David Knollman of Brio UK discusses how homeowners can take advantage of each season with versatile sliding and folding door systems
If there’s one thing we’re known for in Britain, it’s our temperamental weather (and how we love to complain about it). Between the fleeting summers, blustering winds and bitter winters, our seasons can be wildly unpredictable – making it difficult for homeowners to stay prepared and enjoy their living spaces.
Each year, as the months pass by, homes can struggle to acclimatise to a varied spectrum of weather conditions and temperatures, leading many to believe they’re unable to experience the best that combined indoor and outdoor living can offer. Yet, modern sliding and folding door systems may often hold the answers, by combining aesthetic space-saving features with practical versatility.
In fact, sliding and folding door applications can completely transform contemporary homes by reinventing the barriers between indoor and outdoor living. Offering a unique flexibility to projects, sliding and bi-fold doors provide households with a host of benefits all year round, from aesthetic summer views to energy cost savings in winter. So, how can homeowners reap the rewards whilst complementing their living space?
Aesthetically pragmatic
Sliding and folding door features are naturally aesthetic by design and are frequently used to enhance the style of entire home layouts. Where internal doors create open plan spaces and enhance movement from room to room, external doors act as a home’s gateway to the great outdoors.
When days are brighter and warmer in spring and summer, sliding and folding patio doors will flood a home with natural light and when opened, can offer a better connection to garden areas. Often, in high-end applications, large sliding panels are utilised with specialist hardware and profiles, ensuring the glazed part of the door consists of minimal framing for superior uninterrupted views. Folding doors on the other hand, allow for a virtually clear opening, with smaller panels and more vertical frames.
Both types of doorsets extend living spaces and allow for more light to be passed through to the interior rooms of a house, reducing the need for artificial light during the day, when compared with traditional hinged doors that are typically bulkier in design and can’t open as wide. With that in mind, the distinctive design of sliding and folding door systems is especially useful in scenarios where guests are visiting, and increased traffic flow is expected in multiple areas of the home – such as summer barbecues and other large open plan gatherings. In these settings, occupants are presented with a seamless transition from indoors to outdoors and a versatile functional area for entertaining that can be enjoyed as a result of the saved space.
With only 4% of adults believing the UK is well prepared for hotter summers, the use of sliding and folding doors should not be overlooked as a source of much needed ventilation when facing extreme summer conditions. The naturally wide openings associated with these modern door designs can help to circulate fresh air through a property when temperatures begin to rise, offering enhanced ventilation and supporting a controlled climate when the sun is at its highest.
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