By swinging, do you mean a standard door that hinges in, or do you mean a swinging one, that closes itself when not held?

Remind us how large/deep your pantry is. Will the door block access to storage inside? If it's the kind that closes itself, as I think you're describing, will it try to close on you when you're trying to gather supplies and exit the pantry?

Not having seen your plans....I'm donating my three cents free of charge. lol

I've never been keen on swinging doors. I would prefer a pocket door over a swinging one if space allows.

The swinging doors I'm familiar with just create one more thing to have to navigate entering/exiting the space. If you're going in and out more than a few consecutive times, it could get tiresome wrangling with the doors.

If the doors have the sort of hinges that prop open, then that will help, but then it creates a visual mess.

Plus the noise they tend to make when flapping in the breeze....

Can you tell I don't like swinging doors? : D

Pepper
~ Four days of demo done.

We have (and are keeping) a swinging door---and you HAVE to design a space for the door to be open, even if you think you'll have it closed much of the time. Years ago, our kitchen was tiled up high enough that the door could no longer swing into it, where a nook had been designed to accommodate it. Instead, it had to open into the dining room, where it was clearly never intended to be permanently open, since it blocks the door to the bedrooms (all are original to the house). It's a nightmare.

That said, I love the door itself, and we designed our new kitchen so that it could open into the space again and tuck against a wall, out of the way. (We would have done a pocket door had budget allowed, though---I do agree with Pepper that they're preferable.) I like the heavier duty hinges for a door that stays open much of the time, like ours, but in a pantry you might want the lightweight hinges that swing more like a restaurant door. But I definitely wouldn't do it unless you have room inside for it to sit open. HTH!

Hmmm, maybe I need to rethink this. Inside the panty, to the left will be my freezer, to the right will be the start of about 6 ft. of shelving, so the shelves will protrude about 12" from the wall on that side. I'm just trying to figure this out. It is already being framed, so too late for a pocket door. And builders seem to hate them. I love them, but have been dismissed everytime I bring them up.

Our pantry door is left open all the time too (and the light on inside!)

How much would it cost to go retrace and put the pocket door in? Better now than when everything is all finished off, and it sounds like that is the solution.

We had a two-way swinging door between kitchen and DR in a house once and loved it. Our German Shepherd loved it too, lol. He went sailing through it like a professional waiter!! Though I was always worried he'd stop halfway and get his head or tail stuck in it. Something to think about on a PANTRY and if you have smaller animals. Or children.

I have to say I don't like the sound of a swinging door on a pantry.

We just replaced our six-panel hollow pantry door with a glass door with mullions ("French" type door). It looks soooo gorgeous, did wonders for the kitchen, and because the door is so pretty it even looks good when left open.

What about 2 swinging doors, kind of saloon style, but to the ceiling? Each would be half as wide and you'd need less swing room.
I like the idea of a swinging door (or doors) because it is hands free.

Did you originally mean a door with a closer on it? The problem with having anything that closes by mechanism is that it is going to close when you don't want it to.

I would be hard pressed to ask a builder who does not like pocket doors to install one, because they have to be installed properly to work properly, and if they never install one, they may not do it right.

I designed one for a client when we moved the kitchen all the way to the front of the house next to the front door. We did a double width (two doors joined), frosted glass, slider that can be left fully open (most of the time) half closed (when entertaining) or fully closed (to keep the dog inside for a bit or screen it from the front door when the kitchen is dirty)

I told the carpenter *in the framing stage* that the way it was framed the door would stick out an inch when it was in the pocket. Did he listen? No.I "didnt know what I was talking about", and "he would have charged the client a lot more if he knew I was such a PITA" Did the client insist he change it? No. So she has a door that sticks out of the pocket an inch. She doesnt care but it drives me crazy.

Story #2. Pocket doors throughout the apartment (a designer friend). They worked until the finish carpenters nailed all the baseboards and doorcasings through the wall and into the doors. They "fixed" this but One of them still has a rogue nail that scrapes the door each time. And--they don't work great anyway. Its easy to say tear the walls down and start over, but its easier to say "I give up".

Mine works, but I had the framing removed and redone once to assure it.

I got so wrapped up in my story that I forgot one other point.

Maybe what you need is behavior modification. "Close the door" "Come back IN here and close the door" "Close the @#$% door or you are not going out tonight" all work, eventually.

