Some describe the entry door as the home’s handshake. It’s a fitting metaphor. Get the details right and you’ve delivered a wow moment that dazzles prospective home buyers.
One of the biggest entry door details to consider is one that’s seldom discussed, the sidelight window.
The sidelight window is a narrow vertical window that typically flanks both sides of the single-family home entry door. What makes the sidelight (also known as sidelite) window remarkable is all the ways it helps support the project. Leading that list is curb appeal.
Curb Appeal Star
A home with a broad façade, wide pillars and/or large windows runs the risk of dwarfing a standard entry door. That makes the entryway seem proportionally undersized, disrupting exterior scale and balance. Sidelight windows bolster lateral proportions in a harmonizing, attractive manner, helping supercharge curb appeal.
Not only that, sidelight windows add extra drama to the entry door presentation. For example, if the entry door includes a decorative glass insert, the sidelight window can help amplify the decorative theme, adding even more curbside pop and sizzle.
Curb appeal is just one benefit. There are others, including:
- More Natural Light. Natural light can help transform any room. When that room is the foyer, all the better, especially for a prospective home buyer. Sidelights can be scaled to half, three-quarters and full-length, making it easy to modulate light intensity especially for westward-facing home fronts. More natural light means less reliance on artificial light and electricity.
- Easy Outside Viewing. What’s the weather doing? Did our guests arrive? Is the package out front? There are so many reasons why the view from the entry door helps simplify daily life.
- Abundant Fresh Air. Screen doors used to be a common home feature. But why mask a stately entry door with a screen? Screened sidelights with operative glass offers homeowners fresh air without the aesthetic downside and the peace of mind of a window too narrow for a would-be intruder.
- Privacy Control. Controlling what folks can see from the outside in is easily managed with frosted, stained or curtained sidelight windows. An opaque barrier still illuminates the interior with natural light but in a controlled manner that doesn’t compromise privacy.
Some entry door manufacturers offer a variety of glass options for door and sidelight glass. Plastpro, a leading manufacturer of quality fiberglass doors, offers over a dozen tinted and on-trend patterns that support a variable range of privacy levels. Plastpro also offers dozens of entry door design possibilities across 10 door series, including Modern, Craftsman, and Rustic.
Remember, there’s nothing like a strong, friendly handshake to create a lasting first impression. Give your homes the architectural equivalent of a winning handshake with a touch of sidelight window magic.
Learn more about how to enhance your projects with versatile sidelight windows for your entry door systems.
