Can Pocket Doors Be Used In Small Spaces To Save Room?
In the 21st century we have become more empowered to take on ambitious home improvement projects. These are not necessarily DIY projects where we bite off more than we can chew, but rather schemes where we have the autonomy to spend money to make transformational lifestyle improvements. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated this appreciation that our home is our kingdom and we should do everything we can to make our home life comfortable and practical. In addition, society is increasingly looking for more efficient solutions, and is awake to the idea that something that has multiple uses can save us time and energy. The perfect example of this is the pocket door!
How the pocket door has enjoyed a 21st century renaissance
The pocket door enjoyed its imperial phase during the Victorian era of the late 19th century, after which it almost disappeared from popular life, only appearing as a quaint and quirky feature of period homes. However, in recent years the pocket door has been adopted as an effective design feature because of its sleek and minimalist looks, perfectly aligning with contemporary fashions, but also because it has problem-solving qualities, the main one being that it can be used in small spaces to create more usable area.
A traditional hinged door works by swinging into a room in an arced rotation when opened and closed. This immediately eradicates the possibility of usefully utilising any of the space within that arc, and is an accepted fact when looking at how to use individual rooms in a house or in a workplace. Of course this is a limiting factor and prevents some rooms being used for multiple purposes, it certainly restricts the options we have for using space effectively. And it is only in recent years that interior designers have woken up to the fact that the pocket door is a useful and aesthetically-pleasing solution to this problem.
Using a pocket door to create space
The key feature of the pocket door is that it utilises the ‘pocket’ when opening and closing. This means that it doesn’t open into the room, thus invading the available space you have in the room, it opens by sliding along the overhead rail it is attached to and into the wall recess you have created adjacent to the door, and hence remains in the same orientation. Therefore the functioning of the pocket door doesn’t encroach into your room space in any way. This means you can now use the space immediately behind the door, when you previously couldn’t, and so you have created roughly ten square feet of usable space, depending on how large the door is.
And of course, from an aesthetic perspective, when the pocket door is closed, it doesn’t look any different to a traditional hinged door.
How the pocket door allows you to use space more creatively
Now that the pocket door has freed up new space in a room, it opens up various options. We often find small spaces in the home or workplace which would otherwise be wasted by having to use a traditional hinged door. Installing a pocket door now enables us to utilise this space.
So can this small space be used for vital storage? If the space is too small to be used as a room in any circumstances, maybe storage is the best solution? Or could it be an airing cupboard? Or a boiler cupboard? In the workplace you can also use a small space for storage, or maybe create an area for making drinks or storing a fridge? Or is a small space big enough for storing a computer server or a photocopier?
Of course, if your small space is slightly bigger, you may be able to create a home office or a kid’s playroom or a guest bedroom. It might allow you to add an en-suite to a bedroom, or downstairs you could create a toilet under the stairs, or a utility room. These are all key lifestyle improvements which change the purpose and practicality of a home, and all by installing a pocket door that creates sufficient space to fit in new items and completely re-purpose the room. In a workplace, there is always the need for new offices, or maybe you can now create a training room, meeting room or a demonstration room?
The pocket door is a great example of how we can utilise a fairly simple design in an innovative way to provide flexible solutions, and which greatly enhance our everyday lives. You can browse our selection of pocket door designs at MB-Direct and speak to our team about the best solutions for you.