Using Interior Sliding Glass Doors To Open Up Your Small Space

For those of us who live in small space, of which there are plenty here in Glasgow, we're always looking for new and creative ideas for making our small spaces feel bigger. Light colored paint choices, the use of mirrors, and excellent organization are a few ways that people achieve this through decorating. Others achieve it through design changes such as interior sliding glass doors.

These sliding doors are a great choice for small homes for a number of reasons. Because many are suspended from simple stainless steel rods, they don't require frames. The clear, patterned or frosted glass they are made from allows light to pass from one room to another, and as we know, light is an effective way to open up a room. And of course, they provide privacy through an attractive design element.

There are many different sliding glass door systems that can be used in small homes and offices, from ones that can be installed yourself, to automatic, exterior or glass patio doors that must be professionally installed. Which you choose depends on your level of comfort with do-it-yourself type projects, as well as on the type of door you need. While a small door is easy to install in just an hour or so, a full glass room divider would probably require the expertise of a professional.

While we can't take a look at all of the different options, we can look some of the options available in sliding doors for your interior.

More commonly known as frameless doors, or sometimes bypass doors, most follow a common design. A bar is installed on the wall above the door opening, on which the glass door glides. Bars can extend beyond the door to one side, or to both sides, depending on whether or not you want your door to slide open both directions. The glass portion of the door has special metal hardware gear attached to it, which hooks to the bar and allows it to slide open and shut easily.

The doors themselves are typically available in frosted glass, clear glass, colored glass, and can even be specially designed with patterns. The hardware can also usually be chosen, allowing you to create a door that matches your design scheme or existing decor. Interior sliding glass doors generally aren't available to buy online in an "as is" form. Instead, you often have to talk with the store about exactly what you want, which is a good way to make sure that a glass door is really what you want, instead of maybe a pocket door for example.

From there, you can install your door yourself, or hire a handyman or contractor to do it for you.