French doors are now more popular than ever in homes both as interior as well as exterior doors. The traditional French door is mostly glass, often with smaller panes of glass that have mullion in between to give stability to the glass and help to minimize the risk of breakage.
Although traditionally the glass panes were very small, new technology in glass manufacturing as well as options for increased security for the doors has led to a wide variety of different sizes of panes in French doors, which can be used to give even more of an open look to the room.
In addition, although perhaps not as commonly, French doors may also have a panels at the bottom and very occasionally also at the top. However, regardless of that style, they will typically hinge on the sides and meet to close in the middle with the option to open either one or both doors with or without a central divider.
Modern Materials
French doors can be constructed of any type of door material from steel to wrought iron and wood. The wood doors are very durable, can be finished to match any home or décor style or stained and left natural for a beautiful look especially for interior doors where the home has natural wood accents.
Natural Light
Since they are so open and bring in the natural light many energy efficient homes are moving towards the use of French doors for both interior and exterior doors. They allow light between room in the home as well while still offering privacy if needed. This makes then a terrific match for an office, computer room, or reading area of the home.
They can also use energy efficient glass that will block heat from entering in the summer and restrict hot air loss in the winter. Often the old styles of French doors were very energy inefficient, but this is certainly not the case with top quality French doors today.
Flow through the Home
Besides just letting in light and providing a beautiful, open look to any adjoining rooms or spaces inside or outside the home French doors also create a look of movement through the home.
With traditional doors that are closed there is a blocked or closed look down a hallway, between rooms or even between the interior and exterior of the home. French doors reverse that completely and can make even smaller homes look much larger than they actually may be.
To learn more about the different styles of French doors visit us online. Our website is at www.nicksbuilding.com. You can also follow us on Twitter.
