At the turn of the new year, the marketplace is looking forward to door trends that will stay around longer in 2019. Where interior and architectural design trends in past years have often lasted 3-5 years, recent trends are becoming more and more about longevity and stability. While the prices of homes and home renovation seem to be on the rise, consumers are becoming more thoughtful about their home upgrades, including their doors.
Current homeowners, builders, and renovators are interested in exterior door designs that can complement current and future trends without looking outdated. They are also looking for doors made of high-quality, longer-lasting materials. In general, we’re seeing a migration toward natural tones and finishes, quality materials, and clean lines. In the current social climate, design sociologists say, people are looking toward designs that make their home feel grounded, warm, and comfortable. Below are 2019 interior and exterior door trends expected by designers, architects, and trend forecasters.
2019 Exterior Door Trends
In exterior doors, we’re seeing bigger, heavier doors with clean lines. While homeowners are trending toward simpler designs, they’re also drawn to higher quality, longer lasting materials.
Light Woods
While previous years saw a trend toward darker woods and stains on exterior doors, in 2019 we expect to see a trend toward lighter woods. Watch for woods such as knotty alder, cherry, maple, douglas fir, oak, and poplar with natural finishes. We’re seeing this natural trend not only in doors but also in wood floors and interior design elements. “We see people needing these grounding elements in their homes as a way to feel more in touch with the earth and their roots,” says Kristen Pena of K Interiors in a recent interview by Elle Décor.
Matte Finishes
Along with lighter woods is a trend toward matte finishes on doors. This helps complement the natural look and feel that is trending in 2019. These matte finishes help to bring out the natural wood grains and coloring that highlight the wood instead of covering it up. The matte finish on the exterior door brings a cohesiveness to the exterior of the home.
Heavier & Taller
Exterior doors are becoming luxuriously tall, with the average height stretching as high as 12’ as opposed to the previous standard of 10’x6’. Doors are also trending toward solid wood cores, making them bigger and heavier than their earlier counterparts. This is a nod to the trend toward quality and longevity desired by homeowners in 2019.
Clean Lines
Sticking and rails have traditionally provided molding and adornment around panels. However, in 2018 we began to see a preference for clean, simple lines without sticking or rails. This trend is expected to continue through 2019 with clean, simple door designs preferred in modern and contemporary homes.
Less Paneling
While paneled doors used to be a sign of luxuriousness and wealth, door designs in 2019 are trending toward fewer panels. More traditional looks are trending toward only two panels with simpler sticking around the panels. Other panel trends include three vertical panels with a top glass lite or a slab door with laminate glass accents.
Energy Efficiency
Homes are trending toward energy efficiency and sustainability in general, and front doors are no exception. Homeowners are leaning toward sustainably built doors in energy efficient materials. This means a consideration toward higher R-values, climate-oriented solar heat gain coefficients (SHGC), low U-factors, and more conscientious weather stripping. Glass doors may also include low-emissivity coatings and/or low-conductivity gases between panes.
High-Quality Hardware
With a general trend toward higher quality doors comes a trend of heavier, higher quality hardware. Homeowners are beginning to see their hardware as an addition to the design, look, and feel of their doors as designers are producing a larger range of designs to choose from. Along with these new designs is the advancement of technology such as smart locks, including smart locks that integrate with cell phones.
More Glass
Homeowners in coastal regions as well as in southern areas are opting for exterior doors with more glass in 2019. While the technology for impact resistant glass has continued to improve, many homeowners are indulging in more glass paneling to let light and beauty in without compromising security. This trend is being seen in full glass doors, half glass, top glass, or in larger transoms and sidelites surrounding the door.
Fiberglass
Fiberglass used to be seen as a cheaper, lower-quality alternative to solid wood exterior doors. However, the technology for fiberglass doors has improved, making them nearly impossible to distinguish by look alone from their solid wood counterparts. While these doors still feel and sound like fiberglass (when tapped), homeowners are finding the quality and design can fulfill their design preferences without the higher price tags often associated with solid wood doors. In 2019 we expect to see a continued trend in many home markets toward well-designed fiberglass exterior doors.
2019 Door Paint Color Trends
Bright doors have been in the limelight for several years. Front doors are notoriously simple to paint and make a big impact on curb appeal with minimal effort. However, in line with recent trends of longevity and long-term design appeal, these paint colors are toning down the statement colors and leaning toward darker, richer tones. Look for colors such as dark blue, warm reds, and high-gloss blacks. For those that still like a brighter pop of color, teal and yellow are also still trending.
2019 Interior Door Trends
Interior door trends for 2019 are similar to exterior door trends, leaning toward larger, heavier, and higher quality doors. We’re seeing a similar trend in simplicity of interior door design that is expected in exterior door trends.
Bigger & Heavier
Like exterior doors, interior doors are getting taller and heavier. This is because homeowners are investing in higher-quality, longer-lasting materials. Heavier, larger interior doors also feel more luxurious, bringing a more warming and comfortable feel to the home. Look for doors that are 8’ tall instead of the previous standard of 6’8”.
Darker Colors
Along with bigger and heavier doors is a draw toward darker woods and finishes. While dark doors don’t fit in every style of home, modern interior door trends see interior doors as a complement to home design instead of doors that fade into the background. Dark interior door woods and finishes bring a contrast to the interior design, drawing the eye and bringing additional intrigue to the home’s architecture.
Sliding Barn Doors
Barn doors—doors that slide on a rail in front of a doorway instead of swinging on hinges within it—are becoming an increasingly popular trend in interior doors. This is not only because of their appealing design aesthetic but also because they allow homeowners to indulge in the larger door trend without making significant architectural changes to doorways.
Fewer Panels & Clean Lines
The traditional beveled 6-panel interior doors of the ‘90s are out, with homeowners opting for fewer panels and clean, straight lines. With interior doors, designers are seeing more of a trend toward shaker doors, which provide simple and clean designs with simple recessed panels. These panels tend to have square edges without any decorative profiling.
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