Drive out Berkley Road these days and you’ll pass newer neighborhoods that weren’t there not long ago. Auburndale counted about 15,600 residents in 2020, and estimates since then put it well past 20,000, so a lot of households are now walking through brand-new front doors every day. Most of those doors work fine. They’re just plain. Glass door inserts in Auburndale give yours some light and character, and the door itself stays put.
Besides entry doors, we put custom glass door inserts into garage doors, cabana and pool-bath doors, and the side or patio door off the lanai. Plan on a single install appointment of roughly one to two hours. Curious what would suit your place? Our number is (866) 326-9947.
Berkley Road subdivisions and the builder door problem
Auburndale’s growth has a lot to do with location. It sits between Lakeland and Winter Haven with I-4 and the Polk Parkway close by, and newer communities have filled in along the Berkley Road side of town. Auburn Cove, just south of C. Fred Jones Boulevard, connects right to the Auburndale TECO Trail, and gated Summerlake Estates is across from the Lake Myrtle Sports Complex near Lake Arietta. Otter Woods Estates and Bellaviva are part of the same wave.
Homes like these come with tall ceilings, big kitchens and a covered lanai out back. Up front, though, you usually find a stock slab that matches every other house on the block. Tearing out a door that’s practically new makes little sense. Fitting it with decorative glass inserts does, because it adds the one finishing touch the builder skipped.
Which style works depends on the front of your house. A tall, narrow front door glass insert in a textured pattern makes a one-story entry feel taller. A three-quarter design with bevels catches the morning sun. Clean clear glass suits a newer house that leans modern. For more on dressing up a builder door, have a look at our page on glass inserts for new construction homes.
Matching the glass to the style of the house
New homes in town come in a handful of looks, and the glass should follow the house rather than fight it. A farmhouse-style front with board-and-batten accents tends to suit grilles or a simple grid in black. A Mediterranean-leaning stucco home looks right with wrought-iron-style designs or oil-rubbed bronze caming. A crisp, light-colored coastal look pairs well with clear or lightly textured glass in satin nickel. If you can’t decide, start with your house numbers and porch light, since those usually point to the finish that’ll look most at home.
How much can the neighbors see?
Houses in a new subdivision are often built fairly close, and your entry might line up with the house across the street. Every privacy glass we carry has a level from Low through Max. For an entry facing the road, a Medium or High pattern lets the hallway glow with natural light. How much shows through depends on the design you choose, since lighter textures may let someone on the sidewalk make out a shape while the most private ones hide almost everything.
Sending a request to the architectural committee
A lot of newer Auburndale neighborhoods have an HOA. Some also have an architectural committee that signs off on changes to the outside of a house. When that’s the case, we can pass along the design name, the finish and a photo of the design you’ve settled on. Check your guidelines before you commit to anything, and ask the committee what else it would like to see with your request.
Glass door inserts in Auburndale for busy family homes
If you’re raising a family in one of these newer neighborhoods, with a trail or a dog park around the corner, you already know how hard a front door works. Between kids, backpacks, bikes and a dog heading out for the TECO Trail, the entry rarely gets a break. It’s usually where everyone piles up shoes and leashes, too.
A few options earn their keep in a house like that. Enclosed blinds live inside the insert itself, sealed between two sheets of glass, so a toddler can’t yank a cord and you’ll never wipe down a slat. A textured pattern hides small handprints far better than clear glass does. And because the insert is fitted into the door itself, there are no cords or slats hanging off it for little hands to grab.
- The entry facing the road: a Medium or High privacy pattern, or blinds sealed inside the glass.
- The back door to the yard or pond: clear or Low-E glass, so you can watch the kids from the kitchen.
- The garage service door to the side yard: a simple texture that wipes clean and lets daylight into the garage.
- The pool-bath door: High or Max, for full cover when someone’s changing.
Mixing glass types on one house is completely normal. The front can carry the decorative pattern guests notice, while the doors the family actually uses every day get something simpler and easier to wipe down. We’ll help you keep the finishes consistent so it all looks like one plan.
Have a parent who has moved into an active-adult community nearby? Our 55+ communities page walks through choices that suit that stage of life, from easy-care blinds to glass that shows who’s knocking.
Thinking about impact-rated glass for your entry?
Plenty of decorative patterns are also offered as impact-rated glass, so you don’t have to give up bevels and caming to get that option, and we’ll help you choose one if it matters to you. Keep in mind that an impact rating applies to a complete tested unit: the glass, the frame that holds it and the door, all tested together. Adding a rated insert to a door you already own won’t turn the whole door into a hurricane-rated one. We also can’t promise anything about your insurance, so if you’re curious, your agent is the person to ask.
