Entry Door Styles for Utah Homes: From Craftsman to Modern

Your front door is the most expressive square footage of your home's exterior. It sets the tone before anyone steps inside. In Utah, where neighborhood aesthetics range from historic Victorian in the Avenues to modern farmhouse in Eagle Mountain to mountain lodge in Heber, choosing a door style that fits your home's architectural character is essential for both curb appeal and resale value.

This guide walks through the most popular entry door styles for Utah homes, which architectural periods they complement, and how to make a choice that looks intentional rather than random.

Why Door Style Matters for Utah Homes

Utah's housing stock is remarkably diverse for a single metropolitan area. Within a 30-minute drive along the Wasatch Front, you will pass homes spanning 150 years of architectural history. The door that looks perfect on a 2020 farmhouse in Saratoga Springs would look absurd on a 1920s bungalow in Sugar House.

Beyond personal taste, door style directly affects resale value. A door that clashes with the home's architecture creates what real estate appraisers call "functional obsolescence," a negative that buyers notice even if they cannot articulate it. Conversely, a well-matched door upgrade is one of the most commented-on improvements in listing photos and showing feedback.

If you are replacing your door primarily for security or energy efficiency, the style decision rides along for free. You are choosing a door anyway, so you might as well choose one that elevates the whole exterior. For the full picture on security features, materials, and smart lock integration, see our comprehensive front door replacement guide.

Craftsman and Arts-and-Crafts

The Style

Craftsman doors are defined by clean, geometric lines with emphasis on natural materials. The classic craftsman door features a solid lower panel (sometimes two or three horizontal panels) with divided glass in the upper third. The glass is typically divided into small rectangular panes by wooden or simulated-wood muntins. Hardware is substantial but not ornate: oversized hinges, a chunky door knocker, and a simple handle set.

Where It Fits in Utah

Craftsman doors complement an enormous range of Utah homes. Original arts-and-crafts bungalows in Sugar House, the 9th and 9th area, and the older neighborhoods of Provo and Ogden are natural matches. But craftsman-style doors also work beautifully on the revival bungalows and craftsman-inspired designs that Utah builders have been producing steadily since the 2000s.

You will find craftsman-style homes in nearly every Utah suburb from South Jordan to Kaysville. If your home has tapered porch columns, exposed rafter tails, or a low-pitched roof with overhanging eaves, a craftsman door is almost certainly the right choice.

Best Material

Fiberglass with a deep wood-grain texture is the ideal material for craftsman doors. It captures the warmth and character of the original wood doors without the maintenance burden. A gel stain in walnut or dark oak completes the look. Budget $1,200 to $2,500 installed for a quality craftsman fiberglass door.

Traditional and Colonial

The Style

The traditional door is the six-panel or raised-panel design that has been the American standard for over 200 years. Two short panels at the top, two long panels in the middle, and two short panels at the bottom create a balanced, symmetrical look. Color is typically white, black, red, or a deep earth tone. Hardware is classic: polished brass or oil-rubbed bronze.

Where It Fits in Utah

Traditional six-panel doors are the default in Utah's tract-built subdivisions from every era. If your home was built by Ivory Homes, Holmes Homes, Fieldstone, or any of Utah's large production builders between 1985 and 2015, it almost certainly came with a six-panel door. Replacing it with another six-panel door in a fresh color and upgraded material is the safest choice for maintaining neighborhood consistency and HOA compliance.

These doors also suit colonial revival homes, which are scattered throughout Salt Lake City's East Bench, Holladay, and Cottonwood Heights neighborhoods. For these homes, a traditional door in a heritage color maintains the architectural integrity while upgrading the security and energy performance.

Best Material

Steel is the most popular and cost-effective material for traditional six-panel doors. The panel definition is crisp and clean, and the lower cost (starting around $800 installed) makes it an easy investment. For more detail on what you will pay, check our Utah front door cost breakdown.

