Doors are an important part of your interior design. Doors affect the flow of the room, the temperature of the home, and the atmosphere of an area. Don’t forget the importance of how all of these items in your home connect during door installation. Instead, following these tips to tailor your home to match your unique vibe.

Consider Color

The color of your door can be a subtle compliment or a strong accent to your room. Colors can affect mood and relaxation, or provide energy. Your color combination is often a guest’s first impression. There are three standard approaches to home color coordination.

• Tonal Colors–sometimes called monochromatic, this color palette focuses on one color, such as ocean blue, and decorates in different shades of that blue (darker and lighter). Depth is created by using patterns and textures.
• Harmonious Colors –it’s easy to think of this as picking colors that are “friends.” Harmonious colors sit near each other on the color wheel and match well. Think of a room using red, rust, and terracotta.
• Complementary Colors–these colors lie opposite each other on the color wheel, yet are often found next to each other in nature. Think of both the red and green of an apple on a tree.

Your door can be an excellent starting point for your color coordination. If your door is natural wood, you can match the lighter birch or darker cherry to the rest of your room. Natural materials may promote strong earth tones, while paintable doors open up a different opportunity and more drastic colors. Consider your door during room design.

Don’t Forget Flooring

Don’t forget to add your flooring concerns when choosing your door and room decor. Your floor material will also add to this impact, so the difference between hardwoods and carpet may be rather drastic. If you’re restoring old oak flooring, a purple fiberglass door may be jarring. When coordinating with flooring material consider both color and texture.

Pay attention to which materials you choose will shine and which ones don’t. Will tall carpet catch on the doorframe and soon flatten? Will matte tile always look dirty? Texture also affects the feeling of warmth in a room, with softer fabrics often creating a feeling of warmth or heat and smooth and shiny elements creating a feeling of coolness.

Fortunately, there are some easy means to compromise. Remember that all doors have two sides, and rugs are a simple fix to many interior design problems.

Go with the Flow

Door choice affects the flow of your home.  Have you ever entered a room, and the door abruptly banged into a wall or wouldn’t open all the way? Poor door installation choices can be unpleasant. Not every doorway will fit just any door, and if this fit isn’t right, it can obstruct the flow of your home — sometimes literally. The type of door you use can also allow light to enter, or keep a room shady in the afternoon. Don’t limit yourself simply to an interior slab, but instead consider branching out to many types of doors available.

Exterior doors can add glass side panels with privacy glass, or provide low-E insulation protection. French doors provide a beautiful way to segment a larger opening. Pocket doors or barn-door sliders can be an excellent choice if the space for a door swing is limited. You may want to explore a custom, divided door for the kitchen, with a top swing for easy communication to the back yard while the bottom security keeps the dog and toddler inside. Explore straight-edged or rounded, wood, glass, and metal. Your choice of door affects how movement feels in your home, as well as how you physically get around.

Whatever interior design project you are working on, make sure you check with an expert and read your reviews. Choose only doors crafted with quality construction. Look for strong materials and low-maintenance finishes. Check the insulation and thickness for exterior doors, and the durability to withstand bumps and dents for interior doors.

It’s clear, your choice of door will have an impact on your home.