Older streets near downtown get the same treatment
Auburndale started out as Sanatoria, named for a hotel, before the railroad brought a new name. Downtown, the gazebo at Lake Stella sits just off Main Street, and there are small lakes like Lake Dickie close to the center of town. Over on Lake Ariana, the city runs Lake Ariana Park. The older houses around these spots often have solid doors and shadowy front halls that would welcome some daylight. Some already have an old glass panel that’s fogged or cracked, and replacing an old door glass insert like that is just as quick as adding new glass.
Lakes shape how people use their doors here, too. When there’s water behind the house, the back door often gets more traffic than the front, with fishing poles, coolers and grandkids heading out to the dock. That door deserves glass that looks good from the water side as well as from the kitchen. Gray “turtle glass” is a tinted option that helps soften glare on a back door facing Lake Ariana or a neighborhood retention pond.
On an older house, the goal is usually glass that looks like it could have been there all along. A simple bevel pattern in patina or oil-rubbed bronze tends to sit comfortably on a porch that has seen a few decades go by, and a half-lite keeps more of the original door showing. If the front hall is the darkest room in the house, a taller panel in a light texture does the most good, and you’ll notice the difference every morning.
No matter when your house was built, you choose from the same lineup. Decorative designs combine beveled pieces and textured glass inside metal caming. For the finish, you can pick oil-rubbed bronze, black chrome, patina, wrought-iron looks, satin or platinum nickel, or black or silver aluminum, with brass on certain patterns. If brightness is the goal, go with clear or Low-E. For a colonial feel, grilles sit sealed inside the glass so there’s never anything to paint. Sizes run from a half-lite up to a full-length panel. The whole lineup is in our catalog if you want to page through it at home.
Most exterior doors can be fitted with an insert, and the free estimate is when we check yours in person. An entry that faces a busy road like Havendale Boulevard is a good case for a higher privacy level.
From the first chat to a finished door
The whole thing is simpler than people tend to imagine. Our page on how our process works has the detail, and here’s the outline.
- A short conversation. Tell us what’s wrong with the door now, whether it’s too dark, too plain, too exposed or just not your style.
- A free estimate at your house. We look at your door in daylight and help you settle on the pattern, privacy level and finish.
- Picking the size. We’ll help you choose a glass size that suits your door, then cut the opening to fit it so the glass looks original, not like an add-on.
- A single install visit. Roughly one to two hours. In most cases the door stays on its hinges, trim and paint aren’t touched, and we protect and clean the area we work in.
The garage door and the pool side
The widest thing facing the street on most newer homes is the garage door. Glass that echoes your entry makes the front look like one design and adds curb appeal. Many garage patterns share a finish with the entry designs, which makes matching easy. Browse our garage door glass inserts to see them. Behind the house, the door from the pool deck into the bath is an obvious place for high-privacy glass. Our cabana door glass inserts page shows a few ways to handle it.
Why keep a door that came with the house?
Swapping the whole door involves a new slab, usually a new frame, plus hardware, trim and paint. If the door is only a couple of years old, you’d be paying to replace something that isn’t worn out. Putting glass into it keeps the parts that are fine and changes only the plain panel everyone sees from the driveway.
Auburndale questions about new homes and older ones
Our builder door off Berkley Road is solid. Can it take glass?
Chances are good. Inserts fit most exterior doors, and we’ll check yours when we come out for the free estimate.
Does our HOA have to approve the glass?
Every association handles it differently. Some review any change to the front of a house, and others leave it to the owner. Look through your community’s rules, and if anything’s unclear, ask the committee what it would want to see.
We live in an older house near Lake Stella. Will modern glass look out of place?
Not if you choose the pattern with the house in mind. Traditional bevels, grilles between the glass and warmer finishes like patina tend to suit an older entry, and we’ll help you narrow it down at the estimate.
Our new street has no shade yet. Which glass handles the afternoon sun?
Low-E glass helps cut the heat that comes through a sunny door, and gray turtle glass adds a tint that softens glare. Blinds sealed inside the glass let you close things off when the sun swings around, until the landscaping fills in.
Can we keep using the lockset that came with the house?
Usually. We work around the hardware you have, and in most cases the door is back in service, locked and working, before we leave.
Serving Auburndale and nearby Polk County towns
Our work doesn’t stop at the city limits. We’re also in Lakeland to the west, Winter Haven, Lake Alfred and Polk City, as well as Eagle Lake and Haines City. You’ll find the bigger picture on our Polk County page, and every town we visit is on our areas we serve list.
Whether you’ve got a new house near the TECO Trail or a long-time place by Lake Stella, glass door inserts in Auburndale are an easy way to make the front of your home look finished. Call (866) 326-9947 or schedule your free estimate, and we’ll set up a time to come look at your door.