Modern Farmhouse

The Style

The modern farmhouse door embraces the horizontal plank or board-and-batten aesthetic that defines this massively popular architectural trend. Wide horizontal planks with visible (often simulated) pegging create a rustic, handcrafted look. Hardware is wrought iron or matte black: large strap hinges, a ring pull or simple lever, and a speakeasy grille or small window at eye height.

Where It Fits in Utah

Modern farmhouse is the dominant new-construction style in Utah right now. Communities like Daybreak, Mountain View Village, Traverse Mountain, and virtually every new subdivision in Eagle Mountain, Saratoga Springs, and Herriman feature farmhouse-inspired homes with board-and-batten siding, metal roofing accents, and oversized porches.

A farmhouse plank door is the natural complement. But this style also works on older ranch homes that are being updated with a modern farmhouse aesthetic, a renovation approach that is popular in established suburbs like Orem, American Fork, and Sandy.

Best Material

Fiberglass is the best choice for farmhouse doors because it can replicate the plank texture convincingly while withstanding Utah's dry climate and UV exposure. Wood is an option for homes going fully authentic, but the maintenance in Utah's climate makes it impractical for most families. Budget $1,500 to $3,000 installed for a quality farmhouse fiberglass door.

Contemporary and Modern

The Style

Contemporary front doors are defined by what they are not: no panels, no divided glass, no historical references. Instead, they feature flat or slab profiles, large glass panels (often frosted or tinted for privacy), minimal or hidden hardware, and horizontal orientation rather than vertical. Pivot doors, which rotate on a central axis instead of side hinges, are the ultimate expression of this style.

Where It Fits in Utah

Contemporary doors suit modern and mid-century-influenced architecture, which is concentrated in specific Utah areas. The Avenues neighborhood in Salt Lake City has a growing number of modern infill homes. The Foothill and Benchmark areas feature mid-century modern architecture. Sugar House and the 15th and 15th area have contemporary renovations. Park City and the Snyderville Basin have many modern mountain homes.

If your home has a flat or low-slope roof, floor-to-ceiling windows, and clean geometric lines, a contemporary door completes the aesthetic. A pivot door makes an especially dramatic statement but requires a specialized frame and installation, so budget accordingly ($3,000 to $8,000 installed for a quality pivot door).

Best Material

For flat-slab contemporary doors, fiberglass or aluminum-clad wood are the top choices. Metal-and-glass combinations work well for industrial-modern styles. Pure glass doors with minimal framing suit ultra-modern designs but have obvious security trade-offs, so pair them with laminated security glass.

Mountain and Lodge

The Style

Mountain lodge doors are heavy, oversized, and rustic. They feature thick planks (real or simulated), wrought iron hardware, arched tops or square tops with heavy trim, and often include glass panels with geometric or nature-inspired designs. The wood species is typically knotty alder, reclaimed barn wood, or Douglas fir.

Where It Fits in Utah

This style is purpose-built for Utah's mountain communities. Park City, Heber, Midway, Kamas, Eden, and Snowbasin-area homes embrace the mountain aesthetic with stone, timber, and heavy doors. The style also works on Utah homes that lean into the western or mountain lodge aesthetic regardless of elevation, particularly custom homes in areas like Draper, Alpine, and the benches above Ogden.

Best Material

Wood is the traditional choice and delivers the most authentic mountain lodge look. Knotty alder is the most popular species in Utah mountain homes: it is moderately priced, naturally rustic with prominent knots and character marks, and takes stain beautifully. For a lower-maintenance option, fiberglass with a heavy wood-grain texture comes closer to replicating this look than it does for any other style, and some high-end fiberglass mountain doors are virtually indistinguishable from wood.

Mid-Century Modern

The Style

Mid-century modern doors celebrate atomic-age optimism with bold colors, geometric patterns, and a mix of solid panels with small, strategically placed windows. The classic "atomic ranch" door features a rectangular window at an unconventional height, sometimes angled, with a brightly colored panel. Hardware is minimal and often integrated.

