Creating a feature with patio doors

When designing a home, hands up if you constantly think about furniture, tiles and wall colours? I know I used to. These items often get replaced after a few years as we tire of looking at them. Trends change and sometimes, so do we!

Windows and doors are a large investment and can be easily overlooked in the budgeting process. We generally live with the same windows and doors that came with our home and we expect a lot from them: To provide natural light, maintain comfortable indoor temperatures, provide natural ventilation to our homes, frame the view, look good and never break! That’s a lot of responsibility. We have had a strong word with our windows and doors to make sure they are completely across their responsibilities!

Patio doors are one of the most important doors in any home. Patio doors increase the amount of living and entertainment space between indoor and outdoor environments. Finding the perfect patio door that suits your needs is a critical decision that needs careful consideration to cover all lifestyle and design possibilities.

Let me walk you through some options.

Sliding doors – let in a lot of natural light due to their large glass panels and minimal framing providing an unobstructed view when closed. Large panels, such as our MAGNUM™ Sliding Door can provide panels up to 3 metres high.

Bi-fold doors – open up to completely showcase the outdoors with no obstruction. We recommend adding an operable panel to one side, so when you want quick access to the outdoors, you can use this door without opening the whole bi-fold. Retractable screens are also a lovely feature with a bi-fold as they can bi-part in the middle.

Stacking doors – look like sliding doors, but contain more moving panels. Our three-panel stacking door opens to two-thirds of its width. And if you select a bi-parting option, it can span eight metres!

Cavity slider doors – a favourite of mine. The panels disappear into your wall. You get a full unobstructed view as the panels tuck neatly into a cavity.

French doors – a classic look if you don’t have a wide opening. They can be fitted with parliament hinges for a 180 degree opening.

If you’re in the middle of designing your home, I’m sure there are some wonderful plans for a designer couch, white subway tiles and Dulux’s latest colour offering for your walls; just don’t forget about the windows and doors. After you choose your style, then you can move onto colour!