Door to Door Blog — Home Design

2020 Door Trends to Shake Up Your Style

Looking for a subtle, low-maintenance way to shake up your home’s style? Look no further than the biggest door trends of 2020. Changing up your door is the perfect DIY upgrade that can be accomplished in an afternoon, but still make a significant difference in the look and feel of your home. Whether you’re interested in interior or exterior, these are door trends you’re going to want to try out.

Here are our top three favorite 2020 door trends to look out for:

Bright, bold colors

Particularly for front doors, choosing a bright and bold color is a great way to put a signature look on the façade of your home. Gone are the days of doors blending in with a home’s exterior — in 2020, it’s all about standing out. Consider emerald green, deep purple, teal or even yellow as a welcoming entrance to your house. Or, rather than painting an accent wall in a room, consider simply painting the door for a burst of color. 

Metallic and matte black hardware

If you aren’t ready to commit to a full door upgrade, consider just upgrading the hardware to a more modern look. Shiny metallics, like gold and copper, and matte black finishes are very in right now and can make your door instantly feel more polished. 

Multi-slide patio doors

The modern, functional appearance of a multi-slide patio door can help brighten your home and give it a more open feel. Natural light is a big style winner right now — with window walls suddenly all the rage — so don’t be afraid to capitalize on this trend with your doors as well.

Need more style inspiration? Check out our collection of interior doors.

What’s Your Style? Hardware Finishes Edition

Choices, choices. With so many great hardware finishes to choose from, how do you know which style is right for you?

We all know that swapping out your door hardware can be a quick, inexpensive way to update the look of the doors in your home. However, you want to make sure your chosen hardware matches your established style and fits with the décor of your home. Here are a few questions to consider:

What other hardware is visible in the room?

Does your door share a space with drawer pulls or light fixtures? Consider how your chosen new hardware would look with the existing hardware already in the space. For instance, if you have polished chrome drawer pulls, you may not want an antique brass doorknob.

How do you feel about mixed metals?

Contrary to popular belief, mixing metals doesn’t have to be a décor no-no. In fact, when done intentionally, it can be quite visually appealing. Just try to find metals that still complement each other, rather than clash. Often, stark opposites work the best here — picture matte black hardware with polished brass drawer pulls, for instance.

What style inspiration does the rest of the room follow?

If you have a modern styled room, it might not make much sense to outfit it with an antique-style hardware set. Similarly, if you’ve decorated a room with earth tones and traditional décor, chrome hardware may stick out like a sore thumb. Do you best to imagine how your décor style will match up with your hardware style. 

What type of feel are you looking for?

The shape and feel of your doorknob can make a big difference. Picture yourself turning the doorknob every single day. Do you prefer a leverset or a knobset? How would opening and entering a door with each type of hardware feel? Pro tip: if you have small children, they’ll be able to open a leverset door on their own earlier.

Our final piece of advice: browse choices with an open mind. Narrow it down to a few that feel right to you and take your time considering how they’ll look on your door. Remember, hardware isn’t permanent, so don’t feel too much pressure. With so many lovely choices, you really can’t go wrong.

Shop hardware.

How to Keep Your Home Cool in the Summer Months

Tired of feeling like your air conditioner is blasting, but your home still isn’t cool? The problem may not be with your air conditioner — it may have more to do with how you’re insulating your home and utilizing certain areas.

Trying to cool a home that isn’t properly insulated wastes energy and drives up the cost of your utility bill. Luckily, there are small steps you can take to improve insulation, as well as best practices to keep your house cool in the hot summer months. Here are our five best tips:

• Check your windows. Adding weather stripping to your windows can help prevent cold air from escaping which, in turn, makes your air conditioner more effective. Further, closing your blinds when it’s particularly sunny or using blackout curtains can help keep the interior of your home from heating up too much.
• Make sure your exterior doors are well-fitted. If your exterior doors have warped over time, they may be letting in outdoor air — which can be a problem during both the hot and cold months. Consider upgrading to a new door that will keep your home better protected from the elements.
• If you have ceiling fans, use them. But make sure you’re using them properly. In order to be most effective, ceiling fans should run counterclockwise (if you’re standing under and looking up). If you don’t have ceiling fans, consider installing in the bedrooms or higher traffic areas of your home.
• Keep interior doors open. Unlike the exterior of your home, which you want as shut off as possible, you want the interior to be as open as possible. This allows air to better circulate and keep a consistent temperature throughout.
• Turn off lights and avoid the oven. Turn off lights when they aren’t needed, especially strong overhead lights. While it might not seem like they make much of a difference, the heat put off from bulbs can impact the temperature of a room. Similarly, avoid using the oven on really hot days. Instead, try grilling outside or using an appliance like a crock pot to prepare dinner.

