The kitchen is one of the main rooms in any home, and we spend a lot of time in it. To create a cozy and comfortable environment in the kitchen, it is not enough to equip everything with the latest technology, make functional cabinets and fill them with good dishes. You need to add one important detail - install an interior door that will separate the kitchen from the rest of the rooms. After reading the article, you will learn what role a kitchen door plays and how to choose the most suitable one from numerous options.
Door to the kitchen: pros and cons
When discussing the need for a door to the kitchen, you should remember that this is a specific room and in most cases installation is necessary. The solution to this issue should begin by considering all the pros and cons of having a door leaf.
Disadvantages that may arise after installing the door:
- reducing the free space inside the kitchen or in front of it if the door is hinged;
- the need to completely or partially rearrange the furniture if some of its elements interfere with the normal functioning of the door;
- serious financial costs: purchase of a door leaf and frame, delivery and installation if specialists are involved.
Please note! Due to the unstable microclimate of the kitchen due to regular cooking and high humidity, a low-quality door quickly loses its attractiveness.
There are also advantages to installing this element of the apartment, and they are significant:
- limits the spread of kitchen odors throughout all rooms;
- prevents uncontrolled access to the kitchen for small children and pets;
- allows you to isolate yourself if necessary during telephone conversations or other everyday situations;
- changes the interior design of both the kitchen itself and the adjacent room, making them more stylish and original.
Important! In some cases, the presence of a door to the kitchen is required by the technical standards of the city gas service.
Professional advice on choosing
It is difficult to cover all aspects when choosing a door design, but practical recommendations from experts will indicate some important points:
- Take care of your safety, because you will often have to shuttle to and from the kitchen. Therefore, it is better to install doors without thresholds to avoid tripping.
- For ease of use, swing doors should open from the kitchen to the outside. Also a good option would be pendulum structures that will allow you to walk in any direction even with your hands full, but they will require large spaces to install.
- The minimum width of the doorway should be about 80 cm. Usually this is enough to easily pass with food or trays.
- Compare the size of the room with the door model you like. Swinging doors or overly bulky structures are not suitable for a small kitchen.
- If there is no hood, pay more attention to the tightness of the door - this will avoid the spread of odors throughout the apartment.
- In large houses or large apartments, you don’t have to worry too much about sound insulation and can afford to install glass or folding structures. In compact living spaces, more attention should be paid to the soundproofing properties of doors.
A properly selected entrance to the kitchen will prevent the spread of odors throughout the house, protect the rest of the household from the noise of cooking, and protect restless children from the risk of cutting themselves or getting burned. In addition, it will make the interior complete and the atmosphere in the kitchen comfortable.
Doors to the kitchen: types and features
Before purchasing or ordering a door, it is advisable to study the possible options for this design. Based on the type of opening, doors are divided into several types, familiarity with which will allow you to make the right choice.
Swing model
A classic version of a swing door, when the leaf is attached to the frame using awnings. This is possible with a standard doorway, which implies its installation at the construction stage.
If the passage between the rooms is wider, then you can consider installing a double-leaf structure. This option for a kitchen partition door is possible if the opening width is more than a meter. You can experiment with the sashes. For example, make them different in width or make one solid and the other hinged.
It is possible to make one part a continuation of the wall, and hang the second on it. Alternative options should be considered taking into account all the features within the radius of the future door before purchasing it.
Folding option
This type of door is called a book door or accordion door. The name speaks for itself - the door leaf folds when opened, similar to these objects.
This type is desirable for small room sizes, when a classic door leaf creates a lot of inconvenience.
The second reason for choosing this model is that the doorway is wider than the standard one (70 cm), but does not reach a meter to install swing doors.
Retractable design
Such an interior sliding door for the kitchen saves space perfectly and gives the whole apartment originality and originality.
There are two options: suspended and floor-mounted. For any placement of rollers, guides are needed both above and below so that the door leaf does not play. It should be noted that this is not a budget option, and it is also quite difficult to install.
The planning is carried out at the initial stage of construction, so that it allows you to equip a niche inside the wall. Later, a sliding door can be made only by placing guides on the outside.
Radius sliding door
This model is rarely used in ordinary apartments. It is considered an analogue of simple retractable structures with the only difference being that the guides are installed in a semicircle.
The movement of the door along a radius requires the manufacture of a special door leaf or several movable sections, flexibly connected to each other. The option is expensive and is usually used in design projects.
Partition design
Sliding partitions are gaining popularity every year. In interiors, options that resemble window frames are often used. Light partitions equipped with wooden slats are suitable for Scandinavian interiors. With minimalism, matte or smooth glossy panels are used without any additional decor. Such partitions are made according to an individual project, taking into account client requests, on the website https://rialpro-msk.ru/. Now everyone can turn their design ideas into reality. Loyal prices, prompt completion of the task and professional service are guaranteed.
Corner doors
Corner doors for the kitchen are another model designed for non-standard apartment projects. The idea is to replace the corner formed by two internal walls with a transparent door.
Glass makes the kitchen brighter, it seems to expand visually and at the same time is zoned apart from the rest of the apartment.
