When searching for the best front doors for their home, homeowners can choose between wood, fiberglass, and steel. To withstand the extreme weather of the Midwest's climate, however, the best front doors must be built with a combination of high-class components. To learn more about the best front doors for Midwest living, check out our convenient guide below.
Popular Midwestern Styles
Often associated with the architect Frank Lloyd Wright who first introduced this new type of architecture, the prairie style home was first designed to blend in with the landscape of the prairie. Prairie style homes are built around the idea that the best front doors and homes are simple, practical, and comfortable. Prairie style features concepts like simple entryways, materials, and open floor plans.
The English Tudor style is another of the most popular home styles throughout the Midwest. Best known for tall, multi-gabled roofs, Tudor's steeply-pitched rooftops are perfect for rainy and snowy climates, making them ideal for homes throughout the Midwestern region.
The Dutch Colonial style of the “barn" house, also popular throughout the Midwest, originates back to the early 1600s. With a broad, barn-like roof, the style features dormers, flared eaves extending over the porch, and occasionally a decorative hood to cover the front entryway. It may also feature a set of Dutch double doors, or a single Dutch door, which was originally designed to allow to breeze in while keeping farm animals out.
The William Gray Purcell House is a classic example of a prairie style home. | © CC BY-SA 2.0 flickr.com / Teemu008
The Best Materials for the Best Front Doors
The American Midwest's wide range of weather requires that entryways be both durable and secure to combat the region's range of climates and temperatures. The best front doors for the Midwest—whether wood, fiberglass, or steel—should be treated with high-performance window trims or durable finishes that will not warp or crack in high temperatures. Additionally, adding a polyurethane core or a water and rot-resistant doorframe to a front door will help to cut energy loss.
The best front doors for the Midwest may also feature an exterior storm door. This added protection will keep your home snug during the sleet and snow of those long Midwestern winters.
Energy Efficiency for the Best Front Doors
Because of the Midwest's often intense weather, the best front doors should be able to help keep you warm in the bitter winter and cool in the hot summer. The energy efficient steel or fiberglass doors are often an excellent choice. For example, ProVia steel and fiberglass doors, recognized by Energy Star, are designed to be foam-filled with thermally efficient material and are treated with the best weather seals available today.
Best Front Doors for the Midwest: Trying to Find a Balance
When shopping for the best front doors for midwestern living, it's important to find a careful balance between the material's performance and the beauty of the door's design. With so many styles and materials available, there is an energy efficient and enduring design for any Midwestern home.
