If you live in a flat - what is your front door like?

[MyNameIsCleo]

I'm looking to replace my front door, the inside one in the hall into my flat. It's currently very plain and a bit dull, but I'm worried that putting a normal front door like the one onto the street might look strange?

Any advice? What is yours like?

Imo it would look strange - we had a conversion flat where the door into our flat was a fire-proofed Victorian door (the building was Victorian) so sat well. However, before you do anything, unless you own all or part of the freehold, you may not be able to change the door at all.

Thank you for the reply, I'm the freeholder so no worries on that score.

Mine is also a conversion, you say a Victorian fire door, was it like a usual Victorian style front door like you would see onto the street? But in the hall?

Thanks again.

No, it was like a Victorian panelled internal door (but not a crappy one that you buy at Wickes). So, apart from the fact that it had locks on it, it looked like a normal door into a room within a Victorian house.

Ah I see! I think you are right about an outside one inside IYSWIM. Thank you - v helpful.

it will need to be a fire-resistant door. They are available in flat and various panelled designs

Ah didn't realise about it needed to be fire resistant, will factor that in. Is a that a building regs thing or a common sense thing?

BRs

It will also be thicker and heavier than an ordinary door, so will muffle sound better, and I would have thought resist burglary, though I don't know how the strength compares.

I'm in Glasgow and I have two doors to my flat - one of which is a really classy cool stain-glassed heavy front door. It makes me feel fancy and makes my flat feel more like a "home".

I say go for it!!

Thank Piglet, useful.

Sounds awesome schrute!

I've known people in flats have two doors, with a small lobby between them. It cuts down noise even more.

We put an external door on out flat. 4 panels. It looks great and makes the scruffy communal hall look better. We live in a grand Victorian building that deserves to look grand!

I think that's the sort of thing I should go for kirin.

Here's ours - before and after

I have my flat entrance door on the first floor of a house, which is just a standard fire door with a lock, and then there is a flight of stairs, and then a door into the hallway of my living space on the second floor. It's a great layout and I feel at home when I go through the first door and hang my coat on the banister etc. I'm putting a Christmas wreath on the flat entrance door this year - I think it's good to make it seem like a proper front door.

Thanks kirinm, exactly the swap we would be doing, it looks great!

Venus that sounds lovely, know what you mean about the at home feeling.

This thread has really helped

We got it from a website called 'distinctive doors'.

Ours is the same as kirinm's door. I think it looks good. The last block of flats that we lived in had "external type" doors too.

To me, kirinm's door looks like an internal Victorian door albeit one painted black . It's very nice though.

you can get fire doors made to that style, I have them. 4 or 6 panels, and others. The paint grade doors cost less than the veneered ones for varnishing.

My front flat door looks like Kirinm's before pic. Really nothing to write home about. I will put 'new inside front door' on the very long to do list.

Lala - it's an external fire resistant front door painted grey (by us). It weighs about 45kg.

I should say that we were pretty worried about security so we wanted something heavy.