If you don't like your home's solid front door and find that it makes your home look unfriendly, then consider replacing it with a new entry door with a decorative window. Unless you live in a high-crime neighborhood, you don't need a solid oak door. You can get away with a nice section of decorative glass. Of course, even if you are concerned about intruders, there are a couple of ways to be handle that, which will be discussed at the end of the article. First, though, let's look at your decorative glass options for your new entry door.

Frosted Glass

The number-one advantage to frosted glass is that you get maximum privacy. When people come to the front door, they won't be able to see into your home. Because of this, you can have very large sections of your entry door made of frosted glass. This style also lets in light, so if you have a narrow hallway in your entryway and want to have more natural light, then a big, frosted-glass front door would be excellent.

Stained Glass

If you want to add some color to your door, or an artistic image, then consider a stained-glass window for your entryway door. You could choose any image design you like, from birds or flowers, to ornamental figures such as a fleur-de-lis or even a religious set of symbols. And remember, you don't have to go with a huge stained-glass section. You could use a small stained-glass segment in the center of the door and surround it with regular window glass, or perhaps Flemish glass (discussed below).

Flemish Glass

If you think that frosted glass is a bit too business-like, and you don't want your front door looking like an office, then you will love Flemish glass. It's very popular with front doors because it has visually unique waves and beautiful texture. It's more subdued than something like bubble glass, so it won't look comical on your door.  It's another great choice for letting in lots of natural light.

Safety Concerns

If you don't feel comfortable with a large section of your exposed entry door being made of glass, then you should speak with the company about installing decorative bars over the section of glass. You can get cast-iron bars installed to protect the glass. An alternative to straight metal bars is a decorative design using metal that is spread out over the glass and attached to the wooden jambs. This would appear to be a visual design to strangers, but would function to protect the glass. The metal bars can mimic vines with leaves, or just an intricate, lattice-like pattern.

For more information on your options for entry doors, contact a company like Gilkey Windows.