Doors to the bathroom are an important element of the interior, which should be organically combined with plumbing, furniture and cladding. However, the main purpose of the door is still not aesthetic qualities, but its reliability and functionality.
Often, there are disputes among designers and homeowners about which door to put in the bathroom, but there is no definite answer, because a lot depends on the area of \u200b\u200bthe room, the level of humidity, the quality of ventilation and the design features of the canvas itself.
No matter how stylish and expensive the doors you choose, first of all, they must be moisture resistant, that is, protected from high humidity, hot air and contact with water.
Without a protective coating, natural wood or MDF board deforms: it swells, then shrinks, which is why it becomes covered with cracks and ceases to perform its main function.
The effect of moisture and high temperature can be mitigated by installing a bathroom or shower stall on the opposite wall from the door or erecting an additional partition.
In a spacious room with well-equipped ventilation, you can install a door with any type of construction - from a processed baguette array to metal-plastic. Humidity level in a large bathroom is not dangerous, and direct water on the door covering is excluded
Metal-plastic and glass canvases are recognized as the most successful for a cramped bathroom, for a spacious room - any products that have a protective layer.
For example, laminate products are covered with a thick synthetic film that does not allow moisture to pass through. So that the appearance does not contradict the overall interior solution, choose a laminate that imitates natural wood.
Let's also look at the different types of doors and try to identify their advantages and disadvantages:
Types of canvases according to the material of manufacture
When choosing the design of the product, its location, decorative design, they rely mainly on the material from which the canvas is made. The texture of wood suggests one type of finish, plastic another, glass a third, and the possibilities of each material are far from limitless.
For example, it is difficult to place a pvc product in a palace interior, and glass sliding doors in a country-style room.
Budget option - MDF
If you are interested in attractive products of the middle price segment, without a doubt, purchase MDF doors, which are easy to describe in one word - universal.
Manufacturers offer quite interesting models in shades of walnut, wenge and cherry, decorated with glass inserts, for only 2000-2500 rubles. Design proposals, of course, will cost more, but for a bathroom-toilet pair, standard canvases that do not attract the eye are more often selected, since tiles, furniture and sanitary equipment play the main role.
The most common option from MDF is a blind canvas of a baguette or milled type, imitating popular types of wood (oak, ash, walnut, maple) and reinforced with a protective coating
You will be pleased with the relative lightness and ease of use of MDF products - they are not as fragile as glass. Due to the natural composition (pressed sawdust and binding lignin) and environmental friendliness, the doors are good in houses with a lot of children and animals.
They are moisture resistant, but there is a risk of minimal dimensional change during the heating season. The primer and enamel covering their surface increases resistance to mechanical wear.
Environmentally friendly solid wood
The fashion for natural materials has led to the fact that solid wood doors are becoming more and more in demand among the owners of country cottages and the owners of city apartments.
Wooden products do not need additional decorative finishing - the wood texture is distinguished by its natural beauty. It is enough to impregnate the surface with varnish or special wax, as a soft, porous and pliable tree turns into a durable, waterproof, pest- and mold-proof canvas.
Solid wood doors, especially those made of valuable or rare wood, are more often seen in luxury houses, the interior of which corresponds to the aristocratic style. The price range is large - from 20 to 200 thousand rubles
Many do not see a big difference between different types of wood - and are deeply mistaken. Nothing can be confused with the color of bleached hornbeam with a milky tint or almost black with a noble waxy sheen of bog oak. Alder, like cherry, gives off a slight redness, and shades of pine represent a whole range - from brown-pink to yellow.
elegant veneer
Veneer finishes are an appropriate alternative for those who value natural beauty and practicality. A veneer is a thin sheet of wood that has been sawn in a special way. For the manufacture of interior doors, sawn material is used, which is most resistant to mechanical damage.
The use of veneering facilitates the door structure, makes it more accessible, while the textured features and wood pattern are preserved in their original form.
Special processing of veneer - usually a coating of 2-3 layers of varnish - increases the strength of a thin wood sheet and allows the use of interior doors in kitchens, bathrooms and bathrooms, that is, in rooms with high humidity
Modern wood processing methods make it possible to produce veneer from various species - beech, apple, oak, poplar, olive. Due to the affordable price, the walnut texture is the most popular, and oak veneer models are durable and wear-resistant, so their cost is higher.
The versatility of veneered products allows them to harmoniously fit into any design project - they are perfectly combined with sanitary ware and bathroom furniture.
Practical laminate
If you like laminated doors, be sure to ask what type of film was used in their production. The cheapest products are covered with a layer of cellulose impregnated with synthetic resins. Obviously, a paper "shirt" is absolutely not suitable for bathroom equipment.
You should choose models wrapped in a PVC elastic film 0.5 mm thick, or even more durable two-dimensional laminate up to 0.8 mm thick, more expensive and resembling veneer in appearance.