Do you think your doors might be part of the problem? We can help.

Shop for better insulated exteriors doors today.

4 Tips for Preparing Your House to Move

No matter the circumstances, moving is stressful. Aside from finding a new place to live, preparing your current home to move can be a time-consuming endeavor. With so many belongings to sort through and the daunting task of putting your home up for sale, it’s easy to feel like your to-do list is never ending.

But don’t worry — you don’t have to do it alone. Here’s a short list of tips to help make the process easier: 

• Practice ruthless decluttering. Resist the urge to move belongings that you don’t need and haven’t used in years. Make trash and donation piles before packing even begins so you can start fresh at your new home with streamlined, organized belongings.
• Take small steps to improve the appearance of your home before putting it on the market. You don’t need to complete a kitchen renovation, but you do need to help your house put its best face forward in order to attract the right seller. Clean the carpets, wash the windows, and consider replacing scuffed and dented doors.
• Take it room by room. Try narrowing your focus to only one room at a time so you can avoid getting too overwhelmed. Pack rooms you don’t use as often first (like guest rooms or formal dining rooms) and save essential rooms (like the kitchen) for last. If you have an underused area of your home that can serve as “box central” as you get packed, that can help retain some normalcy in the other areas of your home until moving day arrives.
• Double check with your utility companies. Ideally, you want to experience a seamless utility transition from one home to the next. Double check that you have the correct turn off and turn on dates, so you won’t go without essentials like water and heat.

And one final tip? Take breaks and stay calm. Moving isn’t easy, but it will all be worth it when you are settled in your new home.

Get settled with new doors.

Louvers 101: The Benefits of a Classic Style

Often, we choose door styles based on aesthetic preference. However, when it comes to louvered doors, there’s also a practical benefit to consider.

Louver doors use slats to promote ventilation or air flow. While the slats are close enough together to still provide privacy, they allow for air to circulate between the spaces divided by the door. This makes louvered doors the ideal choice to close off small spaces that won’t see a lot of traffic and could otherwise get musty.

Unsure if louvers are the right choice for your space? Here are a few times when a little extra airflow is a great option:   

• Utility closets
• Laundry rooms
• Bedroom closets with bifold doors
• Kitchen pantry
• Basements

Aside from this very practical benefit, louvers are also visually appealing. This classic, timeless style gives your door dimension and texture. However, if you don’t want a full louvered door, you can always opt for a combination style. For instance, the top panel of your door can be louvered, and the bottom can be raised panel.

Whether you choose two louver panels or a combination of louver and another style panel, you’ll be glad to have the option of increased air flow that this traditional and functional door provides.

Want to learn more about louvers? Shop now.

Pocket Doors: What You Need to Know

You know that room you’ve always wished you could close off with a door, but opening and closing one wouldn’t work with the available floor space? Well, that’s where pocket doors come in. 

Aptly named, pocket doors are designed to slide into the doorframe or adjacent wall when fully open. Using rollers on an overhead track, these doors can slide out when needed and tuck away when not. This makes them the ultimate compromise: you can have an open concept flow when you want it or close off the room when you don’t — without losing any floor space.

If your home doesn’t currently have an option for a pocket door, that doesn’t mean you can’t add one in. While it does require some minor demolition, installing a pocket door is a relatively straightforward and inexpensive design upgrade. In order to decide if your doorway is a good candidate, ask these preliminary questions first: 

• Is there enough room in the wall? A good wall for a pocket door will be twice the width of the door you want to install.
• Is the wall load bearing? While this doesn’t necessarily rule it out if so, it does further complicate the process.
• Does the wall contain wiring or plumbing? While wiring isn’t a deal breaker (but will require some rewiring), the presence of pipes makes your wall a poor candidate for a pocket door.

Now, with just a door, a pocket door hardware kit and either some DIY home repair experience or the help of a professional, you can have the space saver door option you’ve always wanted.

Shop pocket door hardware.