When you think of your brand’s image, what do you think of? Your company’s marketing efforts, of course. Customer sentiment. The colors you use, your brand’s logo design, even the design elements of your facilities.

Today, I want to hone in on one specific aspect of your facilities, one that you might be surprised even makes an impact on your consumers, the architectural design elements of your doors.

Think about it. One of the first physical interactions people will have with your facility is your front door. Depending on your building’s layout, each customer may walk through multiple doors throughout their purchasing experience. Believe it or not, how your doors and locks look will make an impression; it may be subtle, but you want that impression to be a good one.

The traditional mindset of many designers is that unique, appealing doors and attractive, hard-working hardware has to come at a hefty price. Well, I have some good news for you.  The door and lock industry has come a long way in the last decade, and you no longer have to sacrifice beauty for cost or functionality.

Let’s walk through some of the advancements in design elements for doors and locking hardware.

Advances in Design Elements

Finishes

The finish (or color) of your hardware is one of the more simple design elements you can use to enhance the look and feel of your door. There are all sorts of finishes available today, often at no (or minimal) additional cost. Why stick with the standard satin chromium plated finish that you see on most hardware? This slight change in hardware can go a long way toward upgrading the look and feel of your facility.

Hardware Design

This is commonly considered standard in hardware design elements for lever sets. While this lock doesn’t look bad and will function well, it certainly doesn’t bring any wow factor.

Now check out these lever set designs. All these locks, including the one shown above, are from Sargent’s 10 Line locks. They make a stronger impression, don’t they?

There are a ton of different lever designs available on today’s market, again at either minimal or no additional cost to you. For example, if you wanted to pay a bit more, you could go with Sargent’s Studio Collection for your mortise locks and get these designs. We have a lot of customers writing unique designs such as these into their specifications.

If you want a more ornate design, that can also be found, at a slightly higher cost, but worth the money for the visual interest it brings.

Custom Hardware

Custom hardware is another popular trend in design elements. This can range from branded pulls on your front door, to uniquely shaped hardware that matches your branding.  This is one area where you will end up paying more; however, for some customers, it’s an expense they’re willing to accept.

Door Material

One of the primary design elements to take into consideration is the material from which your door is made. We have a few customers that love (and I do mean love) the impression wood makes for their entrance doors. It certainly gives off a warm luxurious feel.

The beauty of wood is you can get a wide variety of wood species and colors; however, as we have discussed in the past, exterior wood doors are plagued by a host of issues such as warping and fading.

Don’t despair, wood lovers, there are now a few different materials available that look like wood doors but are better suited for harsh environments. Fiberglass doors and CurriStain hollow metal doors are great alternatives that won’t hurt your budget. Fiberglass doors in particular offer a wide range of color finishes.

Laminate doors have also come a long way, and provide a wide selection of colors and designs. Granted, you should only use laminate for interior applications; however, these doors can do wonders for upgrading the look and feel of your building at a lower cost than most wood doors.

If you are looking to upgrade the look and feel of your establishment, consider incorporating the design elements we’ve talked about today. You won’t break the bank or sacrifice the functionality of your facility, and your customers will thank you. If you have any questions or need help sourcing products, let us know.  We’re happy to help.