apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

How about the sliding glass doors (available in other finishes too) for the Pax wardrobe system that Ikea sells? They're not actaully doors for rooms, but they could be adapted to that purpose. I think the glass doors come in 79" and 92" heights, and several widths (although there may not be anything between 24" and 39", which is the sweetspot for doors).

I, too, would love some inexpensive frosted glass sliding doors to replace the bifolds on my closets. I didn't see any glass doors in the PAX collection at IKEA. So if anyone else has a good lead please share!

I had frameless sliding glass doors installed to section off a home office. While not cheap it was much less expensive than European custom glass doors which you mention. I used a glass shower installer who was doing work in my building. This way they matched the glass throughout the loft perfectly. The result is pretty striking, and worth every penny.

As for the PAX doors, I'm not sure they would work. They require a top and bottom track to work correctly. They way they are mounted, I'm not sure how you would frame it to work for a door space.

There's also Raydoor, which uses translucent plexiglas in a wood frame. They have many options, and worth a look.

Good luck, it is a great look...

Yes, I don't know that the Pax doors would actually work for a door to a room, or a room divider. As for needing a track at the bottom, I think (although again, I'm not sure -- I don't have a Pax system on hand to look) you might be able to recess a metal track in the floor. But it would definitely take some customizing. The plus side is cost. A pair of the frosted glass Pax doors is $320 for the 79" wide by 93" tall pair. Teonyc, I don't know what your sliding glass door(s) cost but it sounds pretty cool (I'd be really interested in a ballpark figure or pics, if you'd be willing to share.)

anne - The pax glass doors can be found online here:
http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?topcategoryId=15597&catalogId=10103&storeId=12&productId=42695&langId=-1&parentCats=15597*15852
Or if this URL is mangled, just try looking on the Ikea site for Pax doors. In person, they looked pretty decent. Frosted glass divided horizontally into three sections. Not a sheer pane of glass, which would look really cool, but still nice.

Oh yeah, one other idea. Perhaps you could get Teonyc's contractor (or a similar contractor that deals with shower doors) to mount the shower panels on some strap hangers. There's a guy describing his (much cheaper) use of this method with a birch ply panel door over at livemodern.com:
http://livemodern.com/forums/dwell/materialsmethods/392013888986

Great, thank you everyone for your suggestions. They're very helpful.

Teonyc-- would it be possible for me to get the name/phone number of the glass shower contractor you used for your apartment? Could you post the information here, or, if you would like, I can send you my e-mail address.

Thanks!

I'll gather the information and post it on this forum later today. I don't think I can post images here, but will also post a link to an image on my own web site which you will be able to see how it looks.

For my installation, it was relatively expensive since the ceiling height is so tall the glass was all custom. The framing was also a bit tough since the hanging glass weighs over 300 lbs each. For standard-height ceilings, it should be much, much cheaper.

So hang on, I'll get back in a few hours with the info/images.

Ted

I have thought about using the pax glass doors myself and this is how I thought it could work without atcually every seeing them in person:

1. If the metal frame has enough thickness, drill two sets of holes into the top part of the frame to fit the sliding door trucks/dollys/whatever they're called that you get with any sliding door hardware kit.

2. Get the sliding door hardware kit (or do this first)

3. Buy the U shaped floor mounted channel guides so that the bottom of the door can be prevented from swinging out.

4. Screw the U shaped channel at the far end of each door (away from side that it opens from) when closed, such that when the door is fully open the near end of the door sits about flush with the channel. When the door is closed, the far end of the door is nearly flush with the channel.

5. Ensure that the opening is tall enought to clear any hardware at the bottom of the pax doors that you might not be able to remove and that serves to slide in a bottom channel which you will no longer need.

I did a quick picture here. Hope it makes sense
http://www.flickr.com/photos/64483597@N00/100469348/

I was about to ask this question....I saw this and thought it was good looking
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/photo/020806jae/a33
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/photo/020806jae/a34
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/photo/020806jae/a35

I thought I would chime in here since I am in the middle of installing the PAX Stordal sliding doors as a replacement for the truly ugly wooden closet doors that were in my second bedroom originally. Click on my name to see it on my Flickr site.
I agree that these doors would not make a good room divider, but the topic of replacing sliding closet doors has come up numerous times.
Obviously, there are expensive European options (e.g., Poliform) which look good and cost alot. Someone mentioned Raydoor. I checked that out through a supplier here in Chicago. Two sliding doors and a third on the entry closet was estimated at $10K - BEFORE installation! Not that I wouldn't spend the money, but there are other projects (and vacations) higher in the queue. IKEA provided a low-cost solution ($500 for the 93" x 118" doors).
The job is not quite done (it's been 3 days, so far). My project was complicated by the fact that my vintage wood floors have a significant slope and this has to be rectified without making the doors look like they are hanging lopsided. I'll add pictures as the job progresses. We are installing puck lights that should provide a nice effect through the semi-translucent glass.

