As part of “Operation: Get The House Ready Before Baby Clough Arrives” we’ve plastered, painted, carpeted and done a lot of scrubbing, and 2014 has been a hard year of graft on this house.
It won’t be finished though.
Improved significantly yes, and made safe for children where some areas previously weren’t, absolutely. But as the Winter has drawn in and the budget became smaller, Joe and I sat down and discussed what, if anything, we just couldn’t live with anymore if we were to halt all home improvements whilst I was off work with the baby. After all, maternity pay doesn’t normally account for a DIY budget!
What was the one thing we couldn’t bare to see on the ‘to-do- list for another year?
For those that know us know how terrible we are at making decisions. But this one was a no brainer and we both agreed that we needed a new front door. It’s a big splurge and one of the most expensive purchases we’ve made for the house but it’s something we’ve wanted since we moved in.
With me being at home more and after investing a fortune into this property, it only felt right that it was properly secure. We’ve got the CCTV. We’ve got double glazing and secure locks. We’ve got bolted fences with spikes (oh yes!). And yet, we had this flimsy old single-paned front door which was approximately 80 years old. It was battered, mucky, made our hallway freezing, and generally just looked a little sad.
I’m thrilled to say it’s finally gone. And what a difference our new door makes!
Don’t you just LOVE this before and after?
The house looks cleaner and significantly more modern in my eyes.
The door we chose was from Yale. It’s a composite door in a beautiful navy blue colour and it gives us all the security and warmth we need, with the bonus of a wood-effect that Joe and I love so much. In fact, you can see both inside and out the wood grain effect of the door in the pictures below.
(It’s funny, because I wrote this post back in December 2011 about my dream front door and 3 years later, we’ve gone and picked something pretty darn close! Good things come to those who wait.)
So what made us just go for it? Look at our old door.
We were secured in by one single bolt – not all that safe when you think about it. The architrave was ill-fitted after it had expanded from when the downstairs flooded last year. The original door didn’t have a letterbox big enough to fit post through (seriously!) and Joe ‘extended’ it last June but it let out loads of heat. The glass was single-pane meaning the hallway was always cold. There were 2 patterns as well due to one needing replacing, and you may also notice that one pane has cracked from the cold. I think the pictures speak louder than words here.
And what of the new door?
We went for the Victorian classic in Blue with white interiors and white framing which replaced our problematic architrave as well as the rotten wooden frame outside.
The glass is in a style called Autumn which is in a beautiful leaf pattern. We opted for a lever pad handle, a knocker, security chain, letterplate and numbers all in a graphite finish – the silver colour we both prefer but without as many fingerprints as your standard chrome.
Take a look…
I think the blue of the door actually brings out the blue in many of our greyer-toned bricks making me love it even more. I wasn’t home for the installation but my lovely mother-in-law stayed in whilst it was fitted and she was telling me how much of a big job it actually was! In fact, whilst removing the old door, there was some damage to our newly plastered walls (nooooooo) – but they patched it up. Luckily we’re in the middle of decorating that room anyway so I’m not too bothered, but had it aready been wallpapered or painted in anything other than a base coat, I think I’d be an upset customer – just something to bear in mind if you’re considering a similar job!
I’m so happy we waited this long for something we really wanted.
So many times we have been close to purchasing a hardwood external door. All very beautiful and certainly would have done a good job, but it wasn’t what we really wanted.
For anyone considering going for a composite door and wondering if it’s worth saving for, I’d say yes, but it wasn’t cheap. In fact, you can get a composite door for a comparable price to PVC these days if you’re a smart shopper. Where the real cost is from installation which gives you your guarantee. For us this was really important and it naturally bumped up the price, but for us, it was worth it. Over time it will pay for itself as we’ve also been able to reduce things like home insurance.
Plus, it looks freaking awesome.
Sometimes, home changes are worth the wait and I love pulling up outside of our house now and seeing that we’ve become that house with the blue door that we’ve dreamed of right from the start.