Where It Fits in Utah

Utah has a surprisingly rich mid-century modern housing stock, concentrated in neighborhoods developed during the 1950s and 1960s. The East Bench and Foothill areas of Salt Lake City, the Edgemont and Sherwood Hills areas of Provo, and parts of Ogden's east bench all feature mid-century homes. If your home has a low-slung roofline, clerestory windows, and brick or stone accents, a mid-century door respects the original design intent.

Replacement doors for mid-century homes can be challenging to source off the shelf. Companies like Therma-Tru, Simpson Door, and specialty suppliers like Crestview Doors offer mid-century-inspired designs that combine period-appropriate aesthetics with modern performance.

How to Match Your Door to Your Home's Architecture

If you are unsure which style fits your home, use this three-step approach.

Step 1: Identify your home's era and style. Look at the roofline, siding material, window types, and overall proportions. Utah County Assessor records (available online) list the year built, which narrows the architectural period.

Step 2: Walk your neighborhood. Look at the original doors on well-maintained homes of the same era. This tells you what the architect or builder intended. Diverging too far from the neighborhood norm can hurt resale value and may conflict with HOA guidelines.

Step 3: Match the design language, not the exact details. Your new door does not need to be a replica of the original. It should share the same proportions, lines, and material character. A craftsman home can have a modern interpretation of a craftsman door. A traditional home can have a fresh take on the six-panel design with updated glass and hardware.

When in doubt, err toward simplicity. A clean, well-proportioned door in a complementary material and color works with almost any architectural style. The most common style mistake is an overly ornate door on a simple home, which looks pretentious rather than upgraded.

Color Trends for Utah Front Doors in 2026

Color is the single easiest way to make your front door stand out or blend in, depending on your goal.

Trending Colors

Matte black: The dominant trend for the past several years and still going strong. Works with virtually every style from farmhouse to modern. Pairs especially well with white, gray, or natural wood siding.

Navy blue: A sophisticated alternative to black that reads as rich and intentional. Excellent on craftsman and traditional homes. Complements both warm-toned brick and cool-toned stucco.

Deep green (forest, sage, or olive): The rising trend for 2026. Connects the home to Utah's natural landscape. Works beautifully on mountain homes, farmhouses, and craftsman styles.

Deep red (burgundy or barn red): A classic that never fully goes out of style. Best on traditional and colonial homes. Pair with cream or white trim for maximum contrast.

Natural wood tones: Stained fiberglass or wood in walnut, dark oak, or knotty alder. The most timeless choice for Utah homes. Works across nearly all architectural styles and never triggers HOA objections.

Colors to Approach Carefully

Bright or unusual colors like turquoise, yellow, coral, or purple make a bold personal statement but may limit resale appeal and often conflict with HOA color palettes. If you want a bold color, verify HOA approval first and consider how it looks in photographs, since most buyers will see your home online before visiting in person.

Before and After: What a Door Upgrade Looks Like

The visual impact of a door replacement is difficult to overstate. Here is a representative example of what a style-matched upgrade looks like on a typical Utah suburban home:

The before shows what many Utah homes from the 1990s and 2000s look like today: a faded, builder-grade door with basic hardware, worn weatherstripping, and a threshold that has seen better days. The after shows the same entry with a style-appropriate door upgrade: a craftsman fiberglass door with a warm stain, decorative glass that admits light while maintaining privacy, modern hardware in a matte black finish, and a smart lock that says "this home is cared for."

That transformation, from dated to deliberately styled, is what drives the nearly 100% ROI on front door replacement. It signals to every visitor, every neighbor, and every potential buyer that the homeowner pays attention to details and invests in their property.

Your front door is the one exterior element you interact with every single day. Choose a style that makes you feel good walking through it, and that makes others feel invited walking up to it. For a complete guide to the security, materials, and smart home aspects of your door replacement, start with our comprehensive front door replacement guide.