Inspiration

3 Impact Door Design Trends

Explore the latest design trends for impact doors, from one-of-a-kind door styles to interesting placements in coastal homes.

October 3, 2022

In many coastal regions, local hurricane-related building codes require homes and businesses to be built with impact doors. But these code restrictions do not mean you have to sacrifice large sizes or custom design opportunities. With the right product, it’s possible to meet the stringent impact code requirements and have a door that reflects your unique design preferences. In this article, we explore three trends in impact door design. But first:

What is an Impact Door?

The main difference between a standard door and an impact door is that impact doors are built with strong, durable frames made from a highly resilient material like extruded aluminum and feature panes of glass that are both tempered and laminated. Other names for impact doors include high-impact, impact-resistant, hurricane-rated, and hurricane-resistant doors. While the names may differ, these doors share the common goal of protecting homes, businesses, and people from the devastating effects of high winds and airborne debris generated by tropical storms and hurricanes.

A coastal home in Florida featuring Marvin Coastline windows and doors.

Photo courtesy of Ron Rosenzweig and Cornerstone Companies

Marvin Coastline Multi-Slide doors beside an outdoor pool and patio.

Design Trend: Multiplying Large-Scale Impact Doors

The concept of creating expansive walls of glass that transform an indoor space into an outdoor oasis is nothing new, but often, no matter how impressive the scale, there will be just one door that connects the two spaces. When creating homes with extensive outdoor living spaces, more homeowners are maximizing the flow between indoors and out. They are still choosing large scenic bi-fold or sliding doors that leverage the benefits of fresh air, natural light, and the calming experience of stunning views—they are simply adding more of them. By adding two sets of multi-slide doors, for example, you amplify the effect and create a more generous space that sidesteps tradition in favor of contemporary design.

Marvin Coastline Outswing French Door Entrance System on a home in Florida.

Ron Rosenzweig and Cornerstone Companies

Marvin Coastline Entry door with ornate design.

Design Trend: Entry Doors with Maximum Design Flexibility

Your entry door is an important part of the first impression your home makes. It sets the tone for the aesthetic of the interior. And since homes come in a variety of architectural styles—from mid-century modern with sleek geometric shapes to renaissance revival with carved stone and intricate trim—finding the perfect entry door that offers enough design flexibility to enable a thoughtful, cohesive look is key.

You wouldn’t know from looking at them, but from a structural and performance perspective, the two Marvin Coastline Entry doors shown above are nearly the same door. This is possible because of the level of design customization that Coastline Entry doors allow. While all doors are made of strong extruded aluminum, the design options are vast. A few of the design options include lead glass, wood grain finish, custom colors, or one-of-a-kind ornamental wrought iron grille patterns. Explore some of the different doors by taking a virtual tour of the Coastline Showroom.

Choosing the entry door design that’s right for you is the fun part. If you live in a hurricane-prone region, it’s also crucial to ensure your entry door is engineered to withstand tropical storms. Impact-rated doors need to be tested and certified before being approved in areas with strict hurricane-related code restrictions. A great place to start is with a door that is certified in the size and configuration you desire. This will give you peace of mind knowing your door has been proven to resist the worst that Mother Nature can throw at it. Adding your own stylistic details and personal touch make it truly one of a kind.

Marvin Coastline Pivot door as an entry door.

Design Trend: Versatile Use of Pivot Doors

A traditional door panel is hung on hinges installed on the side of the door frame, while a pivot door panel is attached to the top of the frame and the door sill with pivot pins. This pivoting action results in near-effortless operation even for the most massive pivot door. The placement of the pins provides additional flexibility in how the door swings. For smaller openings, the pins could be placed almost all the way to the edge in which case the door would operate similarly to a hinged door. For large openings, the pins could be placed near the middle in which case the door panel would pivot in such a way as to divide the space in half when opened.

A Coastline Pivot door connects a contemporary dining room and an outdoor patio.

A covered porch featuring a Marvin Coastline Outswing Pivot door.

While having been around for thousands of years, the use of pivot doors in non-commercial settings has been a relative rarity, which is part of the appeal. When we pull a standard door open, the door panel moves toward us, and when we shut a door, the panel moves away. It’s such a commonplace occurrence that we don’t consciously think about it. However, when we open a pivot door and see half of the door panel moving away and half moving toward us at the same time, it’s a surprise that creates a fun challenge for our senses. This unexpected experience can lead to a heightened sense of awareness and result in sensory-rich first impression of the space we enter.

Integrating this unique door in different spaces throughout the home is a growing trend. Pivot doors are starting to show up as statement-piece entry doors. They also appear as interesting passages on the interior of a home, as a grand gesture. Finally, some homeowners are integrating pivot doors in patio design on the back of a home. Because pivot doors lend themselves to a variety of applications, they are receiving increased attention as a versatile element in residential design.

Why Marvin Coastline

Over its more than 100 years in the industry, Marvin has built a reputation as an industry leader that crafts products of the highest quality. Marvin is a family-owned company that manufactures many of its windows and doors at its headquarters located in Warroad, Minnesota, six miles from the Canadian border. Marvin Coastline windows and doors are designed and manufactured in West Palm Beach. This keeps us close to the realities and unique performance requirements of high-performing impact products.

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