Ditch Hinged Doors for Sliding and Folding Systems
Don’t get us wrong, we love traditional hinged doors. They certainly have their place and can look absolutely stunning, whether it’s on cabinets or as room entrances. However, as spaces get smaller and we’re getting more conscious of utilising all the space we have, sliding and folding doors are gaining popularity. With sliding systems such as the HAWA Concepta, there’s no question in why. The doors simply slide back so they aren’t in your way – ever!
Utilise the space you have
European laundries have demonstrated how hiding away spaces behind doors have worked for a long time. Sometimes we just don’t have enough space to offer a dedicated room to areas such as laundries or even home offices.
When you don’t have much space, laundries often are one of the first spaces that will be cut down in size and more often than not end up as a European laundry. If you’re not familiar with this term, please let us explain. A European laundry is hidden away inside a cabinet that’s usually closed by pocket doors or sliding doors. You can find European laundries especially in smaller apartments in metropolitan areas as well as town houses where space is used as efficiently as possible.
Laundry by: Steve Cordony
Another typical area that’s often hidden away behind sliding or folding doors is the office space. As we’ve seen a significant increase in people setting up their home offices, we have also noticed that many tried to find alternative ways to fit in a desk into their home. Unfortunately, not all of us have spare rooms ready to being transformed into a fully equipped home office. A great alternative we’ve seen many times is creating a little office nook. Whether you have it as an extension to your kitchen or wardrobe (if you’re lucky enough to have a big one), office nooks became the new thing when we we’re all working from home and remote learning was the daily life of our children. Now that we live in a more socialised world again, home offices aren’t used as frequently anymore but are definitely something we don’t want to live without either. Hiding the desk behind pocket doors is the new trend. It’s a great way to keep everything clean without worrying about tidying up too much before guests come over… We know, we definitely love the idea of a hidden office nook!
The Hidden Kitchen
While many of us have their kitchen as a statement piece as the centre of their home, not everyone is the same. For some, a kitchen might simply be a functional space that doesn’t need to draw extra attention than needed. Not everyone loves to cook as part of an entertainment night with friends and family. If you’re short on space or you simply prefer putting your attention towards other spaces, why not have a new approach to kitchen design by hiding your kitchen behind stunning doors?
If you want to go down the road of a hidden kitchen, we do recommend to design with extra care to make sure it is still functional and working according to your needs. Specific hardware, especially when it comes to storage solutions, will help you achieve a functional and efficient kitchen space that you can close the doors to.
If a fully closed kitchen isn’t your thing, most modern kitchens include a small appliance cabinet for your coffee machines, toasters, kettles, blenders and more. Rather than storing such appliances on the visible bench space or taking them in and out a cabinet all the time, why not close off an area with a sliding and folding door system. No need to pack up these handy little kitchen helpers, but instead only have them on display when they are actually in use. We love seeing the designs of our customers on Social Media and highly recommend you checking them out as well!
Mix up your finishes with sliding doors
If you incorporate sliding and folding systems into your cabinetry, there is no need keeping it plain. Create a sophisticated design by using different colours and finishes and make it work for your space. Perhaps you prefer somewhat of the impression of an open space while you still want to have some closed-off shelves in your cabinet. Sliding doors for such cabinets come in handy especially in bedrooms where we often are limited in space between wardrobe doors and the bed frame. Also in living areas with TV cabinets, we see an increase in the use of sliding doors and we’re absolutely here for it!
Sliding doors as a way to connect rooms
We’re often seeing people asking whether they should use a door to close off an area or perhaps rather have an open entry without any door. Hinged doors certainly have their place as entry doors and for rooms that are “stand alone” rooms, such as bedrooms. However, if you want to create more of a look of an open space where everything flows smoothly into each other, why not use sliding doors? Commonly used for the ensuite as the bathroom, wardrobe and master bedroom create a separate area from the rest of the house, sliding doors are also popular for Butler’s pantries and laundries.
Whether you go for a simple sliding door or prefer the style of a barn door totally depends on the overall design of your home. We highly recommend speaking to a professional before you make your final decision to make sure your choice suits your home and the design you’re after.
Come into our showroom with your plans or talk to one of over 100 Studio Partners in Australia who are able to help you make the right decision. Find the nearest to you via our Studio Locator.
