Safety vs. Aesthetics?
Everyone enjoys a beautiful home. We each interpret what that means in our own way, but there are norms, sometimes regionally influenced, that Americans associate with a nice looking home. Unfortunately, some of those common traits are weak on security.
The concepts of a “leisurely lifestyle home” or “indoor/outdoor” type of living are fraught with security risks. A major reason is that features that ascribe to those lifestyle choices typically include lots of windows and glass doors, sliding doors and walls, and easy access and openness to the outdoors, which conversely means, easy access to the indoors.
More traditional style homes still have many aesthetic and common features that compromise higher levels of security for design appeal and openness. Examples include entry doors with large glass panels, sidelites (decorator glass/wood panels) that accompany such doors, sliding patio doors, first floor windows (especially bay/bow/picture windows), privacy shrubbery or fencing, and more.
Additionally, homes that have those kinds of features and look more upmarket, signal to passers-by and criminals looking for target homes, that the owners/occupants can afford to live such a lifestyle and therefor have more money and valuables within. That often includes luxury vehicles that are “on display,” not out of sight in garages.
When upgrading or retrofitting homes with these kinds of features to a much higher level of security, it’s common that some of these favored aesthetics need to be changed for more austere versions.
For example, security doors (aside from being physically much stronger) contain no glass. Accompanying sidelights are eliminated. Windows needing protection may utilize security panels or louvers that are a little less “designer.”
Like many aspects of life, security is a balance of one benefit over another where the best solutions for one’s family involve compromises. A more secure home can still look very appealing; it just may be different than its present incarnation or not quite the ultimate designer dream home.
Practicality might be more appealing than accolades when your family’s safety and well-being are paramount. It’s a personal choice: safety vs. aesthetics.
NOTE: State of Readiness produces security doors, windows, window panels, and louvers for increased home security, but that doesn’t mean we are against appealing design. Many configurations are indiscernible from ordinary, less secure equivalents, giving you the best of both worlds.