Pocket doors in urban living - solutions for apartments

Ever since the birth of the Industrial Revolution in the late 18^th century people have lived in city centres, though this was in order to be close to where labour was needed, rather than to enjoy the bright lights and after dark attractions. And this was at a time when city centres were a small collection of mills, shops and markets and the landscape was largely dominated by low-income back-to-back houses. Urban living in the 21^st century is a very different concept, where shiny hi-rise tower blocks dominate the skyline amid huge, sprawling city centres which pulse with commerce and leisure opportunities.

Urban living still caters for different markets, however. It is not all lavish serviced apartments with on-site gyms and front-of-house concierge services, many student developments in big university towns and cities deliver affordable city centre living and give student populations access to the beating heart of a city. Most big cities in the UK - Birmingham, Nottingham, Sheffield, Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle, Glasgow – are now a panorama of cranes and emerging skyscrapers and with a skyline that will have changed dramatically since the turn of the Millennium. Property developers are desperate to feed this hunger for urban living with new residential developments and also converting older buildings into refashioned residential schemes.

Why urban living needs to maximise space

Whether they are new 30-storey ultra chic steel and glass developments or renovated industrial buildings from the 1800s, the common denominator with urban living schemes is that the developer has to maximise space. The investment required to develop these schemes is huge, and however this is funded, payback is needed quickly, and that comes from designing the development to make the best use of space.

Much like a student landlord converting a large Victorian house into five or six different student lets, ie. from which they can draw multiple income streams, an urban living developer will seek to use the space they have to make as much money as possible, and as quickly as possible. This means that apartments are classed as ‘units’ and each unit will be as small as they can get away with while still complying with building standards regulations. This doesn’t mean rooms are uncomfortable and unwelcoming, however, and an urban living apartment can still provide adequate living space for a particular market - students and young professionals who don’t necessarily need lots of space - and the pocket door is an essential element in providing that.

How the pocket door is an essential solution for urban living

The pocket door can create up to ten square feet of space in a room because it opens by sliding in a sideways orientation into a ‘pocket’ wall recess, rather than swinging into a room like a traditional hinged door. In a city apartment scenario this is critical in attempting to provide the rooms and facilities most people expect, and also in providing different living solutions for different market demographics.

So in a basic urban living apartment, pocket doors can help to provide larger bedrooms, smaller second or guest bedrooms, bathrooms and storage areas for clothes, linen or towels. In a higher spec city centre apartment you can also use pocket doors to create en-suite bathrooms, extra bedrooms, a home office space and also to create flexible living in an open plan area.

Many modern developments embrace the idea of open concept living, which is a design solution which provides a completely open environment as you walk-in through the front door. So the living area, dining area and kitchen area is combined as one open-plan space. This provides a lighter, brighter and more flexible living space, and means you can open and close-off areas as you see fit, with the use of pocket doors. So you can leave the space open if you are entertaining or welcoming people into the home, and then you can close areas off if you need a little peace to study or relax away from other people, or you want a smaller more intimate space for a meal or watching a film. Urban living is ideal for this concept and the pocket door is the key to providing this flexibility.

Pocket doors can easily be incorporated into the design of a new-build urban living development, and in some cases will be essential in providing the space and facilities to match different market expectations. But at the same time, pocket doors can be retro-fitted into converted buildings where walls are knocked through and new spaces are created to maximise the footprint of the property. Again, in many cases there is no other way to do this than using the critical space-saving qualities of the pocket door. So check out our range of pocket door systems and let them help you embrace the idea of urban living with a smart and innovative 21^st century solution.