Phew. Can you believe I still can't find any damn handles to go on these doors. Turns out my problem is not what they look like but more that I need ones that don't put a hole in the other side! The original handles were short profile and screwed in from the front and then you screwed in the knob part into the central section of the fixed piece (See the image attached for one of the original pieces left - it has a hole in the middle you can't see now) As the handles are fixed from different parts of the door on the opposite side, all the standard door knobs won't work as I end up with a screw end and knut showing on the other side. Looked at the slimline handles that sit on the edge but it doesn't work for all sections as the doors fit tight now they are painted. Aside from making my own backplate fixings (which will look naff as would be painted wood!) - does anyone know where sells the knob plate I'm needing?? I must have emailed ten companies and spent days looking, to no avail.

Good afternoon everyone! We are blown away by the amazing response we have had from this community, thank you everyone for your feedback. We are especially grateful to Jonathan for his valuable feedback.. the idea is genius and makes so much sense! Thank you so much Jonathan for taking out the time to help us! I have never seen my husband so impressed by an idea so much!! I have attached a couple more photos showing view of the garage from the front of the house along with the entrance gate itself into the property. I have also attached a copy of our floor plan. We would really appreciate your thoughts on what we could to with the garage and front exterior in terms of: Garage walls - What do you think about the brick work? Worth keeping, or should we clad? Garage roof - We currently have an unsightly metal sheet. We don’t want to fully rebuild but we’ve seen light weight roofing for garages which look like tiling. Any suggestions or thoughts on this? Front exterior - We’re looking to improve kerb appeal of the house from the front, any ideas welcome (cladding, paint, stone work?) Windows - these are the original single pane windows which unfortunately come with poor insulation. Any thoughts on what to do for those? Further to the front patio suggestion, is it worth installing an entrance which leads straight into the kitchen through the current ‘Study’? See floor plan. (We are planning to extend the current kitchen by a further 2.5m towards the rear garden). Any ideas, suggestions and comments will be really appreciated, thank you for your help!

Solid oak tolerates temperature changes much better and better suits the front door. The front door is always exposed to moisture due to rain, snow, or fog. Also, the front door shouldn't fade over time due to direct sunlight falling on it in hot weather. I think it's much more profitable for you to take a solid oak door because it won't have to be changed after five years of use. We bought an oak door made of solid wood about ten years ago at https://www.ukoakdoors.co.uk/internal-oak-doors/four-panel-doors. I like that I don't see any cracks or wrinkles on this wooden door. My wife jokes that even my face is covered with wrinkles, despite the door has remained smooth and looks like a new one.

I would be inclined to have wall washing lights either side. Not sure about a canopy unless it is pitched like the existing porch roof with brick infill either side but otherwise kept open. Maybe stick with the lights first to see if that alone does the trick. Making the bed on the left the same shape as that on the right and repeating the planting would help to bring symmetry. I am not sure about the two tall Pom Pom shrubs in front of the windows. Sorry I cannot make out what they are. Could they be moved one at each corner of the house perhaps to make a full stop? Taking away some of the grass to extend the drive in front of the door would open up the entrance too. It is difficult to see on the photo but the grass seems to curve towards the door. It would be better if it followed the curve of the drive out and away from the door, basically an expansion of your step that seems to be a curve, and then return in front of the bed on the left in the photo. You could have a path here in front of the left bed in the same material as the drive. I know planting and reconfiguration of your drive wasn’t on your remit so I hope you don’t mind!