Thanks to the attached garage, many of us enter our homes through a side door, heading straight from the garage to the kitchen, laundry room or back hallway. The front door and entryway are reserved for guests and maybe some special decorations during the holiday season.

Even though you might not use it on a daily basis, your front door is important. It’s the first chance for your house to make a first impression. Think about when you pull up to a house you’ve never been to before, you don’t check out the garage and the side entrance first. You look at the front door, the windows, the porch and the overall curb appeal. That means when it comes to designing the front of your house, you need to give it plenty of attention and thought.

·         Decide if you prefer a large porch, a small overhang, columns or simply a few steps leading to the front door.

·         Match the style of the door itself to the rest of the house. If your house says comfy and country, don’t go all out on a front door with stained glass windows.

·         Make the front of your home welcoming, which means placing a focus on how the home “feels” when someone arrives, rather than overwhelming visitors – and yourself – with massive columns and grand arches.

·         Blend the public entryway – your porch or stoop – to the private entryway or foyer into your home. If the public sees a grand front porch from the street, carry that theme into the foyer.

·         Look at the surrounding landscape or your landscaping plans and how they will fit together. Are there large existing trees that may cover some of the front entrance, for example?

When helping our clients with the architectural design of their home, we want to make the front entrance eye-catching and appealing while keeping with the design and look of the rest of the house. It’s one way a design professional can be a great asset. We’re able craft an overall design for the house that carries from the front porch, through the front door and into the living space in a way that is beautiful, functional and seamless.

We realize the house is an extension of the homeowner, so we’re working to create that great first impression for both of them.