Try to be accurate with regard to period when selecting a door and avoid errors of proportion such as setting the fanlight into the door rather than above it.

Late-Georgian (1770 to 1800) front doors were in solid timber, normally painted black or very dark green, and often divided into six panels. Victorian front doors were frequently green, often with grained paint effects. Other colours appropriate to the Victorian age (which spanned 1837 to 1901, so plenty of time for changing fashions) were dark blue, brown, dark red and an olive-yellow green. Also popular were stained- or etched-glass panels.

Edwardian (1901-10) front doors were often painted in two colours, with a lighter shade used for outlining the panels. Porches and joinery would also be painted in the same combination – although if you were to do this kind of thing today, it might be considered garish.

Art Deco (1910-1939) doors often had two or three vertical panels in the lower two-thirds of the door, with a single panel across the top featuring oval stained glass. Motifs of galleons are still seen today, but not as often as leaves or flowers.

Modern designs play up horizontal lines and often have glazed lights on either side of a doorway to make it seem wider. Another trend is to replace decorative glass in a Victorian door with sandblasted glass. Painted in a contemporary colour and combined with sleek door furniture, this ensures the right look for the door but in a modern context.

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