Share Home Renovation Ideas - Sliding Doors for Space Saving, Room Dividing & Making a Statement
Sliding doors have a wide appeal, with practicality and utility for space management, as well as offering an alternative look compared with hinged doors. Why are sliding doors so popular? And what should you look out for when considering them for your home?
Topics:
- Why Choose Sliding Doors?
- Types of Sliding Doors
- Different Uses for Sliding Doors
- Popular Sliding Door Designs
- Sliding Door Hardware
Sliding doors are perfect for areas of your home where space is tight. Or you might want the choice to be able to open up or close off spaces. Or you may want a single feature-door that has a bold look. Whether you’re doing full home renovations or just replacing doors and like the idea of a sliding option, then read on.
This article takes an in-depth look at different sliding door types and their uses, and explores some popular designs. But before we get into it, let's take a moment to overview sliding doors, their benefits and drawbacks.
Why Choose Sliding Doors for Your Home?
One of the reasons why sliding doors are popular is that they save space. Because they don't need to swing open, they optimise useable space in tighter or awkward areas of your home, such as small rooms, narrow hallways, storage spaces including larders, larger cupboards and wardrobes.
Sliding doors also provide a great solution for de-cluttering your home, such as for storage spaces in bedroom and living areas.
But sliding doors have much more to offer than just saving space. Depending on what type of sliding doors you choose and where they will be fitted, they can help you manage your home spaces for greater flexibility.
For example, if you have an open living and dining room, sliding doors can be a discreet way to either have the larger open space or close them to create two smaller spaces, for a more homely feel, greater privacy etc.
Sliding doors can complement your home’s interior style, offered in many different designs and finishes, from understated modern to rustic barn doors, traditional panelled or glazed. They can also work well as statement pieces for a more eclectic look.
This not only includes the door itself, but also the door's hardware – handles, locks, brackets, tracks etc., depending on the type of sliding door you go for.
It’s worth bearing in mind that sliding doors require more maintenance compared with hinged doors. Tracks will need regular cleaning, and depending on how often your sliding doors will be used, the track and mechanism will wear quicker than hinges.
Types of Sliding Door
Let's look at some popular sliding door types beginning with perhaps the most common, wall mounted.
Wall Mounted Sliding Doors
Wall mounted sliding doors are, as the name suggests, fix to the wall to the side of a doorway or threshold on a glide track. The door and its track are usually visible, but can sometimes be concealed or boxed in to better blend with a room's style or decor.
Tracks vary in design, from small discreet rollers and narrow rails, to large, feature tracks with oversized wheels and a chunkier rustic look.
Pocket Sliding Doors
Unlike wall mounted sliding doors, pocket doors slide open into a wall space or cavity rather than along the outside of the wall. Both the door and the track are hidden inside the wall.
Pocket doors a discreet and even more space saving than wall mounted sliding doors, especially in very tight spaces.
In the image below you can see a pocket door in a child's attic bedroom. Notice the traditional-style door opens into a false wall and the top corner is cutaway to fit the sloping ceiling. It's a great idea for an attic conversion door.
Bi-Fold Doors
Interior bi-fold doors provide similar roles to wall or pocket sliding doors, as space savers or room dividers. They run on a tracks similar to sliding doors, but as their name suggests, they fold together rather than slide to the side.
The benefit of bi-fold doors is they don't need space to slide into, so are real space savers. They also offer an alternative look compared to standard sliding doors, in a traditional or modern style. The Bi-folds pictured below for example fit well in a modern, minimalist space.
Different Uses for Sliding Doors
Let's take a closer look at some of the different uses for sliding doors in the home, beginning with sliding doors vs. hinged doors.
Smaller Rooms & Spaces
As an alternative to hinged doors, sliding doors biggest USP is the space that they can save. A hinged door's swing needs quite a lot of floor space clearance, which in smaller rooms and tighter spaces around your home can be a headache.
Narrow spaces such as hallways can benefit from sliding doors onto adjacent rooms, leaving them open to create a greater sense of space and light. Although this could be done with hinged doors, having a hinged door constantly open can look untidy and inelegant compared to a more discreet sliding door.
Image Credit: Houzz/Monster House Plans/Todson
Bathroom & Kitchen Doors
Smaller bathrooms and kitchens can benefit from sliding doors, especially with second toilets, small en suites or small apartment kitchen spaces. Conversely, larger kitchens may have a doorway to a shelved storage nook or utility room where a hinged door wouldn't be practical. Sliding pantry doors are popular too.
Image Credit: French by Design/House Tour Archive
Room Dividers
A common use for sliding doors is as room dividers. This is where two or more rooms are connected (open plan or knocked through) to create a larger space. But a large space isn't always desirable, so sliding doors offer a practical and stylish way to separate a large space into individual rooms.
While open spaces are great for lots of floor space and perhaps more natural light, there are occasions when smaller, more private or intimate spaces are needed. Also dividing into smaller spaces may save on energy bills.
A good example is where a home has connected living and dining spaces, sliding doors offer the flexibility to open or close the space as required, as seen in the image below.
Storage Spaces
Sliding cupboard doors are ideal where hinged doors would cause an obstruction. They’re great at keeping spaces tidy with a minimal look. Sliding doors that hide shelved storage areas and utility spaces help demark between spaces functions, and of course they help to keep the place looking tidy.
Image Credit: Urban Wall Design/Old Homes New Life
Popular Sliding Door Designs
Sliding doors are great space savers for sure and can be very practical. But they can also look great as a more appealing alternative to hinge doors.
There's a whole world of sliding door designs and styles to choose from, whether you're looking for modern minimalism, traditional or period, or something more rustic or industrial.
Traditional Doors
Whether you have a period-style home interior, a modern home, a blend of the two, or a more eclectic look, traditional door designs can work well, and that includes sliding doors.
Traditional looking doors are often panelled, glazed and unglazed, with many new door designs suitable for sliding and pocket door installation. Note that doors with heavier panel moulding are not suitable as pocket doors.
Modern Doors
For a more minimalist look, modern doors often have less ornate or a flat or fluted design. For a really modernist look, panelled doors with geometric lines and panelling have a strong art-deco vibe.
Usually with modern sliding doors, the track is concealed and is not a feature of the door design, unlike rustic or industrial-style sliding doors.
Rustic Doors
Rustic sliding doors offer a rugged, less 'finished' look. This includes the farmhouse and cottage styles. But it also includes larger, heavier doors, such as barn doors and sliding doors with a more industrial feel.
Unlike many traditional and modern sliding doors, rustic doors often make a feature of the track, as we have seen, with larger wheels and heavier rails, made from iron or steel.
Sliding Door Hardware
The hardware that you choose for your sliding door is as important as the door design. Sliding door hardware is available in a range of styles and materials, for tracks, handles and locks.
Dedicated sliding door handles are often recessed, for pocket doors in particular. They range in size, shape and finish. Sliding door track kits provide everything you’ll need to fit the track and hang the doors, rather than sourcing components separately.
Final Thoughts
As we've explored in this article, sliding doors are an interesting alternative to hinged doors, providing practical applications as well as offering aesthetic features with bolder design appeal.
When choosing sliding door designs and styles, the key is to consider what you want to achieve: striking a balance between the look of your door and your home decor, or use a sliding door as an opportunity to make a bolder statement as a standout feature in your space.
You can find out more about traditional doors and modern doors at the Hiatt Hardware Blog, along with a wide range of home improvement articles and DIY guides. Or to browse doors and door hardware, visit Hiatt Hardware.