Making an Entrance

Home builders have learned a trick or two from Hollywood: To steal the spotlight you need to make a show-stopping entrance.

Glamour queens do it with high-style gowns and dramatic backdrops such as a sweeping staircase or flattering lighting. Architects, contractors and landscapers have adopted the same strategy when devising ways to lure prospective buyers into model homes. Experts say your impression of a home is set within five seconds of laying eyes on it. With competition between Southwest Florida residential designers so high at every price point and consumers so market savvy, the construction industry has gone all-out in making an entrance.

Shaping an original entrance goes far beyond what homeowners and designers used to consider curb appeal. The "wow" factor has been ratcheted up way beyond a few nicely placed palm trees, flowerbeds and curving walkways. Today's buyers must be enticed by creativity and opulence. This involves a full-scale production number.

Experts recommend establishing a focal point that immediately draws the eye to the house and sets it apart from the homes around it. Often it's the front door. Betty Anne Peacock is co-owner of Peacock Construction, a company that specializes in entrance doors. She says she sees front door expenditures range from $2,000 for a plain painted or stained door up to $15,000 for Brazilian mahogany double doors with stained glass insets. "Homeowners today want beautiful doors and view them as pieces of artwork," she says. "The most popular are the exotic wood doors with glass insets, either stained, etched or with small panes to create a French door. Added to the escalating prices and elaborate features of the front door is hardware. Oil-rubbed bronze, brushed nickel and brass are popular, and people are willing to spend a fortune on the right hardware."

Glass insets must now be made of impact-resistant glass to comply with new hurricane building codes, and this adds to the final cost of a show-stopping entrance, says Peacock.

"Many homeowners are under the impression that the front door has to match or perfectly coordinate with the window trim or other colors or features of the home," she says. "But it doesn't. The front door is a statement in and of itself. You want it to get noticed."

Tom Kruempeistaedter, AIA, director of architecture for Arthur Rutenberg Homes/M. Pete McNabb, says the focal point can be something other than a door. "It can certainly be the style of the door that establishes a focal point, but it can also be the combination of door, transom or sidelight," he says. "A focal point can also be achieved with a tower, porch, loggia or archway. And landscaping can set a focal point with a fountain, pond or some other water feature. Night lighting is an overlooked element that I consider in every model home. Just remember that the focal point and the whole entrance should always complement the home rather than dominate it."

The style of the home's architecture is an important consideration, he adds: "Be sure your entrance treatment relates to the architecture and size of the house."

Interior designer Anne Folsom Smith, who often advises clients on how to achieve the maximum "wow" factor in an entrance, notes that orientation of the entry plays into some decisions. "In feng shui design, the entrance faces east so that the rising morning sun can enter the home, bringing light and happiness right through the front door," she notes. "It's a concept that appeals to many people. I also think water is very important. It's relaxing, calm and serene. I have clients whose homes are right on the Gulf or bay and yet they'll put a fountain, pond or waterfall at the front entrance. I always counsel clients to spend time making sure their entrance says exactly what they want it to say about who lives in the home."

Entry Points

• Establish a focal point. It pulls the eye to the property and makes you want to see more.

• Pay attention to materials. They should complement the style of the elevation.

• Night lighting is essential for trees, pathways and on either side of the front door. Don't choose fixtures that are too small.

• Choose imposing door couture. Hardware should reference the style of the home and function as jewelry for the door.

• Greenery is welcoming, especially when combined with a water element.

• Step up to glamour. If your entrance pavilion is higher than the entrance courtyard, you intensify a sense of arrival.

• Tour luxury neighborhoods and adapt ideas for the exterior of your own home. Be mindful of scale and proportion.