Cottage style composite front doors
On a cottage or a period house the front door has to work with what is already there: an opening that is rarely standard, a front with its own proportions, colours that belong to the street. We make doors in uPVC and aluminium with a quartz composite panel by Dindecor, to the size of your opening. We don't make timber doors.
Traditional composite front doors: the opening first
Old openings are rarely square or standard. That is the strongest case for made to measure: the door follows the opening to the millimetre, instead of a stock size packed out with trims.
Composite Victorian front doors
Victorian terraces tend to have tall, narrow doors, often with a fanlight above. The leaf can be up to 2,500 mm tall; if you want a fanlight above it, put that in the notes with your quote request and we look at what fits.
Composite Edwardian front doors
Edwardian houses often pair the door with glass: a glazed upper part or side panels that light the hall. A side panel can be as narrow as 180 mm, so it fits beside the door without widening the opening much.
Cottage style: colour
A cottage door reads through its colour as much as its design: deep green, dark blue, red or cream. In uPVC that comes as a foil or a cream core colour, in aluminium as any RAL colour.
Traditional uPVC front doors or aluminium
uPVC is the cheaper frame and offers cream in the core, close to traditional paintwork, or a woodgrain foil with a grain you can feel, which never needs painting. Aluminium has the slimmer frame and every RAL colour. The quartz composite panel is the same on both. The configurator doesn't show one colour as dearer than another; what your colour costs is in your made-to-measure quote.
The eight classic door designs
The Klassiek line has eight panels, and the difference between them is how the glass is divided. Echten has a top window with a solid panel below. Zuidwolde, Coevorden and Emmen have two, four or six small panes at the top, as you know them from doors of the 1930s. Odoorn has one tall window above a solid lower panel, Borger two tall windows side by side.
Gasselte has three horizontal windows one above the other, and Gieten a wide window at the top with a small window below it. If you are looking for a door that resembles what is already in the street, put a photo of the neighbours' door next to these eight and choose the layout that comes closest.
Small panes and squares: the Ruit line
The Ruit line gives a different kind of traditional look: three, four or five square windows one above the other, four panes in a two-by-two block, or panes that alternate from side to side. Doors like these suit a farmhouse or a cottage, where small panes set the look of the front.
Square corners, as on timber
A standard uPVC frame has its corners welded at 45°, so you see a diagonal seam. With a square joint the corner is welded at 90°, as on a timber frame; in the Netherlands this is called HVL. On a traditional front, that is often the detail that makes a uPVC door look less like uPVC. Usually only the outside gets the square corner. It takes more work in the factory and so costs more.
Colours that suit an older front
With red brick and a tiled roof you often see dark green, wine red or cream. In the uPVC colour range these include fir green RAL 6009, leaf green RAL 6002, wine red RAL 3005 and cream, which comes both coloured through and as a foil with a grain. Wood tones such as Golden oak, Walnut and Mahogany come closest to an oiled or stained timber door.
A common combination is a dark green or red door in a cream or white frame. Because the door leaf can be a different colour from the frame, you can put that together yourself in the configurator.
Handle and threshold on a classic door
For a classic look you usually choose a short handle or a lever handle on a long backplate on the outside, rather than a long pull bar. Gold or black suits the traditional colours; silver looks more modern. Every lockable handle carries SKG 2 stars, a Dutch rating for the hardware.
Under the door you choose a threshold of 55 or 35 mm, in black or grey. On an old front with a step up to the door, it pays to measure beforehand how much room there is under the door.
Measuring an old door opening
In older houses a door opening is rarely exactly square, and its size often differs from what is usual today. That is why we make every door to measure. Measure the width at the top, in the middle and at the bottom, and the height on the left, in the middle and on the right. Go by the smallest figure: a frame that is too big won't fit, and a gap can always be filled.
A door section has to be at least 600 mm wide, and a door goes up to 2,500 mm high. If the opening is taller, a fanlight or another section is added. The configurator warns you if a size falls outside those limits.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need permission to change the front door of a period house?
In a conservation area or on a listed building you may need consent from your local planning authority before changing the door. Check with them before you order.
Do you make timber front doors?
No. Our doors are uPVC or aluminium, with a quartz composite panel.
Can I have glazing bars in the glass of a traditional door?
Then choose a panel with the division already in it, such as Coevorden or Emmen from the Klassiek line, or a design from the Ruit line. The panel decides where the glass sits.
Can I have a square corner joint (HVL) on the inside too?
Usually only the outside gets the square corner and the inside corner stays mitred. What is possible for your door is shown in the configurator and then in your quote.
Can I fit a uPVC front door in a conservation area?
Your local planning authority decides that. Sometimes uPVC is accepted if the colour and the layout are right, sometimes not. Check before you order; we supply what you order and can't judge that for you.
Which door design looks most like a 1930s door?
In the Klassiek line, look at Zuidwolde, Coevorden and Emmen, with two, four or six small panes at the top. Echten, with one top window above a solid panel, is a quieter version of the same look.
Can the frame be cream and the door dark green?
Yes. The door leaf can be a different colour from the frame. By default the leaf follows the frame; if you choose a different colour for the door, only the leaf gets that colour.
Know what you want? Put it together.
No form first: you watch your window take shape as you choose. The price follows in the quote, within three working days.
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Where we have a guide price, it is on the page, not behind a form — not a quote and not a final price; the amount for your sizes is in the made-to-measure quote.
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