What Are The Benefits Of Installing Pocket Doors?
Pocket doors have been re-invented as a contemporary interior design feature, having been largely dismissed for the latter part of the 20th century and viewed as an obsolete Victorian design feature. Modern pocket doors are perfect for a minimalist design scheme, because they are clean, chic and unfussy, and their practical nature is ideal for the kind of design solution we want in our home or workplace. However, the main benefit of the pocket door is that it creates space that was previously un-usable, although this space-saving quality is not the statement benefit, more the various ways in which this newly-acquired space can be utilised.
How does the pocket door create space?
A traditional hinged door opens in an arc into a room, and closes the same way. This means that the area immediately in front of a door in a room cannot be used, at least for anything that isn’t temporary, because the door would always be knocking into it. The pocket door opens and closes along an overhead rail, and in the ‘open’ position it resides in a ‘pocket’ cavity built into the adjacent wall.
So the pocket door doesn’t encroach into a room, it opens along the same axis and hence the space in front of the door can now be used. Although this will vary slightly according to the size of your door, you can generally release an extra ten square feet of space by installing a pocket door. This might not sound too significant, but actually opens up a great deal of possibilities, so what can you do with this extra space?
In some cases, to make a home improvement that has a major impact, you don’t need that much space. So installing a partition wall with a pocket door in a larger room could enable you to create two bedrooms from one. It may enable you to create an en-suite bathroom, or you can even just shut-off some space with a pocket door and create some much-needed storage space. On the ground floor, you might be able to create a downstairs toilet or use part of a larger kitchen to create a small utility room?
The workplace also has similar space demands, and you can use a pocket door to create two small offices, a small kitchen/canteen, a computer server room, photocopier room or simply more storage.
- Make a room multi-purpose
Creative thinking allows us to use space much more efficiently, and in modern times we use innovative ideas to make sure every square inch of space that is open to us, is wisely utilised. The pocket door is ideal for this because it enables us to adapt a room for more than one purpose. So maybe you have a guest bedroom that is only used two or three times a year when people come to visit. Why not adapt that space to also create a home office that you can use every day if you now work from home, or at least most evenings or weekends if you need quiet space, have a project on the go or work to catch up on? The space created by a pocket door means you may now be able to fit a desk and chair in the room, alongside the existing double bed.
Alternatively, maybe the playroom you created for the kids can also double-up as an occasional guest bedroom? Maybe people are visiting more often now and you need a better space? A pocket door means you can keep the kid’s playroom as it is, but also fit in a small sofa bed, which can be stretched out when guests come and the toys are tidied away.
- Open-up two spaces temporarily
You may have dreamed of being able to open up your home to guests and throw lavish parties, or invite more of the family over at Christmas and birthdays, but you only have the space by shoving people into separate rooms and it doesn’t quite work. With double pocket doors you can create a divide between a living room and dining room, or dining room and kitchen, and open this up when you’re entertaining. This creates a larger open space with a better flow, but the doors can remain shut most of the time to maintain your normal living space.
In the workplace you can also use double pocket doors for open plan offices, boardrooms and meeting rooms and to open up similar temporary space for training/demonstration rooms.
- Utilise smaller spaces more effectively
While pocket doors enable you to create small spaces from larger spaces, you do still need to make them comfortable and usable. This is particularly the case with bedrooms that might feel dark and claustrophobic, and in the workplace the employer has a legal duty to create office space that is a minimum size and is bright and comfortable to help with mental health, morale and productivity. In this case you can consider using a glass pocket door, which will help to let light shine through and create the sense that the room is more airy and spacious. It will help from a health and wellbeing point of view, and satin opaque glass can also help to retain privacy.
Contact MB Direct for practical ideas for your pocket doors
Installing pocket doors can create great benefits, and if these ideas have triggered your enthusiasm for making changes in the home or workplace, then contact MB Direct today and browse our great range of pocket door systems, we can advise on the best solutions for you.