The timeless appeal of French doors

French doors have been a popular feature in many homes across the world for centuries and continue to be just as prevalent today. Homeowners nowadays can benefit from a greater variety of style of external door than those available just a few decades ago. Sliding doors, bi-folding/concertina doors, and a greater variety of materials used for doors are available to choose from. However, French doors remain just as stylish, timeless, and widely adopted despite these factors, so why is this?
Versatility
One of the greatest advantages French doors have over their counterparts such as bifolds or sliding doors are the customisation options available with them. Patio doors are always fully glazed, and bifold doors typically speaking, are of a more contemporary nature, making them somewhat unsuitable or not quite the right look in certain property types and ages, especially listed buildings. Below are just a few different ways you can adapt and customise French doors:
- Fully/partially glazed.
- Panel styles – i.e. raised and fielded, bolection mouldings & flat panels.
- Different moulding options such as ovolo, bevel and square. Each provides a different overall look that suits traditional or contemporary properties more.
- Size.
- Opening inwards or outwards to suit specific rooms/requirements.
- Etched, patterned or stained-glass options.
- Commonly used as an internal door option where appropriate.
- Bespoke – French doors can be manufactured in an arched style, where the hinge system can still operate as intended, whereas bi-fold doors and patio doors that using a sliding / folding mechanism, cannot work within an arched opening.
Customisation of the above factors allow French doors to achieve a greater variety of looks other styles of external doors cannot match. This flexibility therefore mean French doors can be an appropriate choice of door regardless of the property / room / opening in question, providing the right style is selected through research and advice from experts.
Timeless
As touched on above, certain door styles such as bifold doors are more suited to a contemporary style of living, and in certain property styles and of a certain age, would be a bit jarring and inappropriate for the home. French doors, through the various customisation options listed above, can achieve a greater variety of looks, be it traditional or more contemporary, giving French doors a timeless style that other door styles cannot always match. As the truly traditional door option as well, nothing can match the truly authentic look that a set of double doors can achieve.
Application
Size of opening is often one of the key considerations that leads a homeowner into deciding one style of door over another. For larger openings at the rear of a home, even with sidelights and toplights added on, sometimes French doors cannot achieve the size of opening that the home requires, which is an advantage bifolds and sliding patio doors have over this style. This has led to the rise in popularity of aluminium bifold doors and sliding glass doors for example, as this material and style can fit these larger size requirements. It is also on the rise in popularity with house extensions, and at the rear of London homes especially. While trying not to dwell on these alternative materials too much for the purpose of this post, they do come with their downsides, and as we always recommend, extensive research before committing to any one solution is always crucial, to ensure you buy the most appropriate doors for your home that tick all the correct boxes, while fitting within your budget.
However, for smaller openings, such as onto a balcony, internal doors, in Victorian terrace homes, or those that open onto a set of steps down into a garden for example, French doors are a more appropriate, functional, and sometimes even, the only solution that can be applied. A set of sliding doors, and bifolds doors requires a minimum width in order for the doors to function as intended, and so these can be ruled out if the opening is too small. With patio doors, at least one of the sashes will remain fixed in place, and so this can restrict access/not be a practical solution in certain openings. We go into this in greater detail in a separate blog post, which you can read more about here.
Finding the right French doors for your home
While trends come and go, French doors over the years have stood the test of time. Their ability to be customised and adapted gives them the edge over other external door styles, as they can achieve a greater variety of looks that can suit more property styles and ages. Greater customisation options such as the style of panelling, as well as greater colour options available to over alternative, non-timber French doors, allow you to create a truly timeless, beautiful set of doors that will give your home the edge.
Your home is your pride and joy and all upgrades / renovations you do to it, should both reflect you as a person, and also what is best for the property itself. Too often, we look at a home and can instinctively tell when the windows and doors were not the right choice. While this is easy to tell at the front of a home, it is also applicable at the rear, with external and garden doors. Even though they are not seen as often, they still need to be correct. Especially if you ever look to sell your home, you want to ensure you have maximised value and beauty.
Over the years, we have visited many of our customer’s homes and photographed a wide variety external door styles, including French, bi-fold and patio doors. We highly recommend you browse our range here, and also via our Instagram and Pinterest channels. Finding the right style for your home can take time so exploring the various options available to you, we hope, will aid in this search. You can also visit one of our showrooms nationwide and speak to local experts who have worked in your area for years. They can advise further using their experience and help you narrow down what would be the right fit for you.