Give interior doors a second thought

Have you ever really looked at the interior doors of your home? Have you ever considered how many doors you have? Or do you simply open and shut them without much thought?

I really like the doors in my Savannah home, and I believe most are original to the house. They are a simple 4-panel design, an elegant, vertical 2-over-2 style. To further add interest, we hired an artist to paint them in a Biedermeier style with faux woodgraining and matte black accents outlining the panels. The effect is stunning and contributes to the eclectic style of my furnishings. Plain white doors would have been OK, but this treatment takes them — and the decor — to the next level.

Your choice of interior doors can greatly impact the overall look of your decor. This seemingly basic architectural feature can be so much more than just a functional element in a home.

When you consider all the different styles and materials available today, the options can be overwhelming. Let’s take a moment to explore the possibilities and highlight things to be thinking about.

Things to consider

First, you should consider the actual material of the door. Residential interior doors are typically solid or hollow core, and made from real wood or a composite of medium density fiberboard (MDF).

Real wood and solid-core doors offer better sound insulation and a heftier feel. Natural wood doors offer the beauty of woodgrain, whether it’s rustic and knotty pine, hickory or a more refined look such as rich mahogany. Because of the beauty the woodgrain creates, these doors beg for a stain finish. It would be a crime to cover them in paint.

Hollow-core doors are much lighter and therefore easier to install for the do-it-yourselfer. Hollow-core doors are also less expensive but still offer a great deal of style and design options. The surface can be smooth or “grained” for texture. My vote is go with the smooth finish as I find the grained a bit too stylized and cartoonish to be convincing.

Interior doors are not just regulated to wood or composite wood. Glass, metal, and reclaimed materials can also be fashioned into doors for a more decorative and custom look. These materials are great for a spot in the house where you want to add a “wow” factor. Take for instance a study or home office where you may want to add sound insulation but not necessarily visually block off the space. French doors make an attractive alternative to a solid door.

Styles

Doors come in a variety of styles, from plain and sleek to detailed and decorative. Plain or flush doors work really well with modern and contemporary spaces. If you’re a fan of accent colors on doors — an emerging trend right now — then a plain, flush door is the best way to go so the color becomes the focal point, rather than the detailing of the door.

Panel doors are what we are used to seeing in traditional design styles, especially the “traditional Lowcountry” looks that are popular in our area. The panels can vary widely in number and execution. Trending now is a less busy composition of two or four panels. The detailing is still present, only it’s simplified, and the panels are recessed rather than raised.

And who says doors have to swing on traditional hinges? I recently worked on a few projects where we used an exposed track and wheel hardware system to create a sliding “barn door” look. This is a fun alternative to a traditional door and it works in areas where there is limited room for the path of a door swing. These doors also don’t have to be rustic looking. When done with polished chrome hardware and a tempered, frosted glass door, this style can be very sleek.

So whether you are building a new home or updating an older one, take a minute to explore the options available for those “utilitarian” interior doors. A little time spent on this design decision can make the difference between simply coming in and making an entrance.

This story was originally published June 10, 2016 at 11:29 AM with the headline "Give interior doors a second thought."