 When Queen Victoria's beloved husband Prince Albert died in 1860, she decreed that all front doors in the UK be painted black in mourning. Most of her subjects complied and black became the norm across England almost overnight. In Ireland, however, there was a mild but effective rebellion: front doors were repainted, but in a range of bright colours - a clear signal of defiance.
Home entrances had suddenly become political statements and UK homeowners have been obsessed with them ever since. So, while New Yorkers "dress down" the doors of even the smartest addresses - so as not to attract attention to the opulence within - and continental Europeans obscure theirs behind anonymous, even dreary, gates, the British and Irish lavish ever more paint, polish, elbow grease and a great deal of money on making the grandest public statement possible. There's no better example than the iconic door of 10 Downing Street, a glossy black classic with its lion's head knocker.
But such devotion isn't just about egotism (nor is it about politics anymore). Studies have shown that it can also be a good investment, significantly increasing the value of a home. "Painting the front door is the quickest, simplest and cheapest way to make a property stand out, thereby boosting its sale potential," says Liam Fox, head of residential research at Knight Frank. "Research indicates that the simple act of painting a front door an interesting and attractive colour can boost the value of a property by up to 5 per cent."
For flat owners, just having a front door that opens to the street, instead of one accessed through a lobby or stairwell, can send the price soaring, particularly if the entrance is a Georgian or smart contemporary example. An immaculate front door, recessed into an elegant brick porch lit by an overhead lantern, is estimated to have added more than £200,000 to the value of a maisonette in Knightsbridge, on the market at £2.2m.
"An apartment with its own proper front door is a whole different ball game, denoting privacy and house-living rather than flat-living," says Lulu Egerton of Lane Fox. "Our English buyers are obsessed with front doors, and will pay 10 per cent extra to have a good one. Other buyers are not nearly so bothered."
The most highly sought-after are the double doors seen on some of London's largest townhouses. "They're wonderfully grand and you can open both of them when entertaining but keep one permanently locked if it's just you slipping in and out," says Alex Michelin of development company Finchatton. "People love them."
One lucky owner of a double set is Lord Snowdon, former husband to Princess Margaret, who sought to enhance their glossy black grandeur with a fancy fanlight. As his son, David Linley, explains: "It is based on 18th century door-lights that my father had seen in Dublin and was made by him from plastic mouldings bent in hot water and painted to look like lead."
In traditional, grand London townhouses, such as on Downing Street, black still dominates, and the glossier the better. This may involve many days of skilled labour and even more coats of high-quality paint mixed with white spirit.
"The effort will pay off when your door looks infinitely better, classier and more expensive than the one down the road with just a couple of coats," says Julian Mercer of BMB Developments.
Of course, black is no longer compulsory, and it can appear rather forbidding in lesser houses. Increasing numbers of homeowners have begun to experiment with colour. One converted chapel in west London, for instance, has a friendly soft-pink front door to emphasise its new status as a family home and declare that its days as a solemn place of worship are over.
Owners of another house nearby changed their door from a funky, bold purple (suggesting confident, colourful residents) to an austere charcoal grey (cool and style-conscious) to a soft muted green (relaxed, natural) within 18 months. The house looked sodramatically different each time that visitors were constantly confused as to whether they had come to the right address,
Similarly, the architects of Glasshouse, a development of an old office block into expensive apartments in Soho's Shaftesbury Avenue, decided to underline its transformation and distinguish it from its commercial surroundings with an eye-catching front door clad in pre-patinated copper alloy.
David and Sophie Oliver, founders of the Paint and Paper Library, can attest to the power of an innovatively styled door. They painted the front door, stucco and woodwork of their London terraced house the same light putty colour as its exterior stock bricks.
"Far from making the house retreat, the monochrome effect made it really stand out," Sophie says. Ă‚ÂPassers-byfrequently stop to stare, perhaps intrigued by what other dramatic effects the owners have created inside.
Doors can be equally impressive without any paint. Exotic woods such as wenge and walnut or even macassar ebony - simply coated with varnish - are increasingly popular in contemporary buildings or refurbishments. They look good with chrome door furniture - which, except in the most traditional of homes, has largely ousted brass - and are satisfyingly expensive-looking.
"We've chucked £25,000 at a front door before now to create the right impression for our most expensive properties," says Michelin. "But that would include security features such as hidden cameras in the numbers and perhaps a steel mesh inside the wood that bolts into a steel frame. We also go for very thick doors, up to 60mm deep, to get that satisfying solid 'clunk' sound when they close."
Many developers favour very tall front doors to suggest grand, high ceilings inside - up to 10ft is not uncommon. But when it comes to security, less is now more. Not long ago such doors would have been pock-marked down one side with a messy collection of locks. Now technology means that is no longer necessary. "While a £1m mews house may have three different locks, the £5m house will have only one lock and key," says Peter Wetherell of the eponymous Mayfair estate agency.
"The difference being that the sole key will trigger an intricate, state-of-the-art locking system that inserts levers into the doorframe.
"Meanwhile, newly built properties in the £10m league have done away with the lock and key completely and rely purely on fingerprint entry systems. In Mayfair, it's fair to say that there's a negative correlation between the value of a house and the number of locks visible on the front door."
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