Hinged interior doors continue to be particularly popular, as is evident by their widespread presence in our homes. Despite their popularity, other types of doors attract attention for their aesthetic as well as functional advantages.

Among the interesting models, let us note the sliding door. Why might this be the right choice for your interior and when is it best to choose this model?

The Sliding Door: When and Why Choose It?

You’re working with little space

Whether you live in an apartment, condo or house, having a small layout can be a problem. For anyone needing to balance their interior design with modest space, it can be wise to opt for the installation of sliding doors. The way the doors open will help to avoid encroaching on available floor space and will offer more surface area for the rooms on either side.

While in some situations renovations may be needed to take advantage of more square footage to rearrange a room, incorporating sliding doors proves to be an effective tip for those wanting to avoid going that route.

To separate the kitchen and dining room

While all doors have the ability to divide space, incorporating a hinged door to create a visual break between different sections of your home isn’t always the best solution. It should be noted that some owners will want to differentiate the space devoted to meals (the dining room) from the kitchen. In essence, this decision is often motivated by the host's desire to prepare meals out of sight and not be distracted by discussions taking place around the table.

Since these two rooms are adjacent, installing a hinged door is certainly not the best solution. Indeed, opening the door would directly encroach on one or both of these rooms, colliding with the chairs of guests.

With a sliding door, the absence of a hinge avoids this problem while providing each room with the privacy required to converse or prepare a meal.

To avoid partitioning different rooms

While it makes perfect sense to want to divide rooms in your home, this doesn't always mean you want to hide what’s happening on the other side of the door. This is where the interest in installing a sliding door makes sense! Although some sliding doors are opaque, it’s interesting to know that there are many glazed or semi-glazed styles. The fact that these are transparent provides a major advantage, namely that of maximizing the amount of light in the interior.

For a room with fewer windows, it can be advantageous to maximize (at least partially) the natural light that a nearby room enjoys. Aside from this advantage, keep in mind that a space with translucent divisions will appear larger. Aesthetically, this is a significant asset.

To have a space-saving wardrobe door

A sliding door is certainly a great choice for a wardrobe or closet, especially since a sliding mirror door will visually enlarge the bedroom. This is certainly an excellent option for small bedrooms!

To create a refined decor

Because of its lack of burden on the environment, the sliding door is ideal for homes with minimal decor. Its look matches the aesthetics of this interior design choice, which is especially true when one considers installing a pocket door. As it hides completely inside the wall, its presence literally becomes invisible.

Surface-mounted or retractable sliding door: what's the difference?

The overlay sliding door

We should begin by mentioning that the overlay sliding door is attached to the ceiling or to the wall. It has a door leaf that slides along the wall and therefore remains visible unless it’s hidden behind a wooden or metal casing.

Although some don’t appreciate the considerable space the leaf takes on the wall, this disadvantage is offset by an affordable price as well as a rather easy installation.

The retractable sliding door

For its part, the retractable sliding door (pocket) is completely or partially hidden inside the wall. Although most doors have only one track (positioned at the top of the door), it’s also possible to find models that have two.

Interestingly, some curved models are also available, which have a particularly original aesthetic. However, it’ll be necessary to budget more for this purchase, as the pocket door is more expensive than the overlay door because of the work required to insert the door inside the wall and its complex installation process.

Would you like to have an overview of the sliding door models? Take a look at our article:

• Reno inspiration: 10 interior sliding door models