Where is the next step in the evolution of entrance doors? The composite door has been the biggest innovation in the entrance door market over the past two decades. It has transformed the door market from something pretty pedestrian into something that is now seen as a sexy purchase by homeowners.

But the composite door market has been around for a while now, and as the saying goes, if you’re not moving forwards you’re falling behind. For me, it lies in the ultra-luxury.

Ultra-luxury composite doors

For the best part of two decades, composite doors have been transforming the entrance door market. From early models that showed promise but lacked quality, to the composite door powerhouses churning out thousands of doors per week, such as Endurance, Solidor, Door-Stop and others. Online door designers, lead generators, high-profile multi-media advertising has turned some of our sector’s door suppliers into well-known brands.

But around them, other door types have been gaining ground. Aluminium entrance doors have been growing strongly alongside the general rise of residential aluminium. Companies like Origin, VitrineAlu and others all provide stunning ranges of aluminium entrance doors at costs that are not that much more than the cost of a good quality composite door.

Then there is the ultra-high-end entrance door market that is also having an impact. Companies like Festa, Pirnar and Spitfire produce some stunning entrance doors that sell for thousands, sometimes into the low five-figure sums, that are installed into the very finest of homes.

In this environment of the highly evolving door market, it is only right then that the next step for the composite door market is to step up into the ultra-luxury part of the market. The rise in popularity of aluminium entrance doors has shown that there is a profitable niche to take advantage of here.

We see this with the announcement of the new Avantal range of high-end composite doors from Endurance. This new range of composite doors comes with skins on the frame and the slab that match and give the appearance of aluminium. Paired with brushed aluminium pull-bar handles, escutcheon, and soon-t0-be-released aluminium inlays around the glazing, these are doors designed to aim at the aluminium entrance door market. Endurance has also claimed that these will be a more accessible price point.

This is where I see the natural progression for composite doors. They have cornered a huge swathe of the door market for a while now, but around them others are adapting, offering different, more eye-catching options. Composite door manufacturers ought to be looking at what is happening around them in other niches and adding an option to their portfolio which can give installers that option.

Insta-worthy doors

The drive for ultra-luxury composite doors comes from, I believe, the aluminium and incredibly high-end door sectors. I mentioned above companies like Festa and Spitfire. These companies produce huge doors, some at 3m tall or higher, that pivot, come with bespoke and custom external finishes, packed full of smart door tech, and are selling at upwards of £10,000 or more depending on the model. They are being installed primarily into mega-homes, but not exclusively.

The one thing they are is very much Instagram worthy. These doors look stunning. As in, stop scrolling on your phone stunning. Especially the pivot ones. Something about that action of opening on a pivot rather than a traditional hinge just does it for me.

I believe that ultimately this is the direction composite doors will go in. There will always be the traditional and value end of the composite door market. But I believe more and more suppliers are going to develop their own high-end composite door to perhaps not challenge the likes of a Festa door, these are two very different products, but to at least take pointers from them and take aim at a different part of the entrance door market.

Within 5-10 years I think we could see a pretty large range of luxury composite doors within the marketplace that directly challenge aluminium entrance doors. Personally, I think this is where composite doors need to go. The product needs a bold new approach and direction, and this is the way to go. I appreciate that not everyone is a fan when it comes to fitting them, but they are incredibly popular with homeowners and if the composite door sector is to keep it’s place at the top of the mass door market then ultra-luxury is the way to go.

These are doors that are going to prove popular on social media, which will drive sales. They’re a novel and big-ticket purchase that people will take pride in spending on. We know luxury attracts attention and money, so done right, produced properly and fitted correctly I see no reason why high-end composite doors like the Avantal range won’t do well.

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