The front of the house, especially the space between the gates and the front door, is a calling card of the house. Aesthetic attraction of this part of the house encourages people to look inside. Functionality and elegancy — these two features must be combined with a well-designed entrance to the house. How to equip the entrance to the house?
The entrance should be in harmony with the whole house. At the same time, people who visit you for the first time should be able to find it easily, which is not easy when (for example) the house owner decides to build the front door in the side wall.
Shape of the staircase
Today, most of the houses are single-storey, where the sunny area is usually equipped with large glazing and a terrace matching the garden. In such projects, the steps running along the front wall and the entrance to the terrace look very attractive, which allows you to overcome the small distance between the gate and the house entrance easily and quickly. You can choose the steps of the most popular rectangular form, which will correspond to the shape of the house and merge with it, or opt for a bit more avant-garde shape by using semi-circular staircases. Roundness gives a feeling of tenderness and warmth to everything. Semicircular steps create a spectacular entrance, at the same time adding elegancy and style to the house.
Safe steps
When designing a protruding space in front of the house, we need to make sure that it won’t scare our guests. It should be as comfortable and safe as possible. The first will be provided by the proper size of the steps, and the second- by the presence of the handrails.
Optimally, the steps of the staircase leading to a single-family house should be about 18 cm high and 27 cm wide. If it’s impossible, you need to follow the rule – the higher the steps, the narrower they should be. And vice versa — the lower the steps, the wider they should be. We also recommend you to consider the non-slip surfaces, especially if you want to coat the steps with a non-adhesive material. On winter and rainy days, this procedure will pay off very well. You should also pay attention to the abrasion resistance — the higher it is, the more durable your staircase.
Distance from the building to fence
The general rule is that a house looks most impressive when it is located not too close to the fence. Otherwise (especially if you’re going to build a multi-step staircase going through the entrance gate) the house in front of you will look like a giant. If it is impossible to move the house to the plot, choose a project with a low-level entrance or, if necessary, try to reduce the negative impression. This can be done in two ways – either choose flat and smooth steps with cascading handrails or move them to the side towards the porch and create the so-called “landing areas”, i.e. the flat platforms between the steps. This way, stairs will seem smaller and easier to overcome.
Porch arrangement
Of course, a porch is a good idea of entrance to the house. It can take the form of a small covered platform. The most important thing is that it is protected from the bad weather and able to accommodate two or three people without risking falling down the stairs when welcoming you on the doorstep. However, if you have a very large entrance porch with side walls, you can use it in another practical way — for example, by building a shoe cabinet for family members or a cabinet for different household items, such as snow shovel, buckles or garden tools. This way, the hallway will be always clean. This offer is especially worth consideration if the house doesn’t have a lobby. Another good solution is to find a place for a chair or an armchair.
A path to the door
To make the entrance to your house pleasant to use, don’t forget to clearly mark the path leading to the front door. In this simple way, you will take care of your front lawn and facilitate the access to your house in rainy or snowy weather. You should also provide the inconspicuous placement of the garbage cans and the covering of this unattractive but inevitable part of the house.
Entrance lighting
And finally, the last advice. Don’t underestimate the role of lighting (especially around the stairs and front door, as this is essential for our safety). Along the way, we can choose even the simplest option in the form of small sun lamps, driven into the ground. It is important that you can easily complete the route from the gate to the entrance to your house at any time of the day.
