Internal doors play an essential role in developing the style and appeal of your property. They can help to build an overall theme as well as fulfilling their functional purpose; to divide rooms and to prevent noise and draughts. The design detail of internal doors is therefore critical to how your interior design works.
There is lots to consider when choosing the style of your internal doors, namely functionality, material, finish and size. In general terms there are two main styles of internal door; period doors and contemporary doors.
Period doors
Period doors are an enduring design classic and are still very common in many homes, because they are traditional and a widely accepted and popular design. The design usually incorporates panels – either two, four or six – with coving, cornice and architrave detail often offering a sign of which period the design comes from, ie. Victorian, Georgian or Edwardian. Period doors are often used for more formal rooms, such as sitting rooms, dining rooms or drawing rooms, whereas plainer and more modern doors may be used for kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms.
Architrave will usually be designed to match the cornice shaping of a period door and the size of these doors can often be quite large, to suit the grander homes built in the 19th century and the sometimes irregular shapes they were built in. This is in contrast to the more standard and uniform size of doors made for modern homes which more tightly conform to regulation sizes. Period doors also sometimes incorporate glass, because this was much cheaper to produce, and hence you often see stained glass or decorative patterns in glass for doors to kitchens, porches, pantries and utility rooms.
Contemporary doors
Contemporary doors are usually much plainer, smaller and lighter in weight than traditional doors. That is simply so they have versatility and practicality in matching detail in your home. Modern doors can be frameless with no architrave to make them minimalist and so that they blend into walls seamlessly. Having less features in this way means you can also be more elaborate with wall-papering or wall decoration without having a clash of styles.
Considerations when thinking about period or contemporary doors
- Door handles – Knobs, handles, locks and hinges all need to be considered to match your door. These are usually brass, iron or chrome and need to be consistent in colour and style. You can create a clash by having a period door with a sleek chrome handle for example, or a porcelain knob on a contemporary door.
- Material – Period doors tend to be made of solid wood such as pine or oak, and hence are heavy but robust. These are good for soundproofing, insulation and durability. More modern doors are a solid core style, which is a finer wood covering a core of MDF. These tend to be much lighter and easier to handle, and whilst more affordable they perhaps won’t be as long-lasting.
- Consistency – You need to consider the flow of styles from room to room and how your doors either enable that or prevent it. It is easy to think period features all match but you can easily mix Georgian with Edwardian and the keen eye will spot it. Your internal décor in corridors also has to be considered as well as the colour and finish of your doors.
- Positions – Ultimately, people tend to have more stylish doors on ground level. These can be either period or contemporary, but their intention is to create a wow factor. This then allows you to have more normal and functional doors upstairs, where these are less visible and less of a feature.
You can browse our selection of period and contemporary doors and speak to our sales experts who can make recommendations for your home. We have many different styles, sizes and materials on offer, so get in touch today.