Say Goodbye To Traditional Front Doors: Dave & Jenny Marrs Have A Modern, Gorgeous Alternative

Renovating a home doesn't need to happen all at once. Smaller swaps can have huge impacts, and an easy home upgrade to instantly impress guests and passersby is the front door. Traditional designs are great for classic aesthetics, but if you want a front door style that boosts curb appeal, look to the pros for inspiration. In Season 5, Episode 14, of the hit HGTV television show "Fixer to Fabulous," hosts Dave and Jenny Marrs wanted to fully revamp a mid-century home fixed with vintage stone. Among the many updates, Dave and Jenny swapped the traditional front door with a dark, modern alternative that looks luxurious against a new exterior. 

"The house got a new metal roof and a dark coat of paint all over to update its look," Jenny wrote on the Dave & Jenny Marrs blog. "The dark window frames with the stone look much cleaner and much more modern." Playing off of this stylish upgrade, Dave and Jenny chose a matte black front door with rectangular glass panels to bring everything together with contemporary flourish. During the final reveal in the episode, the client adored the update, stating, "Look at the door — it's my favorite."

Against the old white exterior, the house's vintage masonry looked dated, so Dave and Jenny Marrs referred to their trick of choosing dark colors and modern fixtures to achieve a more sophisticated look, an effective choice they replicated in a similar remodel in Episode 12 of Season 6. For the Season 5 transformation, they selected Sherwin Williams Peppercorn for the siding. Since they needed to coordinate a cohesive color palette, the next step was to make the door matte black to complement the charcoal exterior while also creating subtle definition. In this upgrade, the Marrses coordinated the window frames and new light fixtures to complement the moody aesthetic.

A complete front door replacement can run upwards of $6,000, so if you already have a modern-style entry, you could save money by using paint or stain to update the look. Should you have the budget, a flush steel or metal door in a dark finish achieves that sophisticated effect. Since they wanted to maintain the original entrance's charm, the Marrses prioritized clean architecture and contoured silhouettes synonymous with modern design styles. They added frosted glass panels to the door to complement the dark metal, balance privacy with natural light, and maintain minimalism. You could also consider the effect of the scale between the panes and the surrounding material. For instance, in another modern update in Season 6, Episode 3, the duo used narrower panes that helped showcase the new door's natural wood texture, a stylish direction you can pull off just as well with the timeless versatility of a sleek front door color like black.