Pocket doors can save space because they don't have to swing into a room, taking up valuable floor space. If you have a door that collides with a cabinet or obstructs the flow of traffic, then a pocket door can help your space feel larger. These pocket doors may inspire you to swap out your swinging door to make a room flow better or to save space.
- Door and decor inspiration
Killy Scheer of Houzz.com put together a gallery of different styles of pocket doors that range from classic woodwork to translucent and modern. My personal favorite is the hide away pantry concealed behind pocket doors (Image 2). - Pocket door room divider in Tokyo
Two pocket doors allow this bedroom to close off from the rest of the space when in use. When the doors are open, both spaces feel larger (Image 3). - A 20 square foot bathroom
These tips from House Logic could help you squeeze a small half bathroom into a small house. The key to making it fit: a pocket door (Image 4). - DIY pocket door installation
If you want to tackle a pocket door renovation on your own, DIYadvice has a tutorial complete with photographs and step-by-step instructions. - Dining room
From House and Home, a lovely example of a classic pocket door to the dining room (Image 5). - Hardware to make a pocket door better
The Halliday Baillie hardware for pocket doors could transform a standard pocket door into something more sleek and modern.
MORE POCKET DOORS ON APARTMENT THERAPY:
• Pocket, Sliding, and Divider Doors in the Bedroom
(Images: 1. Laurie McGinley, 2. Marie Newton via Houzz, 3. Via Apartment Therapy, 4. Houselogic, 5. House and Home)
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You have to have wall space that the pocket door can slide into, though. We wanted to install one to separate our guest suite (there is a bathroom that CAN be private to the guest room if closed off that way) but the alignment of the walls didn't work out, so we had to use a conventional swinging door. They are nice if they work well, but kind of a pain if they jam up.
Another cool example, if you don't have wallspace, is Mitch Haile's pocket door without a pocket.
I want to do this in every room of my house!
I seem to recall hearing that these went out of fashion partly because they can help spread fires -- any idea if that's been fixed by newer technology?
@MARYHS - you mean the fact that they have small gaps, or the doors themselves? The doors would have to be up to housing code, so I don't see the doors themselves being a problem. The sliding motion does create minute gaps, but that doesn't seem to be any different than a regular swing door.
I worked cleaning houses last summer and saw a lot of new homes with these, especially large homes. I guess they have the wall space and like the option of closing rooms off without having doors hanging out all over the place. I think it's a really nice, clean look! But in the case of small spaces, I almost like curtains better. Fabric is more airy and doesn't box things up as much, which I think would be awesome for the bedroom one.
Pocket doors on the bathroom are the worst. No acoustic privacy.
I have a tiny bathroom with a door that gets in the way of the shelves, and I tried a folding door. Didn't like it. It was just awkward, so I put the original door back up. I've been intending to do a pocket, but now overture makes me wonder if I really want to. I've see bathrooms where a pocket seems to work fine - I wonder what the variables are?
For what it's worth, I have a pocket door for my bathroom and I have no problems with it. It was built to be a pocket door so I don't know how it works if you are trying to retrofit a pocket into a space that doesn't have one, but I know I wouldn't trade it for a regular door for any reason.
We had a pocket door in our last bathroom, and I SO wish we also had one in our current space! My mom's entire house has them, and it really does open up the space everywhere.
Pocket doors are nice, but are super expensive to put them in. I was quoted $800 to put one in my bathroom..
You have a really helpful article here. The Houzz gallery is indeed very inspiring while the DIY pocket door provides alternative for those who do not have enough budget to hire someone to do the door installation for them.