Folding doors: separate rooms saving space

There are many types of doors that we can install in our homes to communicate different rooms or environments: folding, pivoting, sliding, folding … Today at Bezzia we are talking about the latter as a great alternative to communicate different environments saving space.

The folding doors are those that they fold on themselves. Composed of several articulated leaves supported in their upper part by wheels that are fixed to a rail, these doors open horizontally, invading the room as long as the width of the leaves that compose it measures.

Advantages and disadvantages

Folding doors are a great alternative to open large spaces in the partitions and communicate two rooms. Why? Because they are more compact than swing doors and therefore less invasive. But this saving of space that they provide us with respect to swing doors, is not their only advantage:

• Compact: When folded on themselves, they take up very little space when open. They invade the room less than a swing door would and they don’t take up extra wall space like sliding doors do.
• Amplitude. They allow us to widen the opening between two spaces; by adding sheets its size can be adapted. And when they are open, they are folded in such a way that the sensation is greater amplitude between both spaces.
• Simple installation. Its installation is quite simple in most cases; no work is needed.

Not all are advantages, folding doors also have their drawbacks. On one side fail to isolate acoustically the rooms; although neither do other types of doors. In addition, those in wood or with metal profiles are more expensive than a traditional door.

Types of folding doors

The doors made of polyvinyl chloride, which were so popular in past decades, continue to be installed but to a lesser extent than are folding doors made of wood or those glazed with metal profiles. Do you want to know all the possibilities?

• Made of PVC. Doors made of polyvinyl chloride are the most economical and the most space-saving. With magnetic or lockable closure, with single or double side opening they are very easy to install. They are also indicated for all types of environments, including humid ones.

• Of wood. Wooden folding doors bring a warmth and elegance to spaces that polyvinyl chloride cannot convey. They are also heavier, which requires professional installation and is more expensive.
• Glazed with metal profiles: They visually unify the spaces maintaining a physical limit between them. They also allow light to circulate from one side to the other. A very interesting feature when it comes to creating different environments in the same room and / or opening spaces to the outside.

• Textiles: Textile doors are an ideal modern alternative for decorating small spaces in a contemporary style. The advantage over other materials is that this type of door can be adapted to curved paths. They do not isolate noise, but they do visually delimit two spaces in a simple way.

Common uses

The images will have already given you many clues of where they can be useful folding doors in your home. They are very popular to hide the laundry area, separate the kitchen and the living room or serve as a communication between the inside and the outside.

• Furniture concealment: It is common to use sliding doors to hide the dressing room in the bedroom or the washer and dryer in the kitchen or hallway. They are also widely used today to hide kitchens in small apartments where they share space with the living room or even the bedroom.
• Separation of environments: Between the kitchen and the dining room, the dining room and the living room, the living room and the office … Rooms that you want to be able to have communicated to visually expand the space but that you want to be able to separate when necessary.
• Indoor / outdoor spaces. Creating exterior interior spaces with folding glass doors is a very popular alternative today. It is thus possible during the summer to take better advantage of the interior spaces by giving them an exit to the outside.

Folding doors are a very practical option in our homes. An alternative that allows us to visually expand the spaces without giving up privacy in each one of them when necessary.