Feng Shui For Your Front Door

Feng Shui, (pronounced fung shway) is the art of mindful design of our environment to enhance life giving chi. Feng Shui may be Asian in origin, but its appeal is universal. The spaces where we live not only reflect us but they nourish or deplete us because of the way they make us feel. View your home as a metaphor for your relation to life. Where there is darkness, bring light, where there is stagnation, create movement, where there is confusion, bring clarity. As you improve these aspects of your home, you are actually taking direct action to change your life for the better. Nowhere is this more important than at the front door of the house.

The front door may be considered the most important element for bringing life, energy and opportunity into your life. Your front door is likened to the mouth of the body – all nourishment comes through the front door. If your front door is so situated that you cannot easily find it, this can mean that good luck will not find you. Some houses are designed so that one drives into a garage and enters the house from there. In Feng Shui, a garage is likened to the lower bowel where things are stored, waiting to be eliminated. It is considered dangerous to the health to enter a home in this backwards manner. Your front door should be directly accessible and attractive so that beneficial guests can easily find it.

Elements that Feng Shui uses to increase the vitality of a home include adding light, water features or plants whenever possible. To attract beneficial guests to your home, an entryway should be large, beautiful and have windows that let in light and allow you to see nature. The benefits of a wrought iron door here is that you can open the windows in your door so that fresh air can come in, while the scrollwork prevents unwanted guests from entering. A wrought iron door with sidelights or a transom can greatly increase light in the entrance hall. Wrought iron also conveys a sense of permanence and strength which is important in a home. A wrought iron door is preferable to a composite or man made door. The first experience of seeing the home and then standing inside the home should be pleasant. A person should be welcomed into one room, rather than be confronted with multiple doors where a choice is required. This way, the good luck that comes in, is inclined to stay.

WROUGHT IRON DOUBLE DOORS WITH THERMAL BREAK

Polar Shield™ is a patent-pending thermal break technology from Donatello Doors that allows homeowners in the cold regions of the U.S. and Canada to enjoy the aesthetic and security advantages of wrought iron doors. Typically, these doors have been restricted to the South, Southwest and Coastal regions of the country. Now our clients can safely install these wrought iron double doors with a patented thermal break and not have problems in the winter," says Donatello Doors CEO Robin Haynes.

Both single wrought iron doors and double wrought iron doors are constructed using steel tubing, which is normally filled with polyurethane foam for insulation. But, that insulation doesn't offer an adequate thermal break because the steel itself conducts heat right around the insulation and out into the atmosphere. In freezing weather these doors can suffer from condensation and even frost on the inside of the door. This has prevented the vast majority of homeowners from seriously considering wrought iron doors as a possibility for their homes.

Donatello Polar Shield™ doors incorporate a thermal break that extends through the whole door, shielding the inside of the single or double wrought iron door from the colder temperatures outside. "We basically slice the whole door in half, and then sandwich a highly insulating thermal barrier between the two halves," Haynes says. "This breaks the flow of heat from one side to the other and changes the U factor from 4.3 - 0.41." Building a Polar Shield™ thermal break door is much more labor intensive and requires specialty materials - but it’s an incomparable value. Other companies have tried to offer partial thermal break protection, but only Donatello guarantees it’s thermal break for all areas of the US and Canada.

With the advantages of Polar Shield, thermal break technology, homeowners in colder climates now have the opportunity to make the strong aesthetic statement of a distinctive wrought iron entryway that secures as well as beautifies their home.

Customers also can get an idea of how their double wrought iron door will look by using the Design Studio application on the company’s website. "It allows the customer to design a complete entryway unit, get a preview of what it will look like in detail and also get a detailed quote right on the site - instantly," Haynes says.  Even if you have a more modest home, you can have a single wrought iron door with transom or sidelights to make an extremely impressive entrance. "Contractors love our design studio because they can take their customer to the app and let them choose exactly what they want and know how it will fit into their overall budget. It's another unique advantage to working with our company."

For more information, visit Donatello Doors online. www.donatellodoors.com

Custom Home with Wrought Iron

The experience of a custom home begins before you even enter; with the landscaping and front entrance. Imagine driving up to gorgeous wrought iron gates that open seamlessly. Then view a pair of towering, impressive wrought iron doors. Custom homeowners have discovered the stunning beauty and unmatched safety provided by wrought iron. Wrought iron gates, doors, staircases, garage doors and even mailboxes, boldly proclaim both security and style. In addition to being virtually unbreakable, wrought iron is fire proof, structurally enduring and will express your creative flair better than any other material. Only one company, Donatello Doors, has patent pending thermal break technology, which has made wrought iron doors suitable for every climate. This new internal design, keeps the cold out and makes wrought iron doors a highly energy efficient choice. With an added transom or sidelights, an entranceway truly embodies the grandeur and grace of the modern custom home. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n50lLuPPfhE The interior of a custom home has evolved in the last decade from showy formality to a sophisticated but simplified living style. Nothing accentuates grandeur with simple elegance better than wrought iron. Rather than an emphasis on defined rooms for dining, living and recreation; spaces may be merged to promote easy movement from one activity to another, from inside to outside, promoting flexible use and sumptuous comfort. People want a more personal and relaxing space that reflects their tastes and puts their guests and family at ease. This new approach is carried through with a beautiful, harmonious color palette, more natural light and elegant fixtures. Naturally hard materials range from steel, wrought iron, stone and granite to warmer materials such as wood, hand woven wool carpets and new fabric coverings for windows. The emphasis on natural materials helps to create an environment that breathes.  Light is a primary feature in today’s custom home and energy efficient windows, doors and solar tubes are de rigueur.  Technologically smart homes with integrated security systems and convenience are also more in demand. For a generation accustomed to having everything at the touch of their phone, it’s natural to want up to the minute reports on your home’s security, to open and close your garage door or front door remotely, to open and close window coverings at the touch of a button and even have your coffee brewing before you wake. The modern custom home is a wonder of technology, a safe and sensual retreat where every detail is a work of art. For more info, please visit us at http://www.donatellodoors.com