Caring for door panels covered with laminate consists in wiping the film with a damp sponge or a piece of cloth (microfiber). You can use non-aggressive detergents, such as laundry soap or cleaning bath gel
For a bathroom with a budget interior, laminated doors are ideal: they are cheap, easy to install and easy to maintain. If desired, among the monotonous models, you can find options with a figured panel or glass design.
However, it must be remembered that you should not expect an exquisite design from doors of this type, as well as special strength - products with honeycomb filler are rarely reliable.
Plastic: a variety of choices
Plastic bathroom doors do not have to resemble standard white balcony blocks. Manufacturers offer a variety of options for swing, sliding, folding structures, consisting of plastic, metal-plastic and glass.
If the thickness and structure of the wall allows, you can stop at the original modern solution - cassette doors. They do not require additional space for deployment, but are placed in the wall or parallel to it.
White plastic is perfectly combined with sanitary ware and furniture of similar shades and organically fits into the interior in pastel, milky, beige or pearl colors.
To save space and money, many choose an "accordion" - a folding door made of plastic slats. Immediately after installation, you will notice the disadvantages of a seemingly convenient device: structural instability, large gaps, lack of reliability.
A compartment door on rollers is much more convenient and functional, and with precisely selected dimensions it is not inferior in sound insulation to a conventional hinged design.
impact resistant glass
Glass systems are not yet as common as metal-plastic ones, but their popularity is growing every year. Beautiful, beautifully decorated, durable and absolutely water-resistant, these doors are made for bathrooms. Glass goes well with faience, porcelain, chrome and gilded fittings.
The safety of glass doors is guaranteed by the use of modern materials: polycarbonate, tempered glass, plexiglass, triplex. It is very difficult to break a product from the listed materials, and in case of damage, the fragments hang on the wings or crumble into pieces without sharp corners
How to maintain privacy and deprive the glass of its inherent transparency? Here are some good ways to recommend:
- gold, silver, color plating;
- film coating on an adhesive basis;
- drawings and ornaments with stained glass paints;
- frosted or tinted glass;
- stained glass window.
Often glass doors are made to order, so there are no problems with design, framing, choice of texture or image. A small minus of glass is the appearance of streaks when condensate accumulates, but you can get rid of this trouble by adjusting ventilation and using ventilation.
Sliding and folding door systems
When it is necessary to save space adjacent to the doorway, or to complete an original design project, they choose not traditional swing doors, but folding and sliding type structures.
The easiest way to install is to mount the overhead system. It includes a door leaf that moves along a guide (metal profile or decorative suspension) along the wall.
Some designs in their functionality resemble the front of a wardrobe: to open the door leaf, you need to move it to the side with a slight movement
The design is so simple that many install it on their own, choosing canvases from various materials as doors: wood, MDF board, plastic.
Sliding one-way or two-way system consists of the following parts:
- 1 or 2 doors;
- guide profile (suspension) installed above the doorway;
- rollers fixed in the upper end part of the wings;
- an emphasis that does not allow the doors to sway and is located on the floor.
To make a latch, you need to install a rack on the opposite side and adjust the locking mechanism. A variant of sliding systems are cassette in-wall structures, which are great for new-built houses, but problems can arise with their installation in old Stalinist, panel and block houses.
The design, choice of material and external design of sliding doors largely depends on the area of the bathroom and the corridor, as well as on design goals. Suppose glass doors visually increase the space of the premises
Despite the recommendations of experts, some residents choose folding doors-books and accordion doors. These are two similar options, united by one disclosure principle. "Accordions" consist of many identical elements, which, when folded, are assembled like furs of the musical instrument of the same name.
The folds of the "book" consist of two large parts, folding in a certain direction. It is extremely impractical to use both solutions for the improvement of the bathroom, as it is difficult to achieve good sound insulation and reliability. These designs are more suitable for indoor partitions.
The weakest point of folding doors is the hardware that connects the plates and fixes them to the top rail. If there are three or more people in the family, fasteners will wear out very quickly
Choice of doors and style solutions
One of the starting points when choosing a door model is the style of the bathroom. It is taken into account when facing walls, selecting plumbing equipment and furniture, and, of course, it is reflected in the design of door and window openings.
The favorite of homeowners is the classic - noble, elegant, calm, ideal for decorating a room intended for taking water procedures. It is allowed to use wooden or veneered door panels in a traditional baguette frame.
The color of the doors in a classic interior should intersect with the shade of the surrounding walls, most often these are pastel colors - beige, gray, pearl, golden, pink or light blue.
Country style is characterized by simplicity and deliberate rudeness of performance. Suitable doors from any material: solid wood, MDF, veneer, laminate.
To give the doors a touch of rustic imperfection, they can be aged using special impregnations and paints, as well as choosing a simple, outdated design.
In a minimalist interior, the doors seem to merge with the wall, do not stand out against the general background. The design is the simplest, glass, plastic, moisture-resistant veneer are used for manufacturing.
Unlike minimalism or hi-tech, art deco style is characterized by pretentiousness, extravagance and eclecticism. A sample of door design - figured carving on the background of Venetian plaster and designer tiles
Whatever the doors you choose, the main thing is that they match the interior design and your taste.