I love looking out of the window on the train or from the car and play game of building a picture of people based on their homes, often glimpsed in a flash. Like the book and movie, The Girl on the Train only less sinister. I believe you can tell a lot about someone from their home.
Real estate salespeople agree - they set a lot of store in what they call kerb appeal, that first glimpse of a property. It's thought that many people make a decision about the house and the residents based on that first glance.
I'm hoping, based on that premise, that people walking up to my front door decide that I am a very busy person rather than a lazy one as my front garden is full of good intentions and weeds. Not necessarily in that order. I never seem to have the time to maintain. I do have some jolly geraniums in a window box which remind me of a glorious trip to Venice, Italy with friends and I mostly keep them alive and pruned.
I am proud of my entrance door and the paintwork on the windows. The original windows were a dark wood but were looking a bit tired so we panted them with a gorgeous outdoor paint which looks green/grey in some light and grey/green in others. We changed the door furniture too. It really updated the look of the whole house and I love it.
If you don't love your entrance door, it might be time to look at changing it by painting or replacing it. If it's been a while since you brought an entrance door you might be surprised about the huge range of designs and materials available. A quick look online will show the variety of upvc, wooden, fibreglass and steel entry doors for sale.
Before you make a decision on what style you like, there are a number of factors to take into account.
Firstly, and this sounds obvious but is worth saying, check you have permission to change the door. This is obviously most relevant if you are not the home owner. However, even if you are, you need to make sure there are no planning or neighbourhood rules preventing you from making significant changes to the colour or size of your door.
This might be relevant if you live in a historic home for instance, or in a neighbourhood with regulations about the appearance of your home from the road. My home for instance has restrictions on the size and type of boundaries allowed. I can't put up a 6 foot fence around my garden for example.
All good? Then the world of doors is your oyster. Maybe take some pictures of your top choices and hold them up in front of your home to get at least an idea of what they might look like. Clever people can use photoshop style software to really get a good image to help them choose.
Stuck for inspiration. Walk round your neighbourhood or somewhere with similar style homes to yours and see what styles catch your eye. Window shopping for doors you might say.
Ask advice from the experts selling doors to find which design and materials might be best for you and consider security as well as style when making a final decision.