Organizing space in this way requires a major overhaul, partial removal of walls, provided that they are not load-bearing.
If installing a kitchen door is an urgent need, then the choice of design type should be carefully considered so that it is both pleasing to the eye and solves practical problems.
Flaws
Many people are afraid of the relatively high cost of a retractable door. On average, prices are at least 30% higher than for a swing model of similar size and material. It is important to immediately take this point into account when planning your renovation budget.
Among other disadvantages it is worth noting:
- There remains a gap of at least 1 cm between the wall and the door. Since there is no ideal tight fit, odors, gas and sounds from the kitchen will inevitably penetrate into the apartment.
- The weight of the door rests entirely on the wall, so partitions made of plasterboard (the kind that appear after redevelopment in a studio apartment) will require the installation of a reinforced aluminum frame. This will be quite expensive.
- Not all, but some models require a bottom rail on the floor of the room. Dust and debris “like” to get stuck in this rail. For fans of hygienic cleanliness, doors have been created with only one top rail (it’s even easier to install).
- If you want to put a lock on the kitchen door, then a regular one will not work. As a rule, hooks, chains or similar structures are attached to sliding sashes. It will be extremely difficult to put anything on the glass.
Latch design for sliding sash
Kitchen with access to the balcony
If the kitchen of the apartment is equipped with access to a balcony or loggia, then it is necessary to provide for the compatibility of the door panels. It should be noted that there are a lot of ideas for a kitchen with a balcony door.
Some options even provide for its complete removal. Dismantling allows you to increase the area of the kitchen and optimize space. give the room an original look.
Important! Work to combine a kitchen with a balcony or loggia should be coordinated with the relevant city planning services. Certain types of work require permits.
If major work is not planned, then the design of the interior and balcony doors is done in the same style. In cases of financial constraints, instead of replacing the door leaf, curtains or tulle are selected to drape the exit to the loggia.
Door leaf materials
Today there is a variety of interior doors on the market, which are made of a variety of materials:
- Wooden doors are a traditional type of door. Modern models cannot be compared with analogues that can still be found in old houses. 100% solid wood looks great when done well, but is too expensive. The second disadvantage is its significant weight, which requires a durable box that is properly secured to the wall. The third disadvantage is the possibility of significant deformation under the influence of humid or dry air in an unstable kitchen microclimate;
- Door leaves made of chipboard or MDF. Their price is much lower, but other disadvantages remain. And the aesthetics of such doors is far from ideal;
- Natural veneer is considered a good alternative to wood. They are used to line door panels made of light pine. They look good, resist moisture better, but are afraid of direct contact with water. Their price is lower, but there are cheaper options;
- Eco-veneer has proven itself to be excellent in terms of strength and aesthetic appearance. It is made by hot pressing wood fibers impregnated with synthetic glue. Veneer fully conveys the relief and color of valuable tree species, and is very durable. Such coatings are called anti-vandal. The price is almost two times lower than for canvases made of natural veneer;
- The cheapest option is doors coated with PVC, laminate or enamel. The enamel looks great, is easy to clean, there are practically no downsides, but there is no solidity either. Economy class is striking. The same disadvantage is also inherent in doors covered with PVC film. Another disadvantage is that it quickly fades in the sun, so imitation wood or other natural material quickly loses its attractiveness.
Another significant disadvantage of all economy class doors is the frame. The rectangle, assembled from laminated veneer lumber, is filled with a honeycomb-like material made of cardboard. Such doors do not keep out sound, so you can forget about soundproofing other rooms in the apartment.
Kitchen doors with glass should be considered separately from the rest. Glass can fill the frame of the door leaf completely, half or as an insert of an original shape.
Maximum glazed specimens visually increase the area and make the room brighter. Mirror options look especially original. Among the disadvantages, we can note the impracticality of large glass sheets due to the soiling of the material.
The most convenient will be less glazed options, with vertical, horizontal or diagonal inserts.
Middle category
Any model from this class is the best option in terms of price/quality ratio. The quality of this range is significantly higher than that of the lower price category, and the cost is significantly lower than that of the upper one. Prices range from 9 to 20 thousand.
At the same time, for that kind of money it is not difficult to find doors made of natural solid wood with a wide variety of finishes and interesting designs.
Door shape
Standard doors are usually rectangular in shape, but other options are possible. For example, a door leaf with a semicircular top part looks original.
Round options are also possible, but this requires strong arguments so that the design solution does not look ridiculous, but conveys a certain style.
In any case, the main thing is that the door performs its direct functions: protection from odors, sound insulation and restriction of free access.
The variety of shapes and options for kitchen doors allows you to fulfill any request. You just need to carefully study the issue and make the right choice.
Bottom line
The final choice of one option or another remains with the owner of the living space. The options we have considered have their pros and cons. And therefore, before accepting any of them, you need to carefully study their features, as well as the design nuances of your own apartment.
The photo below shows the main types of door structures with which the kitchen is separated from the rest of the apartment.
Photo of a kitchen door in a modern style
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