Landquist & Son

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Are bifold doors a good idea for a closet?

When trying to determine what type of closet door to place into an opening, the bifold closet door can come to mind. The big question however is, are bifold doors actually a good idea for a closet? Let’s take a look at some key bullet points surrounding the positives of designing with closet doors.

  • Doors are hinged, so they take up very little floor space to use; very practical in small areas.

  • Doors open outwards, for full useable space utilized in the closet.

  • They are unique.

  • Easy to use, safe.

If you have a small foot print for a floor plan you are you working with, then it is important to take a closer look at the bifold for your closet door of choice. The bifold closet door doesn’t require the same amount of space in front of the closet opening as a prehung closet doors does. For example, when looking at the numbers, when a prehung closet door is designed for a 36” width, the door needs 36 inches in front of that opening for it to function. If you were to place in a bifold closet door into the opening instead, the amount of space needed in front of the opening would be 1/2 of that, around 18” in front. This may allow you to fit in additional furniture like a nightstand next to the bed, with that extra space saved.

36 “ needed in front of opening.

18” needed in front of opening.

Bifold closet doors always open outside of the closet door opening, which allows for full utilization of the closet for what it is intended for. Closets that are larger, are better especially in urban atmospheres where you may not have many places to store your belongings. Urban storage space has always been an issue. When you are living in a home, in the suburbs or country, you have pretty much an unlimited amount of space for storage under your house, in the attic, and so on. However, when living in an urban building, this is something that you must sacrifice. Bifold help to ease this issue because of the amount of space to store your things is so much higher than a closet opening of a prehung closet door with large stub walls. This is the reason why bifold closet doors are considered to be such an urban closet door.

Full useable space in an urban high rise, shown above.

Bifold closet doors can be made into pretty unique, showstoppers. Whether you decide to go for a dramatic effect with floor to ceiling built into the wall look, a new wood species veneer, mirrors, paint color to match the wall, or wallpaper, there are so many possibilities to make the doors look custom. According to the space, it is best to make the door fit within your style of the room chosen. Just because your closet door in the hallway is white, doesn’t mean your bedroom closet doors has to be white as well. Take a look below for some inspiration.

Bifold closet doors are easy to use. They are easy to open and close. This is great when dealing with children or elderly that may not have as much strength. It is also nice to have a pull installed where the user doesn’t have to grasp something small. A u shaped pull can allow a person without the ability to grab onto things tightly, to still open their door. Bifold doors also typically don’t have a floor track which allows for easier use when dealing with walkers or wheelchairs.