A bright future for composites

The composite door market has passed its tipping point, and homeowners are becoming more discerning about their front doors. Kevin Kiernan of Bowater by Birtley says we shouldn’t underestimate the importance of colour when selling front doors.

We’re all too aware of the power of property programmes in our industry, and while Grand Designs is still seen as an authoritative voice in building design, there are an increasing number of programmes ‘educating’ consumers in how to make their homes look better, more welcoming, more on trend, as well as the best things to do to make them more sellable when the time comes.

Property experts have recently said that an immaculate front door is the key to selling a house, but warn that colour could make all the difference. This is good news for installers selling composites that are available in an array of colours, but how far should we have to go when it comes to colour?

According to the property experts quoted in a recent Daily Mail article, it’s not as simple as choosing the most popular colour, or your favourite colour for your front door – the best colour for each individual house depends on the position of the property: pastels work best for city dwellings while natural shades should be used in the countryside.

And then there are the fashion-conscious trend-setting consumers who want their on-trend bright yellow, pink and turquoise. In fact, according to the Pantone Colour institute’s forecast for 2018, the future is definitely looking bright, with bright colours here to stay as we choose intense colours to reflect our intense lifestyles.

We already know the importance of colour, but as its placed under the spotlight by property experts and predictions for trends for 2018, manufacturers need to be in a strong position to deliver.

Before Birtley Group brought the Bowater by Birtley range of doors back to market earlier this year, we made sure we had an offering that addressed all our fabricators needs, now and in the future. Our philosophy is that we need to have the range so that we can give our fabricators, their installer customers, and the end user the choice they want. That means we have both a single (44mm) and double (68mm) rebate door to offer as well as a whole host of glazing styles, hardware options, and colour.

We didn’t want to compromise when it comes to offering a full and varied range, which is why we invested in our own in-house paint line. We wanted to offer a complete array of colours to match every need. That is what we have achieved including a complete range of pastels, natural wood colours and the more vibrant options. We can colour match any specific requirements for the more individual colour projects, and we can also colour match the frame to the door.

The other reason for the investment in our paint line, which is as important as the variety it allows us to deliver, is that we wanted complete control over the delivery of this range. Homeowners want choice when it comes to the colour of their front door and with recent press articles suggesting that the colour they choose says something about what kind of person they are, there is even more need to offer a complete array of options.

www.bowaterbybirtley.co.uk