Another great look/solution Kathryn!
Thanks for posting the pictures. I look forward to seeing the finished product.

This is the first time I have seen the Pax stordal doors in the real world and they look better than on the Ikea site. As much as I would love to do what you did in one of our bedrooms (I have built stud and drywall closet before so am comfortable doing it) to get an integrated look, the shallow alcove that we have is actually just the right size for two Pax units so I may as well just buy the closet system. Having seen your pictures convinces me that the stordal doors are the way to go.

Furthermore, your pictures convince me that the stordal doors could be rigged up in the manner I described earlier. The metal frame appears to be thick enough.

thanks jamie pup!

yes, we hung the doors pretty much as you described, except that they slide over or behind themselves, not outward (unless I read your diagram incorrectly!)
anyway, my carpenter took off to Michigan for the weekend, but he's almost finished installing the lighting - new pics are in my photo set.
The doors are really dusty - I'm wondering if I should dust them with a dry cloth or some sort of cleaning fluid...

Oh, and our next project is to Ikea-size the front hallway closet. This time, I am going to go ahead and buy the wardrobe unit, too. No sliding doors this time, I'm thinking of the white lacquer finishe with regular cabinet-style doors. We'll put drywall around it to give the "built-in" look.

Thanks again everyone for your comments.

Ted, looking forward to seeing the pictures of your project.

Thanks.

Go to www.slidingdoorco.com

They have beautiful doors. A little pricey but worth every cent. And you can change the look of the doors whenever you want. They provide 6 dividers with each panel so you can keep it solid glass or divide it into as many pieces as you'd like. VERY cool.

I just got some awesome ones from home depot--of all places. I needed them for my store. There is a closet in the main shopping area that I needed to look really spiffy and contemporary. They sucky part is that I have no idea what the manufacturer was/is. I purchased them at Home Depot in the main closet door area.

What can i do my opening is 96 high by 108 long. I love the look of the Ikea doors. But my space is to small. And i dont want to spend 3k on a special order door. Help.

Tre Piu' is an high end company from Italy. It is hard to beat their quality. Ikea or Slidingdoorco use cheaper materials (their doors are made in China), and you can definitively tell the difference once the door is installed.
I loved their doors but they were too pricey.
I looked a lot around, and found a good alternative in www.modernus.com (http://www.modernus.com).
I am really happy about them, their quality is impeccable, and they are fully custom. The prices are not too bad either.

I will be looking for new closet doors. What kind of prices did you pay for modernus?

Thanks!

Does anyone know how I can replace one of the panels for my PAX Stordal doors? I had someone install it, and he broke one of the glass panels in one of the doors *there are three panels per door.
I contacted IKEA, they won't sell the glass separately. I have to buy a set of doors ($600) I have the 118x92. I can't replace the glass with a local glass company because it's metric.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?topcategoryId=15597&catalogId=10103&storeId=12&productId=42695&langId=-1&categoryId=15857&chosenPartNumber=50073843

Have you tried looking up C-Living.com? They are a modern furniture and door company that has very great quality doors. They are easily installed and work flawlessly. You should try them out. I recently used them in a project for a client and they are beautiful.

You guys are the bomb! :)Great ideas on this forum.

My hubby and i had been searching for ideas on how to get our entryway "closet" done.We just bought a house and we have this weird opening right next to the main door and the previous owners actually used a raggedy curtain to cover up that opening.We have been trying to find cheaper yet 'wont look as cheap'(if that makes any sense to all of you) solution for that opening.We've looked at home depot and lowes and the doors that we actually wanted are a lil pricey.My hubby doesnt really want to spend too much on the door and i want a door with tempered glass or even polypropylene panels.We never even thought about checking out ikea! duh!

It's especially harder to find closet doors or even cabinets to fit into it coz of its unusual dimensions.The width starts at 24inches at the bottom and then decreased to 23 1/2inches at the top.The height is 90inches exactly, but we might need something that's shorter than that.But you guys have given me some great ideas and we'll see whether it'll work after my hubby starts on the project.I'll take some pics and will post 'em once we're done! Thanks guys!

p/s : Some great ideas are always welcome! Thanks :)

Ted:

i cannot find the information about using shower door as glassdoor to section off a home office (which is exactly what i want to do in my apt). Could you please let me know your contractor info and is that alright to show us couple photos of your door? Thanks

I see alot of great ideas here. I've also seen sliding doors and glass walls from T-Concepts. They distribute C-Living glass doors in the US, too. If Tre Piu is a Ferrari, they're a Mercedes. Very modern!

www.t-concepts.com

Sliding doors