Making a grand entrance can create a strong first impression

By Donna Bozzo
Special to the Tribune
Published January 16, 2004

When Tracy and her husband, Abel, decided to renovate their home, their architect suggested an addition they hadn't considered: a front door.

"I would have preferred to have a front entrance to our home, but it never occurred to me to change it--it didn't cross my mind," Abel says. "I didn't mind [our side entrance] too much. It was very convenient, because it was right off of the driveway."

The home was a tri-level built in the '50s, a time when some builders side-stepped a front entrance.

"[The side entry] didn't lend any formal look to the home, just a usable, functional door," says Tracy and Abel's Architect John. "I suggested they move the door to the front to create a warm and welcoming vestibule to the house."

At first, the couple wasn't sure if a front entrance was the way to go, so they asked the architect to draw up two facades--one that added the new entrance and one that kept it to the side. But once they saw the drawings, they were convinced that putting the door front and center was the way to go.

"It was a dramatic change," Tracy says. "It really gave the front of the house a more interesting look. He designed a portico around it."

Interested in making a grand entrance? Then consider rethinking your front entry when remodeling, design experts say. "The front door is the symbolic element of a house," says David Sloan, managing editor of This Old House magazine. "It's the port hole that announces your home to your visitors. It's tremendously important."

Murray Silverstein, author of "Patterns of Home: The Ten Essentials of Enduring Design" (The Tauton Press, $34.95) agrees.

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"How we enter a house and move through it has a profound influence on our sense of the building as home," he says. "Much of the character of a house is determined by the experience of coming and going at every scale. Traditional homes typically had a well-marked front door, used by visitors and for formal occasions. A visible and appealing main entry both orients and welcomes."

Sloan says dressing up a front entrance--or creating one--is a popular improvement among today's homeowners.

"One of the easiest ways for someone to distinguish their home from all the others is to make their front entrance distinctive," he says. "From an emotional point of view, it adds tremendous appeal. It's hard to put a price tag on it, but it can definitely add to the appeal of your home."

"A front entrance can definitely improve your curb appeal," says Karen, Tracy and Abel's real estate agent. "As soon as you pull up, that's your first impression of a home. When showing houses, there are some people that won't look at a house that doesn't have a front entrance. That type of home just doesn't appeal to them."

Karen says today's home buyers tend to put more of a premium on aesthetics. "Curb appeal adds value more than it used to," he says. "As prospective home buyers drive down the street, if they see something they like, they'll go in. That's the type of market we have today. It's all about aesthetics--the look, not function, of the house."

John says in the '50s, design was more about function.

"Homes were designed to make economic sense," he says. "Sometimes homes were turned back toward the street if it was on a busier street. People didn't want their front door facing the busy street. That's why you'll see old city bungalows and three-flats with side entrances. A side entrance can also give you a little bit more livable space in the front of the home. The front entry can take up about 7 feet in the front of the house. If you put it on the side then you get that room in the front for a living room/dining room combination."

But tastes change. Today, people prefer front doors and inviting foyers.

"So they can greet people and send them off," John says.

Updating an entrance doesn't always involve a drastic change. Installing lead windows, adding a porch, improving lighting or landscaping, or even painting the door a bright color can make a big difference, John says.

"You want to give it more emphasis," he says. "Play it up to make it look more presentable."

During its renovation, which was completed last year, Tracy and Abel's home was transformed into a two-story Prairie-style home. Tracy says she loves all the typical updates, such as the addition of a master suite, a second-floor laundry and office space. And, she loves that unexpected change--a front door, she says.

"It makes a big difference in the way it looks," Abel says. "I love it. We have pavers leading up to the front door. People walk by, and they think it's new construction. They can't believe it's the same house."

Copyright © 2004, Chicago Tribune