Five ways to a wow entrance

If there's one area of a new build or renovation that's going to get some extra special attention, it's the entrance. It's the first thing people see when they turn up to the house (usually, though not in every case!) and the place you'll arrive and leave every day. An entrance that looks impressive, appealing and inviting is often at the top of people's list.

The front door is the natural place to start when thinking about creating a standout entrance. But the entrance isn't restricted to this area. You can play with all elements of the frontage to create something special and unique. It just needs a bit of planning.

Read on below to learn more about how to manage this exciting - and challenging - part of a house build/update.

Natural hardwood is the perfect material for statement or understated doors

Or will it blend with the rest of the frontage?

1. Planning is everything

Of all the possible entrance pieces, the front door is going to need to be an early part of the thought process. You can design around it or retrofit other ideas, but you need to know a few things about what's important for your door to get going.

Start the process by asking yourself a few important questions considering usage and design:

How will the front door be used? Will it be the main entrance or more of a side entrance i.e is it for show or guests only?
How should it look/what impact should it make? Would an elegant simple door be most suitable or something that makes more of a statement? Does it need to blend with the rest of the frontage or stand out?
What materials will work best? Using natural instead of man-made materials can help the frontage feel more luxurious (this goes for the rest of the frontage as well as the door).
Is there a need for a porch or canopy? This can be a design element in itself and also be practical in protecting your door and you from rain/ weather (learn more about the benefits of canopies here).

The door is an obvious choice to make a focal point. Colour is a really simple way to "wow" as this charred brick and black-clad house with bold yellow door highlights

Mixing timbers in this project has a similar effect of highlighting the door but the glass framing also makes this entrance stand out

This uniquely designed house has a glass walkway/balcony on the first floor, creating a fantastic focal point just above the double entrance door underneath

2. Choose or create a focal point

Another part of the early entrance planning process is going to be choosing the focal point - this will help the whole look fall together more easily. Elements that could be a focal point:

(a) The door:

It's often the natural choice. How can it be framed? Will it be in a glass curtain wall? Will it sit in frameless glass? Will it be surrounded by stone or a feature element? Consider the use of strong colours like a yellow or bronze to create impact.

(b) The area around and above the door

The porch/ overhang/ glazing in a galleried entrance/ on the main wall

(c) The upper or ground floor separately

(d) The driveway

If your front elevation is plain:

Consider choosing striking elements like an impressive front door, tall plants in large planters, a feature handle, or an interesting colour.
Using even a small amount of a natural material to add texture – this could be on the underside of an overhang, on the steps up to the front door, on the driveway itself or in accessories placed in the frontage area.

This Passivhaus build went all out on natural materials, combining cedar shingle cladding with a Passive oak front door and corten steel side panels. Oversized planters with a pop of greenery finish the look perfectly

While the vibrant green door is clearly an eye-catcher, the natural oak cladding across the first floor frontage ensures the whole facade creates impact

This contemporary build goes a step further with uniquely designed vertical cladding across the entire design

This copper canopy perfectly complements the fumed oak front door & bronze handle

3. Natural materials add that magic touch

Natural materials always have the wow factor. They're unique and have style and impact that can't be replicated by man-made equivalents.

Think zinc, copper, wood, steel (like weathered steel/Corten) and stone. Mixing a few of these together has a lot of impact too.

Areas natural materials work best:

The roof
Underside of overhangs/ porch walls
On the whole main frontage - cladding is a great example of this
Cladding from the interior hallway to the exterior as a feature wall – stone works beautifully for this
On the top or ground floor only
On and around the garage area

Using natural materials is also a great way to add detail, like hedge upstands, surrounding doors, on plant pots or on steps and around windows.

Size is everything - this frontage features the illusion of a double height door with an overhead wood panel & matching double height glazing for maximum impact

This modern build benefits from wide steps, a big door with glass framing & an artfully placed oversized planter

4. Supersize everything!

Try and use size to create the wow. Even where you're not sure there's enough space, size can be improved on a lot of different elements on a frontage including windows, doors, steps, porches and overhangs.

Glazing can be double story height, doors can be big – up to 3m tall (and wide) and elements like plants and steps can be longer, wider and taller.

A carefully designed and landscaped driveway can make the entrance before you get near the house

Exterior lighting can make an enormous difference to the appearance of a frontage when night falls

Rust detailing in the house number and partial canopy brings everything together in this mixed material build

5.Little details make a big impression.

Doorbells, house numbers, letterboxes, guttering, lighting and kerb appeal like driveways and fences – all of these can make or break the final look. It’s worth developing a theme for accessories – for example, using rust or a colour so that you pull the design together. They could be traditional or contemporary but not both. Accessories can also be supersized – for example, make the house number large so that it is very clear from the road.

Lighting is another excellent element that can be very dramatic – using it to light areas you want to attract attention to, or highlighting architectural elements can be very impressive.

There's no doubt that planning an entrance way requires careful consideration. If you're feeling a little overwhelmed by ideas and options, take advantage of our FREE design service. Our team can help you work through your thoughts for your frontage with visual aids such as a moodboard, as well as discussing your door ideas.

Call us on +44 1494 778 787 or drop us a line here and let us know how we can help.