Why is Mahogany Wood the Best for Your Front Doors?

The front door to your home is a lot more than just a slab of wood. It’s the first thing to greet you when you come back home from a stressful day of work, it’s your main line of defense against intruders or natural pests entering your home, and generally adds a lot to the curb appeal of your property.

Because of everything your front door goes through, it’s best to not take the cheap route and instead invest in a high-quality door that will serve all of its various purposes for years to come with minimal maintenance or risk of damage.

For that, there’s one option that stands out from the rest; genuine mahogany wooden doors.

There are a lot of reasons mahogany should be on your shortlist of premium front door materials. In this guide, we’re going to go over all of them; along with some tips and tricks for getting the best deal and maintaining your mahogany doors once you finally pull the trigger on having them installed.

What is Mahogany?

Mahogany is a high-value tropical wood that is found in the Southeast Asia. It’s known for having vibrant red coloring after it has aged, and the many desirable traits it has makes it extremely useful for anything that needs to look great yet endure the elements for decades or more.

There are many different subspecies of mahogany, but the various versions of the tree from around the world have different traits, and some aren’t as suitable for doors. So, when we reference mahogany in this guide, we’re speaking solely about the traditional mahogany found in Southeast Asia.

This is the only version of the wood that demonstrates all of the traits described here, and alternative variants may not work for the same applications.

What Traits Does Mahogany Have?

Mahogany has a number of traits that make it desirable. Here’s a comprehensive list with full descriptions of each.

Coloring:

When it is first harvested, mahogany is often pinkish in color. However, after the mahogany has been prepped and aged, that pinkish coloring darkens into a rich, vibrant, red color that is absolutely stunning in an aesthetic sense.

Grain:

Another great trait of mahogany is its straight grain. This provides both aesthetic and functional benefits.

First, the straight, uniform grain makes the wood far easier to cut and work with in comparison to knotted, random-grained woods that are often used as cheap alternatives. You’re unlikely to benefit too much from this unless you’re making your own door, but it does help ensure that your door will be made to far higher quality standards.

Aesthetically, the straight grain is also extremely pleasing. It adds a uniform appearance to the wood if it’s exposed, and it doesn’t distract from the vibrant natural coloring of it; it enhances it.

Density:

Mahogany is extremely dense. It’s one of the hardest woods out there, and while that can make it difficult to work with, it makes it fairly difficult to warp, dent, or otherwise damage it.

Weather Resilience:

One of the main reasons mahogany is used for outdoor applications is because of its innate ability to withstand sun damage and the damaging effects of acclimating weather such as heavy rain, snow, and hail.

This makes it possible for well-maintained mahogany to last in an outdoor environment far longer than cheaper, less resilient woods.

Why is Mahogany Great for Doors?

Mahogany’s various traits lend themselves well to not just doors, but basically all types of outdoor applications, too.

Here is how those traits correlate to a high-quality door you won’t need to replace.

Beautiful, Value-Increasing, Aesthetics:

Most people want their homes to have a ton of curb appeal. They’ll go to extreme lengths to maintain the perfect lawn, keep a fresh coat of eye-catching paint on their exterior walls, and add tasteful decorative pieces around the home’s exterior just to make their home stand out in their neighborhoods. However, most don’t think about how their front door adds to that.

The front door adds substantial curb appeal; as it’s the entryway to the home, and it commands the attention of everyone approaching. From the mailman to neighbors looking to ask for a cup of sugar, your door enters their view. If it doesn’t match the quality of everything else you’ve put into creating curb appeal, it can throw off the entire look of your home.

Luckily, mahogany is exceptional when it comes to its aesthetics. The rich, vibrant coloring of the wood means that you don’t really need to add colored stains or paints to it, and you can easily let its natural beauty shine. Of course, you will want a good coat of sealant to help maintain it or add a bit of a glossy look depending on your taste, but there’s no need for anything complex. Mahogany can match even the most well-designed home exterior on without much work at all.

High Durability:

Thanks to its high density and excessive hardness, along with its weather resistance, a mahogany door is one that you are highly unlikely to replace.

The high tensile strength, density, and overall hardness make it nearly impervious to the types of dings and noticeable scratches that often happen when moving furniture in and out of your home, letting kids slam the door on their way in from school and other normal, everyday occurrences that can make inferior doors lose their visual appeal and integrity in a heartbeat.

Pair that with the extremely high weather resistance of mahogany, and you don’t need to worry about rain, hail, or snow causing it to rot away or otherwise take on damage.

This all results in a door that lasts for not just years, but decades and even lifetimes. Once you install a mahogany door, you and its next three owners will likely be long gone before it’s simply too old to keep.

