Traditionally internal doors have been something of an after-thought, and an interior design feature which is thought about at the end of a project, and even then, isn’t afforded much time or consideration. Like many features of the home, however, internal doors have grabbed the attention of modern interior designers and the DIY market, and now there is a wealth of choice available and internal doors can play a major role in an overall home improvement scheme.
For a long time, internal doors were merely considered to be a functional necessity, and the only factors you needed to put some thought to were size, material and cost. But now the inherent and decorative design of internal doors has come into play and we have realised that internal doors can make or break your interior design.
The importance of internal doors
Doors can be used to shape a room, but they also stand as an integral feature in creating continuity and a conduit to maintaining flow from one room to another. Internal doors can be a stately entrance or a practical feature, but they are an important consideration when looking at corridors and hallways, and where you have a lot of doors in sequence, their uniformity can be quite arresting. So in terms of where do you start with internal doors, the biggest factor is what different styles are available?
If you have a period property you can choose from Edwardian, Victorian or Georgian-style doors, and with these it is easy to enhance an existing property or create some classic style in an otherwise featureless home. These doors have unique mouldings and are expertly crafted to mimic the classic styles of the day, and their careful designs add style and elegance whilst also being solid, well-constructed and durable. With period internal doors it is important to match them with other period detail in the home, to ensure consistency. This could be skirting, door architrave, wall architrave or even ceiling mouldings.
As mentioned, you can add period detail to a more contemporary home, but you can also choose contemporary internal doors. Open-plan living is very popular now but you still need internal doors and contemporary styles still combine style with functionality.
How to choose internal doors
An important consideration with doors of course is colour. In this respect, the choice of material is important as some woods don’t take well to painting or varnishing, so you need to carry out some research. This is also where the overall design of your home needs to be considered, as doors can create a good contrast to lighter walls or can be used to subtly blend shades. In some cases though, internal doors can lead out to dark or dimly lit corridors, so colour is an important factor and some shades or statements might not work.
You may feel that the internal doors on the ground floor merit more attention than those upstairs, because visitors are more likely to see ground floor doors more often. This is true of course, but you should not forget the fact that you are living in the property, and what suits you matters more. However, this can mean you have a different scheme of design downstairs than you do upstairs, as long as each one works.
When sizing up and fitting internal doors, it always makes sense to get some advice, however much of a DIY expert you feel you are. You should remember that in some period or traditional properties, walls may not be straight or run true, ceilings aren’t always running perfectly parallel to door frames etc, so be careful with measurements and never assume.
After that, there is certainly a good choice of cost effective and stylish internal doors available, so while these may be the last features you buy and install in your home improvement scheme, they should always be a very early consideration.