What comes to mind when you think of standard steel door models?

Big and bulky, right? You may have images of the sort of welded steel door used to offer protection to commercial premises, for instance - not ideal for a residential home.

But that's not all that steel doors can be. In fact, a combination of high-quality steel materials (or other metals) and glass in your doors can become attractive design features that lend a modern touch and allow natural light to stream through your home. The result is an aesthetically pleasing mix of metal and glass that can complement various architectural styles.

You just need to know how to use your metal and glass door properly to create the right look, and the six ideas presented here show you the way.

How Do Glass and Metal Doors Work?

First, let's examine how metal and glass can work in tandem for door construction that's nothing like what you may imagine.

It all comes down to design - the glass is usually the main material, accented by exceptionally thin door frames made out of metal. In other words, the metal is a framing material, allowing you to express bold geometric shapes in your door design that are in keeping with modern aesthetic philosophies.

Of course, this isn't the only way to combine steel and glass. If you wanted, you could have full interior steel doors with just a small glass window, for instance, though this combination creates a heavy industrial look that may not work for many properties. In other words - you have options. And your choices are usually determined by what surrounds the door. Your decor. Other interior doors. It all plays a part.

A Quick Word on the Glass in Metal Doors

It's also worth talking about the glass used in these doors - it has to be of a certain standard.

For instance, PINKYS uses Low-E glass for both design and practical purposes. The glass is clear and attractive, in addition to being coated in a special film that prevents heat from escaping through the glass. Given that windows are responsible for up to 30% of a home's heating loss, that concession to energy efficiency is appealing to anybody who wants to keep their bills (and their carbon footprint) low.

Other manufacturers may use safety glass, especially in exterior doors, because this tough glass is less likely to break - ideal for home protection and deterring intruders. Thus, manufacturers aren't compromising durability too much because they're using a type of glass that can take more punishment.

Yet others may take a combined focus on design and "Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)" scores. For example, both fluted matt glass (ESG) and dark graphite glass (ESG) combine interesting textured designs with solid environmental performance, though you have to look out for the "ESG" label on the glass to ensure it's in keeping with social and environmental standards.

In short - you have more choices in glass types than metal when installing glass and metal doors. No surprise, given that the glass is typically the highlight.

Design Ideas for Your New Door - How to Make Metal and Glass Work

The challenge with glass and metal doors is that you can have the finest quality door and it will still look out of place if your home's design (both interior and exterior) doesn't align with that of the door. That goes for any door - it's as much about the surroundings as the door itself.

So, you need some design ideas. And with the seven here, you'll see how you can create a great look with this combination of materials.

Idea 1 - Use Glass and Steel Interior Doors to Funnel Light Through Your Home

"Let there be light!"

That's the main reason why you want glass interior doors in the first place - the doors you have right now completely block light from traveling between rooms. The result is rooms that feel gloomy and a little depressing, especially when those rooms have no windows to allow natural light to flow in from another location.

The design idea here is simple - use a door that has a thin metal door frame (thus minimizing light blockages) and large glass panes.

Of course, it's not just the doors that make this design idea work. Everything around those doors has to be in turn with your desire to encourage light to spread throughout the house. Otherwise, you could have the highest quality galvanized steel and clear panes of glass, and neither will mean a thing.

What do we mean by that?

The colors around your interior doors are as important as the doors themselves. If you use dark colors (think black or navy blue), any natural light that enters a room gets absorbed into those colors first, leaving little to travel through the glass in your door.

The opposite is in effect when you use bright colors, whites and yellows, for instance, alongside mirrors and similar decor. Now, you're encouraging the light to spread. Reflecting on it. And that's how you get the most out of glass and metal doors used in your home's interior.

Idea 2 - Open Up Your Foyer with Glass and Steel Exterior Doors

Just as glass and metal doors can allow light to flow more freely within your home, so can they serve as a way to invite light into your home in the first place.

That's where exterior doors come in.

The design philosophies that affect interior doors apply to exterior ones, too. If the idea is to open up your foyer by using natural light, then that foyer needs to contain light colors and reflective surfaces that allow the light to bounce around. Darker colors aren't necessarily forbidden. But they should be used in moderation, perhaps as accenting pieces of decoration to provide contrast rather than as the main design features of your foyer.

Moving attention to the door and its surroundings, your goal is simple - encourage light to reach your glass and metal door.

For example, adding a window to an overhanging porch roof may be the solution if the porch itself is positioned in an area that doesn't get a lot of natural sunlight. Minimizing obstructions is a good idea - i.e., no plants or decor blocking the flow of light through the porch and toward the glass in your metal doors. You could even open up the porch area by removing walls - perhaps framing your exterior door with an arch rather than having it enclosed by the walls that previously acted as framing.

Idea 3 - Inject a Touch of the New with Modern-Style Steel Doors

Americans constantly make changes to their homes.

In 2020 alone, 55% of Americans said they changed something about their decor, with 71% saying they planned to make some sort of change in the following year. And there's one thing that most of these people are trying to achieve with their changes - modernity.

In other words, it's out with the old and in with the new in a constant effort to keep their homes looking up to date, even when the property itself is on the older side. Therein lies another use for glass and metal doors. Current designs (particularly those from PINKYS) can inject a modern flavor into a home that is otherwise looking dated.

How so?

Start with the general design of a PINKYS door. Bold black lines and geometric shapes, both of which are modern and aesthetically pleasing design principles, combine to create doors that look anything other than standard.

That applies both in and out of the house, and it's the interior that brings a specific design recommendation from us - Pivot doors.

A pivot door eschews tradition by moving the hinges from one side of the door to the top and bottom. Thus, the door pivots around a vertical axis, still functioning like the types of doors with which you're familiar but with a modern flavor.

