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"It's like putting jewelry on your house," Barry Kaufman describes, referencing the overall impact of installing iron doors in a home. Once relegated to places of worship and not oen associated with home ownership, iron doors are now dressing up homes all across the country. As owner of Forever Custom Iron Doors since 2019, Barry Kaufman understands the benefits to installing custom iron doors in your home–and finds that customers are usually pleasantly surprised. "ey're very affordable and you're in the driver's seat," Kaufman shares. Common misconceptions about iron doors are that they will be too heavy to open, they won't look good on a more modestly sized home, and that iron doors are too expensive. Barry dispels all of these notions, explaining "the doors are on ball-bearing hinges; you can glide it with your pinky finger–it's so light." As far as the aesthetics of iron doors, "if you have a door on your house, the iron door is going to look good on your house," he states matter-of-factly. "It's an instant makeover." As far as the price point goes, Barry shares that iron doors are "typically less expensive than a standard fiberglass or wood door." Once prospective customers recognize these important facts, they can begin to understand the wonderful upside to owning iron doors. e benefits of iron doors are numerous, the first being the ease of care and maintenance. Because the paint of the finish is baked on (just like with a car), a simple coating of beeswax is applied to the iron doors, adding an extra layer of protection and ensuring "you don't ever have to worry about the finish," states Barry. Of course, there's also the added layer of security that iron doors provide. "It's very difficult to kick this door open and damage the door," Barry says. Furthermore, all glass used by Forever Custom Iron Doors is insulated safety glass, another element considered very difficult to break. But beyond the ease of care and safety features, the ability to customize your iron doors remains a top selling point. "We can design anything anyone wants," Barry says proudly, rattling off a long list of different designs that have been made. "We've done Louis Vuitton doors, peacocks, elephants, sea lions, tigers, cartoon characters, wine cellar doors, movie theatre doors[...]there's really no limit to what we can do," he explains. Along with the fully customizable design options, the ability to have operable glass–meaning the iron door opens and the screen remains–is like having a built-in screen door. VUENJ.COM 79

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