Choosing wooden front doors with side panels: options and configurations

If you’re looking to invest in a new wooden front door, researching the options available to you is the best way to ensure you find the perfect external door for your home. Whether you’d like glazing on your entrance door to allow extra light in or you have a larger opening to fit more than just a standard door, there are plenty of options available.

If the idea of a front door with side panels appeals to you, then a door with a sidelight might be the ideal choice. Read on to find out more about why this particular style of door might be the perfect fit for your home.

WHY CHOOSE A WOODEN FRONT DOOR WITH SIDE PANELS?

If you have a large entrance space or want to make a statement with your exterior door, side panels are the perfect way to add something extra to the front of your home and create a more contemporary door and look. While a single door may get swallowed up by a large entranceway or porch space, a wooden door with sidelights is the best of both worlds.

A glazed sidelight provides the ideal way to create dimension or let in light, if you want to make a statement with your front door. Whether you’re looking to install a whole new entryway or you’re making use of an existing space where you had a large front door before, introducing side panels can provide the balance needed to enhance your home.

Find out more about the benefits of wooden bifold doors here.

THE BENEFITS OF A WOODEN FRONT DOOR WITH SIDE PANELS

When looking to buy a door with side panels, it’s important to consider the benefits they can provide alongside your new front door. Glass side panels, otherwise known as sidelights, are a popular choice for many homes. The benefits include:

• Make space feel bigger – with plenty of additional light in your entranceway, you can make the space feel bigger and wider while providing an aesthetically pleasing look both inside and outside your home
• Thermal efficiency – high quality sidelights have excellent thermal efficiency to help keep your home warm.
• Safe and secure – while glazing may not seem to be the best choice in terms of security, the quality and sturdy nature of the glazing within sidelights make them incredibly safe for use on the exterior of your home, especially if you opt for an option including toughened safety glass which is included with Vufold’s full range of wooden front doors.

Learn more about the benefits and factors to consider when choosing a wooden front door in our guide.

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FACTORS TO CONSIDER WHEN CHOOSING A WOODEN FRONT DOOR WITH SIDE PANELS

When it comes to making your final choice on the style of a wooden front door with sidelights for your home, there are many different factors to consider.

STYLE OF YOUR HOME

Firstly, considering the style and aesthetics of your home will help you to pick a door that blends in perfectly with the style of your home, as well as your other doors and windows. Choosing a wooden front door helps to create a traditional and timeless look but added sidelights help to brighten the look up and introduce more light into your home.

Are you unsure which front door material to choose? Read our guide to front door materials here.

GLAZING

Secondly, the type of glazing you want is an important consideration. Do you want something frosted, patterned, or plain? With so many options available, choosing the perfect entrance door for your home should be an easy task. Find out more about choosing the best glazing for front doors here.

SIZE OR DESIGN

Finally, the size and design of your new entrance door are important considerations. For example, you may want a door that fits into your specific doorway or opening, and want to choose the correct number of sidelights to fit into the existing space. Or, if you want to make the space larger to fit additional sidelights in, you might want to consider extending the opening to fit it in. Similarly, you could reduce your entranceway opening to suit a smaller door and glass sidelight combination.

Find out more about choosing wooden front doors here.

WHAT IS THE STANDARD SIZE FOR A FRONT DOOR?

There are several standard door sizes in the UK but, the most common standard door size for exterior doors is usually 762 mm (30 inches) and 838mm (33 inches in width). These are designed to fit inside the average size of a structural opening, leaving a few extra inches for the door frame. Front doors are available in a number of different sizes to suit a range of openings.

However, if you measure the opening in your home and find that the standard sizes do not fit your home, ask your supplier whether they provide a bespoke service to make sure you get the right fit for your home.

Read our guide to find out more about standard front door sizes.

VUFOLD WOODEN FRONT DOORS WITH SIDE PANELS

If you’re looking for a new wooden front door with sidelights, we’ve got a range of options available at Vufold. In addition to our range of standard sizes, we’re also able to provide bespoke sizes too if you find that your opening is not quite right.

OSLO External Grey Door and Sidelight

OSLO External Grey Door and Sidelight

Stockholm External Grey Door and Sidelight

Stockholm External Grey Door and Sidelight

Malmo External Grey Door and Sidelight

Malmo External Grey Door and Sidelight

Bergen External Grey Door and Sidelight

Bergen External Grey Door and Sidelight

Browse our full range of wooden front doors, with and without sidelights, online today – or get in touch with our team for further advice on our range of front doors.

How do wooden front doors compare to composite front doors?

Composite front doors offer a combination of modern and traditional aesthetics, and are a strong and durable option for front doors. Wooden front doors, on the other hand, provide a classic, traditional aesthetic, however are not as strong as composite front doors.

Below, we provide a guide to the key differences between each option:

	Wooden door	Composite door
Life expectancy	30 years (with maintenance)	>35 years
Security	Highly strong and stable	Extremely robust
Maintenance	Requires periodic maintenance including repainting and polishing (engineers wooden doors require less maintenance)	Extremely low maintenance with little to no work required at all
Thermal efficiency and sound insulation	Very good thermal efficiency and sound insulation	Excellent thermal efficiency and sound insulation
Style options	Traditional or modern natural wood aesthetic	Huge range of colour and style options. Can also replicate an authentic woodgrain effect
Cost	Less expensive than composite doors	Most expensive door material

Read our full guide to composite front doors vs wooden front doors here.

COMPOSITE FRONT DOOR SIDE PANELS AND CONFIGURATIONS

Wooden front doors are another great option to consider when choosing a new front door and, like wooden front doors, are also available with the option of glazed side panels.

When choosing side panels for a composite front door, you should also consider how they will match the design and colour of your door, the glazing you will choose, the size of the opening you have available and the thermal efficiency of both the door and the side panels.

The cost of the door and side panels you choose will all depend on the size you choose and the number of side panels you wish to install. Don’t forget the cost of installation by a professional too!

A composite front door with side panels provides the perfect way to update the look of your home as well as improve the security, amount of natural light in your home and thermal efficiency.

For more information on composite front doors and side panels, read our guide:

Composite front door side panel options and configurations.

RELATED CONTENT

• A guide to front door glazing options

• Choosing the best type of front door for your home

• External wooden front doors: Benefits and factors to consider

• Wooden front doors vs composite front doors

• A guide to front door materials