Editors Note: This is a guest post written by Meta4. 

Entrance doors have been a feature of great significance throughout history and culture. The Roman god Janus was the god of doors and doorways, and the god of beginnings, endings, transitions, gates, gateways, and time. What is the significance of your entrance door to you? As with all the architectural elements in your home, planning and creativity will produce rewarding and lasting results.

PLANNING
At the planning stage consider the entire entrance space as an outdoor room. Often overlooked is the need to shelter both your door and your visitors. Consider your entrance as a portal to transition comfortably from outside to in and vice versa. A 500mm portico tacked on above your door will do little to protect it from adverse weather. New Zealand conditions require a decent shelter zone for good entrance functionality.

PROPORTIONS
Now that you have planned your entrance space it’s time to consider the door size. This is probably the trickiest aspect I encounter with clients. The days of a standard sizes have passed, we are no longer limited to small entrance doors. If you have a wide entrance you might be tempted to opt for double doors. They do look impressive but make sure the overall size allows for two doors of good width (850mm min.) as one panel will be fixed most of the time and you don’t want to be confined to a narrow opening for daily use. Glazing on each side of the door can be a good way to take up the width on each side making a single door is viable.

If you have decided on a single panel, wider doors will usually require a pivot due to the weight, up to 1100mm wide can be hinged but check with your fabricator on this point. Wider doors tend to cost more and can be tricky to weather seal. If you have a well-covered, sheltered aspect a pivot will work but in high wind zones they can be problematic.

Height is usually the easiest dimension to go big, as materials tend to be longer than wider it’s cost effective as well. Our average and optimum door size is 1000mm x 2350mm, the overall dimensions look great, it can be hinged in standard joinery and it’s an economical size for most budgets.

PERSONALITY
With size worked out it’s time to turn your attention to pattern, colour and finishes; our speciality. At Meta4 Design we view entrance doors as a blank canvas on which to stamp your personality, our range is designed with this ethos in mind. Our clients are looking for unique and creative doors.

We offer an extensive range of patterns or challenge us with a custom design. Our doors feature a powder coat finish for durability and the extensive colour range also includes metallic and texture effects. We are passionate about doors and love working closely with our clients to make their inspiration a reality. Find us at Home Ideas Auckland, Stand 138 or browse our website or www.meta4.co.nz

Meta4
meta4.co.nz