Customising pocket doors - creative ideas for that personalised touch

The door to a room is often dismissed as purely a functional item, and in many respects it is. A door provides privacy and security, it stops drafts and prevents noise travelling, in fact, we don’t really think about what a door does, we just know we need one. A pocket door is no different in terms of functionality, but we also know that a pocket door provides more floor space in a room, and so allows you to find new uses for certain spaces or to change a space to become multi-purpose.

It is not often we think about how we can improve a door, but there are ways you can customise a door to make it more appealing to look at, or to make it more useful or user-friendly. A pocket door has more visual attributes than a traditional hinged door, because it always stays in the same orientation, it doesn’t swing into a room in an arced angle. This means that the door can be used as a more visual statement, because it is always visible in the same plane. So what ideas can we incorporate to personalise a pocket door?

How to personalise a pocket door

Ideas for personalising a pocket door can be split into visual ideas and practical ideas, ie. ideas to make the door look nicer and ideas to make it work to your individual needs.

• Glass designs – A glass pocket door in itself is a nice individual touch because it lets natural light flow and allows smaller spaces to be more usable and comfortable. But you can add individual touches to glass pocket doors to make them even more personal. Using sand-blasted lines you can have designs etched onto the glass. This creates a contemporary look that is ideal for the home or workplace, and you can choose from standard designs and bespoke designs. You can also incorporate coloured glass to provide attractive floral or art-based designs. This will of course add cost and lead-time to your delivery but is a great way to make an otherwise plain feature much more appealing.
• Paint – Although the functionality of a pocket door is very different to a traditional hinged door, physically it is much the same. So just as you can gloss over a standard door, you can do the same with a pocket door. Be careful to sand and prepare the door properly, and ideally you should ensure the door is painted before being installed, but you can then incorporate the colour scheme from your room or adjoining corridors or you could use the pocket door for contrast and make it a standout feature.
• Wallpaper – It is possible to add wallpaper to a pocket door to create an attractive design. This is a good way to add colour and design features to an otherwise plainly-decorated room, or you can use the same wallpaper as you have for the walls of the room. You can also, of course, have different wallpaper on each side of the door.
• Artwork – A really simple way of customising a pocket door is to attach wall art to it. You need to make sure there remains sufficient clearance for the door to open and close as normal without knocking or damaging the wall art, but otherwise, this is a really good way to make the door a statement feature.
• Accessories – In terms of customising the practical use of the door, you can add a range of accessories which help with the everyday function of the door and suit your personal circumstances. These include:
• Soft-close – Also known as an anti-slam feature, this is a device which takes control of the door at a certain point of the closing action, and which ensures the door travels to the ‘rest’ position in a controlled manner. This is good if you have kids who continually slam doors, or perhaps the door is close to the outside and a wind tunnel could cause damage or an injury.
• Self-close – If you are often passing through the door with an armful of plates, or paperwork, or anything, then the self-close feature ensures the door always closes behind you. This is good for reducing noise, reducing airflow and improving security and climate control.
• Double-door co-ordination – If you have the space for double pocket doors, this feature allows you to open both doors by only pushing on one of the doors. So again, if you are often carrying something through the doors, this makes the action much simpler.
• Touch latch – This is a simple device that is inserted into the leading edge of the door for when it is in the fully ‘open’ position. By touching the device, a spring activates the door and allows it to close. This means the door can be installed so that it sits flush in the ‘pocket’ wall cavity, and you don’t need a section protruding so you can grab it with your fingers. Hence, the finished look is neater and cleaner.

Contact the Pocket Door Shop for more advice on customising your pocket door

So there are some very simple ideas for how to customise your pocket door, but if you need more information or advice on how to do it, then contact our expert sales team at the Pocket Door Shop today.