Door installation gallery

Choosing the right doors for your home

A good way to use this gallery is to look past the door itself and at the house around it. Kerb appeal is about the pairing: a bold modern slab on a rendered frontage, a traditional panelled composite on a brick semi, a stable door on a cottage. Most of the front doors above were chosen with the brick, render and roofline of the home in mind, which is exactly the conversation we have at the design visit.

For the back of the house, the choice usually comes down to how you want the room to open. French doors give a classic look and a generous opening from a smaller aperture. Sliding patio doors carry the largest panes of glass and need no swing space, so furniture can live right beside them. Bifolds fold the whole wall away and come into their own on wide openings onto a patio or garden. If you are unsure, the photographs above show all three in real settings, which is often the quickest way to decide.

Whatever the style, security and comfort are designed in rather than bolted on. Solid core composite doors are dramatically stiffer and warmer than the hollow doors they usually replace, and every door we fit is made to measure for its opening, so it closes with the solid, reassuring feel that lasts.

Colour is the last piece, and the one people enjoy most. Deep greens, blues and classic blacks have overtaken plain white on front doors, usually paired with chrome or graphite furniture, while rear doors tend to follow the window colour of the house. Bring your ideas to the showroom or the design visit and we will put samples against your actual brickwork.

Like everything in our gallery, these doors are local. They open onto hallways and gardens across Hampshire, Berkshire, Surrey, Wiltshire, Dorset and West Sussex, fitted by teams who will happily be back in the area next week. If you prefer to handle a door before choosing one, visit a showroom and try the locks, finishes and glazing for yourself, or book a free design visit and we will bring the choices to you.

After you choose, the process is reassuringly simple. A technical surveyor measures the opening, your door is manufactured to those exact dimensions, our own fitters install and align it so it closes perfectly first time, and we walk the finished job through with you before we leave. Your FENSA certificate and 10-year insurance-backed guarantee follow in writing.

One more thing worth knowing before you browse on: a door is a moving part that gets used thousands of times a year, so how it is fitted matters as much as how it is made. Hinges, keeps and compression are all adjusted on the day and checked again at handover, and if anything ever needs attention down the line, our service team is a phone call away for the life of the guarantee.