You can have half glass and half timber which gives some element of privacy, lets in the sun & views, just maybe a compromise dilemma too!

Hi there, I think that the skylight would definitely be the way to go, if your budget runs to it. It will really lift the whole stairwell and make it much lighter and brighter. Full height frosted doors may be OK on the laundry, but I wouldn't recommend it for the bathroom as when lights are on in the room, you may be able to see more than you bargained for, from the corridor. The occupants of the house may feel comfortable with it, but any guests or visitors may not. A frosted panel at the top of the door would be as far as I'd go. Bear in mind too, that glass lets more sound through than timber, and in a situation like yours, I'd recommend a solid core door, for that reason. I hope this helps!

if the door is solid wood (you can usually tell because it will be very heavy) and the putty and or timber mouldings supporting the glass is carefully repaired and the hinges and door handles are replaces and sealed all around and the door is painted on all SIX sides with a good quality paint/varnish it should be OK but no door will withstand the full blast of hot sun and rain so hope there is a porch or wide eaves for protection...a light weight hollow door will probably only last long enough to save up for a new door, so hope the retro door works for you...btw make sure the door is resized and installed to suit all the extra coats of paint and have the security door made last as old style door thicknesses can affect the installation requirements and costs of the security door

Hi again, thanks everyone for your input. I have been to a well known window/door manufacturer today which makes aluminium, timber and alu/timber composite to compare all options. It was a local company also so they were able to advise based on knowledge of our climate. The composite was higher in price but was also too contemporary in design, the aluminium was also too contemporary in design and not all options suitable for double-glazed glass, so we have returned to the idea of the solid timber but have taken all the advice on board and are opting for a pair of hinged french doors with sidelights in size to match and fanlights above so we can still retain the overall height and look but the actual doors will be closer to standard 2100mm height. Hopefully this will also eliminate any difficulty with opening them which we would probably have found had we had a bi-fold system or 2.7m door height. FYI the salesperson I spoke with also advised that there is a product available (sold in our local area from Inspirations Paint company) which when applied to the timber doors/windows gives 7 year protection from rot and fading due to rain and UV. He had used this himself on his own timber doors which were also exposed fully to the weather and highly recommended it - so I will post what this treatment is when I have more information on it. Thanks again everyone who helped out with their advice