Holiday design ideas for every type of door.

Your front door makes a statement. Along with your front porch, it contributes to the overall curb appeal of your home and makes the ultimate first impression for visitors. Who better than Schlage, whose door hardware is trusted by more than 40 million homeowners, to provide you with holiday decorating tips for even the most unconventional doors? Indoors or out, Schlage has you covered for the holidays and all year round.

Front door

Whether you’re decorating with a traditional holiday wreath or making a holiday display of planters and wall hangings, there’s nothing like fresh, festive holiday greenery to add color, style and fragrance. There’s no end to what you can accessorize with. Garland and wreaths can be customized affordably with pine cones, berries and bows, then changed easily with the seasons. Combine that with the option of literally gift wrapping your entire front door and you’ll have a colorful entrance that comes alive this winter.

Just make sure that your door decorations don’t interfere with the operation of your door or the security of your door locks. Wreaths should be placed so that a peep hole still has a clear line of sight through the center or, if that’s not possible, hung below the peep hole or window. If you use an over-the-door hanger, make sure its thickness doesn’t prevent the door from latching.

The same goes for other décor that might hang down and obstruct the door. For example, how do you hang garland around the front door so that it looks good and still lets your door work right? If you don’t want to use nails or screws in your door frame, you can use adhesive hooks and floral wire to pin the foliage away from hinges. Some companies like Balsam Hill also make garland hangers, which work a bit like curtain tension rods. These help keep your garland overhead out of the way and can also be decorative on their own.

French doors

The idea here is to let your sense of holiday style out while you let the light shine in. Large wreaths can be cut down the middle and hung on both halves of the door to avoid interfering with its opening and closing and without covering the windows. Because French doors tend to be more traditional, this could be the perfect opportunity for you to showcase your favorite vintage décor. Whether passed down through the family, found at a flea market or merely aged artificially to look old, classic ornaments can round out the overall aesthetic of traditional curb appeal.

Sliding glass doors

Decorating sliding glass doors for the winter holidays takes a bit of extra creativity since you don’t want the décor to keep you from being able to open and close the door. The answer is to think in 2D. Use spray-on frost or liquid chalk to create the illusion of snow without taking up any space. Or try small, beaded garland. Think more along the lines of those strands of popcorn and cranberries than evergreen boughs for a low-profile festive touch. And if you want to hang something larger or a wreath, simply hang it on the side of the door – inside or out – where it’s least likely to get snagged.

All of these ideas, can be achieved on even the most modest budget. Find more ideas for turning your home into a haven at the holidays, or any time of year, in our DYI blogs or on our Pinterest.