I like a single door with skylights…but unless you have another very easy entry into the house that accommodates moving furniture etc in and out I would do a wider than normal door. You have the space and it really makes a difference. I converted a double door to that configuration in past and loved it.

I like the single door with sidelights for your house,

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Would you want this much glass? It would bring in a lot of light, but you'd sacrifice privacy.

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The double doors above ^^ would be lovely if you don’t mind people seeing inside. How far from the street is the house?

Both are nice. I prefer a single door with sidelights.

I would paint your door white ....then do some major landscaping with beautiful flowering shrubs around your front yard ...it will make all the difference ....!

Oh boy anyone walking by would have at best a tiny view into the hall I like as much glass as possible in an entry door and I happen to like double doors but I do agree your house probably suits sideleights insted but the actual door iIMO should still have glass.

I fall into the single door with sidelights category mainly because I think that might fit the style of your home best. But, I do think having as much glass in your door would look good and would provide you with more natural light.

Scale wise, I think a single door and sidelites better suits the style of your house.

If you can do a custom door, then you could design/order sidelites that are wider than the normal one piece door+sidelites units. I would design a 42" wide door and then split the rest of the width for the sidelites.

Is there a landing outside the front door or do you step out right onto a step? Didn't catch that at first glance! Would seem a bit dangerous if you are walking out onto steps.

I'm a fan of single doors with side lights, especially on a home such as yours. You've already stated that double doors haven't been useful, mainly because no one wants to open two doors when they can open one. And for the one door to be wide enough, you need a very large area, like 6' across. A single door with side lights would take up about 4-5'.

I had just that situation when building a vacation home, and when we renovated it we installed a single door with side lights.

Thanks for all the input. I am officially on team single door + side lites. Now I have decide on a style. I made a few mock ups from door styles I found here on Houzz or on the Therma Tru website. Which option might look good with the traditional porch style and coordinate with the windows?

Don't pay attention to the colors on the mock ups but keep in mind that we will be painting the house (colors TBD) and planning on a darker body, light trim, brightly colored door.

I think the fourth one is best, or perhaps the first. I love Craftsman but your house is not that, so I would avoid that style. Simple seems to work best and I like the full side lights.

I like the first one--the style shown with the yellow door. I prefer the door without a window because that works best considering the other windows on the house. When you add windows to the door, it adds a third style of window--the house windows, the side lights + the door glazing. Which is too much, IMO.

My vote is for #1 with the yellow door.

Yellow door is my pick. Less panels work with your simple house. Full sidelights of windows give you more light inside the house. What colors are you thinking of for the exterior?

I like the idea of a single door with sidelights and find a way to introduce some glass in the single door. However, I think you should be certain about the color you are going to paint the house before you decide on the color for the door.

Make sure the sidelite glass is safety glass….hard to shatter. I would not put sidelites next to the handle side of the front door, only on the hinge side. And I would have a tightly-shirred semi-sheer panel inside the sidelite for some security.

Most break-ins are done through less prominent doors/windows, so I wouldn't worry about 2 sidelites on a front door. In my old town, they either broke in through the sliders or french doors on the back patio or through a master balcony door ... the second one because they realized that most people don't do alarm sensors on their second story windows/doors. Get a good alarm with door/window sensors and motion sensors and for a real deterrent, get a couple of large dogs!

It seems to me the columns are a little formal for this home… square posts seem more appropriate…for the same reason the peak over the door should match the house color….in your woodsy setting ….wood posts and door would work …lastly i would try and find a solution for the lack of a landing at the door…it is not only odd but could be unsafe and inconvenient…if you are painting the house i would do white …and add color to trims and door….or a whitewash exterior with solid white trim…in conclusion …right now your house has a sort of…identity crisis🤷🏼‍♀️

I think I would go with a door with more glass in it

My gut reaction was to choose a solid door with sidelights and I'm glad so many of you had the same reaction. We do plan to change the style of the columns at some point in the future but contractors here are booking out 12 months at this time so it won't be soon. Color wise, we are still picking colors but we definitely won't go white. We live in red clay dirt country (hence the existing red clay stains on the house) and it is too much maintenance and work to maintain a light colored house.

A curious challenge …in the pic the color across the bottom looks like the brick color…also with all the grass it is hard to imagine how the dirt stained it?…it is seems like the landscaping should be done before painting….( to avoid staining the new paint)…even choosing a design that lessens the possibility for the staining to happen again …. installing pea gravel beds around the base of your home,perhaps..

Yes, the red see all across the bottom is not the brick, it is red clay stain. The only way to get it off is to acid wash repeatedly. We live on a creek and are unwilling to do that. As you can see from my previous messages, part of the plan is to totally redo the landscaping and mulch appropriately which would minimize future staining but we still have to cover the existing stains.

Good landscaping will cover the potential stains that might still happen after you paint. Choose bushes the grow wide and huddle next to each other well. I doubt the clay problem will completely go away, so pick whatever color you like for your house- either dark or light.
FYI - my dwarf arbor vitae covers the bottom portion of my house under my porch. I’m sure others can recommend species of bushes that will do the same.