They also open up design possibilities, especially because they don't open fully so the door sits against the surrounding wall. Because of that, you can hang decorations and pictures on either side of a pivot door frame on a wall you'd otherwise have to leave blank for fear of a door crashing into it.

It's also worth noting that the steel that supports the large glass pane in these doors is essential, as are the metal fittings. Without those metal touches, the glass wouldn't be able to pivot as it does because the surrounding frame wouldn't be strong enough.

Idea 4 - Blend Traditional Structure with Modern Design

Let's take the opposite route now - using glass and metal doors to inject a traditional touch into modern architecture.

Another PINKYS door design takes center stage here. With our Dutch doors, you're bringing a taste of the barnyard into your home, though that isn't as unappealing as it sounds. Far from hay, cattle, and a terrible stench, a Dutch door instead delivers a clever design in which the door opens in halves split across a horizontal axis. In short - you can open the top and bottom of the door independently.

In the barnyard, this setup was ideal for preventing animals from bolting when you opened the door. A farmer could open the top to peek into the barn, for instance, and the animals couldn't escape because the bottom half was closed.

In the context of a more modern house, the door could still serve the same purpose - your pets won't be able to escape unless they can jump over the bottom half of the door. But in a design sense, you can use Dutch doors to welcome even more light into a space.

How?

Simply opening the top door lets more light stream through. And with some extra decorative touches - such as plants either side of the door - you create a slightly rustic look with just enough modernity to blend well with a newer house.

Idea 5 - Create a Minimalist Look

As a minimalist, you're less attached to objects, and that lack of attachment is showcased in your home. Minimal furniture. Scarce decorations on the walls. There is as little clutter as it's possible to have, but that design ethos can make it harder to find a good metal and glass door.

For instance, doors that have intricate steel scrollwork with a colorful powder-coated finish accompanied by textured and patterned glass won't work. They're too "busy," as you may tell by wording alone. These types of doors look practically cluttered when compared to the near-empty spaces in which they sit.

A better idea is to complement your minimalist philosophy with a door that keeps things simple - a PINKYS door.

Many PINKYS doors manage to pull off a luxurious yet minimalist look, particularly when you opt for the Air range. The minimalism is easy to see at a glance - thin black lines and clear panes of glass. There's no clutter on a PINKYS Air door. You just get what you need for the door to look great and work properly.

It's simple and stylish - perfect for a home without clutter.

Idea 6 - Go for the Mediterranean Look

Warmth and intricacy - those are the operative words for a metal and glass door that offers a Mediterranean look.

They're about as far away as you can get from the minimalist approach described above, with these doors typically featuring complex metal scrollwork sitting over the glass. Grandeur is the key. This door design works especially well for larger homes, both because it complements the sheer size of the property well and due to the scrollwork acting as a focal point to prevent the door from being lost among other decorative features.

And PINKYS has the perfect door for this look - The Beverly Double Flat.

The copper undertones in the oil-rubbed bronze coloring of this door create an earthy vibe that's ideal for creating the Mediterranean look. Complement it with mosaic patterns (either tiles on surrounding walls or a rug leading up to the door), and use wood or wicker features on your patio. Combined, these decorations, along with your door, create a down-to-earth coastal vibe that's somehow both grand and laid back.

Idea 7 - Conserve Space with Sliding Doors

Interior space is at a premium when you live in an apartment or cozy home. And even the most minimalistic of PINKYS Air range may not work for that space - they're sleek, but they still open into the space. That need to open the door outward (or inward) minimizes what you can do decoratively as the entire area around the door needs to be kept free.

Enter sliding doors.

When closed, a sliding door may look similar to any other type of interior metal and glass door you install. The total width and total height may match, but there's one major difference - the doors slide along a steel rail rather than opening in the traditional fashion.

This simple design change gives you the best of both worlds in terms of allowing light into a space and not cramping that space with a door designed to open directly into it. For instance, you can keep a sliding door open without having to navigate around it because the door isn't sitting inside your space.

But there is a caveat - these types of doors often require a slightly larger finished opening for installation. There needs to be space for the rail above the door opening and a wall that's strong enough to support the rail steel profiles on which the doors hang. Still, that may be a small price to pay for a door that sits flush against your wall and conserves space.

A Final Tip - Maintaining Your Metal and Steel Door

Your metal and glass door looks amazing once you have it installed. Let's keep it that way with a few quick maintenance tips:

• Don't Forget Dusting - Dust is a problem for two reasons. Obviously, it gathers on the metal frames in your doors (and can also obstruct light coming through the glass), but it also often contains water particles that can damage a metal door. Thankfully, dusting is easy - a quick wipe with a clean cloth once per week keeps your doors in good condition.
• Use Mild Soap and Warm Water - When your doors are ready for a proper cleaning, remember two things - mild and warm. A vegetable-based soap diluted in warm water should do the trick, with cleaning taking place once per month.
• Clean Clear Glass More Regularly - Clear glass requires more regular cleaning than textured glass because the presence of smudges and dust is more obvious in the former. Again, mild soap and water work well.

Find Stunning Iron and Steel Doors at PINKYS

Now that you see how much variation there is to find in metal and glass doors, you have a final question - where's the best place to find them?

PINKYS, of course.

Inspired by the gorgeous Californian landscape, PINKYS doors come in many styles. The Air range, for instance, is perfect for the minimalist or somebody who wants to emphasize the modern look using geometric shapes and thick black lines.

Traditionalists may favor Dutch doors or the Beverly Double Flat - its intricate and gorgeous scrollwork is ideal for creating a Mediterranean vibe. No matter what you need from your glass and metal doors, PINKYS can provide.

Check out our range - you'll find many doors in stock, and our service team is always on hand to help you make your choice.