read as one with the interior mill work. The blackened steel was introduced as it is also used in your reflecting pond and the interior stair guard rail posts.”

 I have to admit the door has a certain WOW factor!  It is unique and like nothing we’ve ever had before.  A threshold to something new.

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