While mahogany can be an expensive investment due to its high value, this incredible durability and long-lasting nature mean it’s an investment you won’t need to make again; unlike lower quality doors.

Minimal Maintenance:

If you buy a metal door, rust prevention is an ever-present concern. If you use a door made from inferior wood, something as simple as a rowdy kid slamming the door or haphazard mover ramming a recliner into it can leave it marred and damaged. Even forgetting to perform an annual seal can cause it to rot out quickly.

Mahogany doesn’t require excessive worry over maintenance. About once a year, an application of clear coat sealant is all that’s needed. The weather will not be a concern, and you won’t need to be excessively careful with it.

Tips and Tricks for Caring for Mahogany – Making the Most of Your Investment

Mahogany isn’t cheap. This is what turns a lot of people off of it. So, if you do see the value of mahogany and how it can actually save you money in the long run, you’ll probably want to do everything you can to make sure that investment is protected, and you get the most out of it.

That’s not overly difficult to do, because mahogany is such a high-quality wood. However, there are some tips and tricks we can pass along that you can use to squeeze every bit of value out of your mahogany doors.

Use Its Natural Beauty:

You paid a lot for your mahogany door, not just for its durability, but for its elegant appearance, too. So, why cover it up with gaudy paint, or stain away its natural colors with dark, ugly stains?

Mahogany is an extraordinarily beautiful wood all on its own. You will obviously want to use a clear coat, or even a light stain if you don’t want any gloss on it, to protect it as much as possible. However, stay away from options that add color to the wood or mask its natural beauty.

If you do this, the door will continue aging and look increasingly beautiful every single year. That’s one of the main perks of having a genuine mahogany door installed.

Don’t Forget to Seal it:

Your mahogany door is extremely durable, and you can easily go years without sealing it or re-staining it. However, every time you miss annual staining or sealing, you allow unnoticeable deterioration to start building up.

Over time, this compromises the door you paid good money for, and its benefits quickly diminish. Now, since mahogany is such a high-quality wood option, you won’t see this happening very quickly. It’ll only sneak up on you after years of neglect.

To prevent this from happening, go over the door with a clear coat or light stain once a year. This takes less than 20 minutes to do if you’re taking your time, and it will go a long way towards keeping your mahogany door around for decades, if not lifetimes.

Avoid Abuse:

Mahogany is unlikely to get damaged by normal, everyday use. However, that doesn’t mean it’s invincible. Just like with any other door, try to avoid rough treatment to the extent possible.  If you’re moving furniture in and out of your home, consider using a different route that isn’t as important such as the garage. If you must use the front entrance, consider removing the door from its hinges temporarily, or take extra caution to avoid jamming hard furniture into it at an angle.

This will prevent unseemly gouges, and while those are unlikely to occur, it is possible with enough force.

Tips and Tricks for Getting the Best Deal on Mahogany Doors – Saving Money and Maximizing Quality

If you’re buying a legitimate mahogany door, expect to pay a fair amount for it. The wood is not cheap, and then you have to consider all the work the manufacturer put into crafting a door worthy of a front entryway despite how hard the wood is.

However, that does not mean you can’t find a good deal without sacrificing quality or buying from someone who isn’t reliable.

Here are some tips to find great deals on mahogany doors and save money either immediately or in the long run.

Focus on Quality:

It can be tempting to look at a door that is $300 cheaper than average and pull the trigger on it. However, those immediate savings might translate into a poorly-crafted door that simply doesn’t offer the benefits you’re looking for.

It may be cheaper than the industry average because it was made from a bad cut of wood, the craftsman might have made a fatal mistake in its construction, or it may have been sitting around a warehouse untreated and unprotected for years.

Before you take a door at a massive price cut, make sure it’s up to par with other options and that corners weren’t cut in its creation or storage.

Get Professional Installation:

Front doors are heavy; especially when they’re made of highly dense mahogany. This makes properly installing the door on your own a complicated task, and if you drop the door, don’t align the hinges properly, or mess up the handle and lock installation, it can create long-term problems that slowly damage the wood.

Most places that sell mahogany doors will offer professional installation, and it’s recommended to take them up on it.

Use the Right Dealer:

Finally, sourcing your mahogany door from the right retailer is key. The right retailer will offer fair prices without underselling or overselling, ensure that all of their mahogany doors are stored properly until they arrive at your home and are installed, and make sure that subpar doors are discarded rather than passed onto consumers with defects.

At Realwood Crafters, we offer all of these guarantees, and we only sell the finest custom-quality mahogany doors available. When you want a genuine mahogany door that exudes elegance, visit Realwood Crafters for the best prices on long-lasting mahogany doors.