Your home’s exterior doors impact everything from comfort to curb appeal. They have the potential to protect your home, enhance its ambiance, and add to its value. All of these things matter, which is why it’s important to consider whether your exterior doors are doing everything they can be doing for you and your home.

If you’ve been thinking about upgrading your exterior doors, there’s no better time than right now. Thanks to recent advancements in everything from technology to design, today’s high-performance exterior glass doors have tremendous potential for homeowners to elevate their living spaces.

Wondering where to start when it comes to upgrading your home’s exterior doors? Here’s a closer look at 5 of the top exterior door trends that will continue to be going strong as we move into 2023.

1. Energy efficiency

“Sustainability” is one of the most important words in design at the moment with more homeowners—and homebuyers!—prioritizing sustainable design. The energy-efficient windows and doors trend reflects this movement.

Energy Star® rated window and door configurations offer many advantages, including reducing your carbon footprint, lowering your energy use (and utility bills), and helping to create a more comfortable home.

Take vinyl and aluminum doors, for example. In addition to a multitude of benefits, both of these materials provide superior insulation and excellent energy efficiency.

2. Customizability

Gone are the days of “one size fits all” exterior doors. Homeowners are increasingly realizing the potential of exterior doors to coordinate with and complement their homes’ overall design style and aesthetic.

This is another area where both vinyl and aluminum shine. Both of these high-performance materials are available in an array of colors. Whether you’re looking for something classic and neutral, or something bolder and brighter that will make your door “pop,” it’s out there.

Which begs the question: What colors are “in” at the moment? Jet black, red, navy, robin egg blue, bright yellow, and gray are just a few of the most popular door colors over the past few years. However, the sky’s the limit when it comes to choosing the color and style of door.

3. Glass

Speaking of door style, glass front doors have seen a “meteoric rise” in popularity over the past year. Beloved for their modern look and open feel, glass doors let in abundant natural light while welcoming gorgeous natural views. They’re also available in many beautiful design styles for front doors and patios, including gracious French doors, glamorous double French doors, and chic sliding glass doors.

Worried about energy efficiency and security? Innovations in the glass manufacturing business have led to the development of glass types with unprecedented performance in these areas, including annealed glass, heat strengthened glass, insulating glass, laminated glass, laminated insulating glass, tempered glass, and impact-resistant glass.

The takeaway? If you’re considering glass doors, there’s a glass door type that will meet your aesthetic and functional needs—especially when you partner with a trusted company like PGT.

4. Strength and durability

Doors (and windows) are a first line of defense against everything from hurricane winds to unwanted intruders. While this has always been a paramount consideration for homeowners, it’s more important than ever as climate change is leading to more frequent, intense, and impactful extreme weather events.

While wood may have once been the most common door material, it’s expensive. It’s also vulnerable to warping and other effects of moisture damage. And while iron may be the strongest door type, it lacks the charm and character many homeowners desire.

That’s where glass comes in. Again, glass may not be the first material that comes to mind when you think of strength and durability. However, technological and manufacturing advancements have led to the engineering of strong and durable glass designed to hold up to whatever threats may be lurking outside.

5. Low maintenance requirements

A central tenet of interior design is that function drives form. All elements of modern homes should be useful, purposeful, and livable. This means creating environments that can not only live up to functional demands, but also do so with minimal effort or upkeep.

With people spending more time at home than ever before over the past few years, the value of low-maintenance homes has never been clearer. To that end, today’s homeowners are opting for design materials with minimal care and maintenance requirements to decrease time spent on the drudgery of chores and maximize time spent doing things that bring them joy and fulfillment.

Not to mention that fewer care and maintenance requirements also mean there’s a decreased risk of overlooking a task that might lead to costly deferred maintenance or an unexpected replacement down the road.

For these reasons, many homeowners are seeking out low-maintenance materials for their homes, such as quartz kitchen countertops, microfiber upholstery, and cork flooring. Vinyl and aluminum glass doors also fall into this category.

One last thing to keep in mind when making design choices for your home? While trends may come and go, good design is timeless. This is especially true when it comes to exterior doors—which serve your home (and its inhabitants) in many ways. If you’re thinking of improving your home in 2023, high-quality, high-performance doors are an investment that will pay dividends across curb appeal, comfort, energy efficiency, and more.

To learn more about PGT’s exceptional line of aluminum and vinyl glass exterior doors, go here.