Reasons to install a pocket door for your small bathroom or en-suite

A bathroom is typically one of the smallest rooms in a house. This is mainly because it is a purely functional room and not one you spend a significant amount of time in, save for the occasional luxurious soak in the bath, and many bathrooms don’t even contain a bath. Sometimes a small bathroom can be quite uncomfortable and impractical. You may be cramped up against the door, you may find that the door continually bangs against a sink or toilet, and you might be crying out for some storage space or even a towel rail on the wall, to make the space more usable.

While you don’t necessarily need lavish space in a bathroom, it needs to be comfortable and practical, and if you choose to install a pocket door, this could be the key to achieving that. Furthermore, if creating a new bathroom from a larger space, the pocket door is the feature that unlocks that possibility.

How does a pocket door create space in a bathroom?

If you have a traditional hinged door in a bathroom, this will open into the room and will restrict the available space. The area behind the door, or within the arc in which the door swings open, is not able to be used and is required to be kept free. This could be where you bang the door into the sink or toilet every time you open it, or when creating a new bathroom, this might be where you decide it is not possible, because the sink or toilet can only fit within this opening arc.

The solution is to install a pocket door. The pocket door works by opening and closing along an overhead rail, and in the closed position it disappears into a recess cavity in the wall, known as the ‘pocket’. This means it is always running along the same orientation and hence will never encroach into the room space, and in practical terms this frees up around ten square feet of space. The pocket door therefore enables you to create a small family bathroom, but also an en-suite bathroom attached to a bedroom, home office or guest bedroom.

Benefits of installing a pocket door in a bathroom

The pocket door creates many benefits if you opt to install one in place of the traditional hinged door:

• Flexible layout – You now have some options and can play about with the layout of your bathroom, where as previously you were restricted and only had one option on the layout, if indeed a bathroom was feasible in the space at all. So now you can have the sink or toilet where you wanted it, you can maybe fit a walk-in shower rather than a smaller, square cubicle, and you may even be able to accommodate a bath where you couldn’t previously.
• Features – Even though the pocket door is known to create room space, it also frees up wall space. So now you can use the wall space behind the door for a towel rail or radiator. Previously the open door would have bumped into this on a regular basis and it would have been impractical.
• Accessibility – Due to the small nature of bathrooms, if someone has had a fall in the bathroom they often fall behind the door. Traditional swing doors are hard to access in this situation as someone maybe wedged behind the door, however if a pocket door is used, access if far easier as you simply slide the door back gaining quick access into the room.
• Storage – Another solution for the newly acquired space is to install some storage. This is much needed in many homes and could be ideal for towels, bedding or toiletries. Whether this is a free standing unit, some shelves or an integral fixture, you now have some options as to how to utilise the space.
• Cheaper and easier – Installing a pocket door is much easier and cheaper than knocking down a wall or moving a wall to accommodate a new bathroom.
• Stylish – Pocket doors are a chic and elegant addition to the home, and the clean lines and unfussy detail are ideal for a bathroom setting where you want peace and serenity. You can opt for a Syntesis system with no architrave, which is even more minimalist with a flush finish, but all our pocket door systems have a concealed frame and track, so the functional operation is completely hidden.
• Glass pocket doors – You also have the option of installing a glass pocket door which is ideal for a small bathroom. A glass pocket door will enable light to shine into the room to maximise the natural light and to create the impression that the room is larger. This makes a small bathroom appear less claustrophobic and more comfortable, which is exactly what you want. You can also make the glass door opaque, hence ensuring privacy for anyone using the bathroom.

Contact the Pocket Door Shop for advice on pocket doors for bathrooms

If you contact the Pocket Door Shop we can advise on the best pocket door systems for your space. We can recommend the correct size and the type of system to suit your needs, and very soon you will have the attractive bathroom and the practical space you always dreamed of, so get in touch today.