Interior doors are perfect for providing privacy and tucking away any less-than-pleasing items like closet storage. While it can be easy to let these essential workhorses blend into the background, closet doors can enhance your home interior through style, color and texture. Before you go out and pick up out your new door, however, you’ll want to know what’s out there. Here are a few tips to get you started as you search for new internal doors on Houzz:
What styles of interior doors are available?
While there are dozens of your standard hinged style available, interior entryways also come in a few other distinct styles. Here are a few of the more common types you can choose from:
• Pocket: Pocket doors are masters of saving space. Their smart design allows them to slide into the wall, plus they can be used anywhere in your home, from the master en suite to the entrance of your living room.
• Sliding: Similar to the pocket style, sliding doors take up minimal amounts of space. However, instead of sliding into the wall, they slide alongside it. These are an especially great space-saving choice for your closets.
• Folding: These are a standard choice for your laundry room or closet. They usually come in a bifold form and, while they don’t save as much space as the pocket or sliding styles, they do take up less room than a standard hinged style.
• Panel and flush: The most common type, panel and flush entryways are typically made of wood or MDF. Unlike the panel style, a flush design features a flat, smooth surface on both sides.
• Barn: Adding a bit of a rustic tone to your home, barn doors feature a track that runs on the part of the wall above your doorway and can come as a single unit or as a pair.
• French: Elegant French doors can provide a less imposing separation of space thanks to glass paneling. They come as a pair and would look magnificent in any home.
• Dutch: A Dutch door is similar to your standard panel door except it has been horizontally divided into two sections. You can open just the top or the entire door as one if you choose. Some styles even feature windows in the top half.
What materials should I consider for my closet doors?
You may think you’re simply limited to wood, but there are actually quite a number of materials to choose from. Here are some top choices:
• Wood: Just as you thought, your entryways can be made from a variety of wood species both hard and soft. Though their lifespan is longer than anything used on your exterior, wood entryways are also prone to warping. Therefore it might be best to choose a different material for your bathroom entryway or any other area that will experience dramatic temperature change and humidity.
• Hollow core: As the name suggests, hollow core features a plywood or molded composite shell with nothing in the middle. They are a more affordable option, but keep in mind they won’t insulate against sound and temperature change as well as other choices.
• Solid core: Similar to the hollow core style, solid core has a molded composite or plywood shell. However, this style is filled with a wood fiber blend that helps insulate against sound and temperature. They also tend to be less expensive than solid wood, making them a good quality and affordable choice.
• MDF: MDF, or Medium Density Fiberboard, is prevalent in most styles today. As it’s made from engineered materials, it tends to be less prone to warping than solid wood. It also lacks a grain texture, which makes it easy to paint and a great choice for a modern, sleek interior.
• Glass and metal: Speaking of modern, sleek interiors, glass and metal styles are becoming a more common find inside the home. They tend to be more expensive than most other options, but may provide more durability and a certain aesthetic.
What should I consider when installing my internal doors?
When preparing for installation, don’t forget to consider the required space needed for your door to open and close, which side your door swings on, handle placement and dimensions. A tip to help determine door swing, or which side the door swings on, is to face one so that it swings toward you. If the handle is on the left side it’s a left-hand door, and if it’s on the right side it’s a right-hand door. To figure out the size you need, measure the top, middle and bottom of your doorway, plus top to bottom. Then calculate a rough estimate of the opening size by adding two inches to the width and three inches to the height.
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