Space-saving doors for small spaces
- 7 min reading time
Space-saving doors for small spaces give you more floor space. Find out which door suits your home, budget, privacy, and daily use.
A bathroom door that collides with the washing machine, a bedroom where you have to step in before the door can open, or a narrow hallway that constantly gets blocked: these are common problems in compact homes. With space-saving doors for small spaces, you don't literally make a room larger, but you do utilize the available square meters much more cleverly. You notice this every day through more circulation space, a logical layout, and fewer doors obstructing each other.
The right choice depends on the space, the wall construction, and how much privacy you need. A sliding door, for example, is practical but requires free wall space. A folding door takes up little space, while its soundproofing is often less effective. Those who carefully consider usage and measurements beforehand can avoid a beautiful solution that turns out to be impractical in reality.
Why a hinged door requires so much space
A standard hinged door needs a swing radius. For a door 83 centimeters wide, that means almost a square meter of floor that must remain clear. In a small bathroom, toilet, storage room, or studio apartment, that's valuable space. You can't place a cabinet, laundry basket, or furniture there, and even a narrow passage feels cramped more quickly.
Swinging it outwards is sometimes a simple solution, but not always the best. In a hall or landing, the door can then block a walkway. Moreover, two adjacent doors can collide. So, saving space doesn't start with the door itself, but with the question of where that door opens and who uses it daily.