Are Bifold Doors the New Must-Have for Luxury Homes?

Bifold doors are some of the most attractive and unusual doors that you’ll find in any luxury home. These standout features bring praise from homeowners and their guests, and for obvious reasons. By allowing extra natural light into the home and providing a wide opening for year-round indoor/outdoor living, bifold doors change everything. They make homes more beautiful and more luxurious.

Bifold doors are changing the way we decorate and use our homes, by bringing the outside in. This is what you need to know.

What Are Bifold Doors?

Bifold doors are made up of connected folding glass panels. When open, the bifold door folds back into an accordion shape to reveal a wide open doorway that allows in breezes and, for coastal homeowners, the salty smell of the sea.

When closed, the bifold door resembles large connected windows that allow natural light to enter, while maintaining an energy efficient barrier between the inside and outside.

Bifold doors can take up an entire wall, or may be smaller as needed. Unlike French doors, bifold doors slide on tracks while simultaneously folding. These doors are typically found around the back side of the house. They may be installed in a bedroom, along a patio, or near the home’s garden.

How Are Bifold Doors Different from Sliding Glass Doors?

Bifold doors and sliding doors are not the same thing. Conventional sliding glass doors only slide – they do not fold. Bifold doors have an accordion-like action that allows the doors to fold back on themselves, while sliding doors can only slide into position on a track.

Are Bifold Doors Exterior Doors?

Bifold doors are often used as the divider between interior and exterior spaces, allowing the two to become one. They have all the energy efficiency of standard doors and windows, and thus can be installed as a barrier between the interior and exterior without concerns about hot spots, drafts, and so on.

Benefits of Bifold Doors

There are many benefits of bifold doors. Their innovative design and great beauty create a powerful option for homeowners seeking something new and unique for their home. Below are some of the many benefits of these doors.

Allow Natural Light to Enter the Home

Bifold doors allow a great deal of natural daylight into the home. When shut, they’re similar to a large row of floor-to-ceiling windows, and homeowners benefit from them in much the same way.

Flexible Appearance and Functionality

Bifold doors can be made to fit the width of nearly any opening. Bifold doors can be folded to the left or right.

Enjoy Inside/Outside Living

When opened, bifold doors bring together the home’s interior and exterior. Indoor/outdoor living is far more important to luxury homeowners than it once was, and bifold doors make the indoor/outdoor lifestyle possible.

Extra Security

These doors offer a greater level of security because they feature hinges and multi-point locking systems. By contrast, doors like sliding glass doors usually have only a dual-point locking mechanism.

Bifold Doors are Subtle and Take Up Little Space

When open, bifold doors can be folded up and pushed to the side, where they take up very little space. This is different from sliding glass doors, in which the moving panel slides behind another panel, and both panels take up that amount of space in the doorway. Once fully opened, a bifold door allows for a very large entryway into the house and to the outside.

Easy to Maintain

Bifold doors are easy to clean and generally require little maintenance in order to stay in good condition.

Beautiful

Nothing is more beautiful than a wall of windows that provides a view that everyone can enjoy. Bifold doors have a contemporary elegance that homeowners appreciate, and their aesthetic appeal matches well with modern luxury homes.

To ensure that your bifold door looks its best once installed, coordinate the finish with colors in the room to ensure that it fits and enhances the environment where installed.

Easy to Stow-Away

Bifold doors fold in on themselves and take up very little space when opened. This is convenient as well as attractive. In the event that something large needs to be brought in from the outside, bifold doors can be opened wide enough to accommodate.

Access to the Outdoors

With a bifold door, it’s even easier to spend time outside, enjoying access to your yard and the world beyond the walls of your home.

What to Look For In a Bifold Door

When you’re buying a bifold door, look for a product with many finish options and made from durable materials. Be sure to choose a glass type that benefits your home, whether that’s impact glass to help protect your home from damage during hurricanes, or insulated glass to offer the best protection from extreme temperatures.

It’s also important to purchase your door from a reputable manufacturer and dealer, to ensure that your door will last a long time and continue to add value to your home. When you’re trying to make a decision about a bifold door, visit a showroom to check out the options.

This will give you a more realistic idea about what bifold doors really look like, and will help you select from the many customizations available. Ultimately, the choice to install a bifold door can improve your home’s value, while adding an element of luxury to your home.

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