We made a conscious decision to towel dry the new shower EVERY time it got used. Did I WANT to? No, but we have stuck to our guns and done it. In almost a year the bathroom has NOT needed to be cleaned with any cleanser. It was a PITA at the beginning but it takes about one minute and is now automatic. We went from a moldy scummy tile shower to one that looks brand new and clean all the time.

I am also considering a swinging door for our pantry. The house I grew up in had a swinging door to the kitchen and I loved it. When it needed to be open you could push the door with your shoulder until it clicked and it would stay open. I have not had time to look into this further but when I get around to it I plan on having mine installed so it will stay open inside the pantry as I go in, and swing closed behind me as I go out.

Double doors to me, seem to beat you up as you go through them, and flap until the motion stops. A single door is pushed open, and is still. Even if it doesn't latch open, it is heavy enough to stop moving almost immediately.

So, I've emailed our builder, but no response...
I have a swinging door now, btwn kitchen and formal dining, and I love it, but it stays open most of the time, and there is a wall in the kitchen to accomodate that.
I've thought about the idea of 2 swinging doors to the ceiling, but we will have 21' ceilings, so not such a good idea. I could stop it at the top of the cabinetm, though.
I still think pocket doors would be best and I am beating myself up to have not brought it up sooner...I had thought about it, but had so much other stuff going on with the house and the rest of life, it just got lost.

I got curious about the availability of swinging doors and found this site, which you may have already seen. It says the hing can be set to stay open at 88 degrees. I'm not sure with your shelves what angle you would need to have your door set at but surely there must be one hinge out there you could make work!!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Swinging door hinge

I have/had two pocket doors in my house. (One was in a wall taken out during demo.) I will add at least two more during the reno. I have never had any problem with either of them. If your builder has never put one in before, which I doubt in Gig Harbor, then maybe you shouldn't push him. But if he doesn't want to do it cuz he's lazy, push him. It's not rocket science to put one in.

well, all throw my 2 cents in. But first a question to the OP...you implied that you wanted a door that was shut and wasn't open all the time, as your current one is. Is it the sight of the open door itself that you dislike? Or being able to see into the pantry?

Cuz if its wanting the pantry closed off, don't even THINK about a pocket door. I've had plenty and do love them for the way they disappear when you don't want them closed. But if you want folks to open and close them going in and out of the pantry, pocket doors are a much bigger PITA than regular ones and a lot more of a PITA than swinging doors. The movement to pull them closed is much less natural than swinging a door and if a regular door is open a lot now, don't expect the poocket door to ever be closed unless you do it.

That being said, I like the idea of double swinging doors and I'll bet you could find some appropriate hinges that have an automatic catch the same way a good single swinging door does, so that you can barge through easily, but release them to close with just a touch.

I don't think this is what you are referring to as swinging door, but our pantry doors do not stay open unless you hook them open (hooks were put on after this picture was taken down at the bottom of each door). These are a couple of old store screen doors that I refinished.

Thanks for everyone's input. Heard back from my builder and he is happy to do whatever I want...so now I just have to figure this out. A lot of great input here. What is the best solution? The swinging door appeals to me because it will always be closed unless I prop it open. The 2 swinging doors is an interesting idea, as is the idea of two-sided pocket door. It's so hard to figure out the perfect solution in advance...

Not to confuse you more, but a "barn" door could work like a pocket door and yet be easier to install.
I still would go with 2 swinging doors like in restaurants where people constantly go in and out of the kitchen with their hands full. Hands free is a great thing when you are putting things away or taking them out.

Okay. Two more cents and I've put in a nickels worth. :D

No single swinging door and double swing doors are even worse. I have a single swing door that was never, ever closed and has now become a memory. My dear, sweet aunt has double swing doors that I would love to take a hatchet to (or at least a screwdriver). And to add insult to injury, I am getting ready to tangle with them in a few days as I am going for a short visit this weekend. *firewood anyone?*

Single pocket door or a two-sided pocket door is my vote.

No...truly, in the end you need to make yourself happy. But it is fun to see what opinions are expressed when solicited.

Pepper
*laughing as I type this*
~ Proud owner of pretty, new plumbing and electric junction boxes.

Soooooo.....did you make a decision on your pantry door?

No,not yet. I will be meeting with the builder this week to figure it out. Several of these ideas sound great, until I read the next response that says how someone hates it! I still like the swinging door idea, and 2 swinging doors has some appeal. But I am still leaning toward pocket door...or doors.

My goodness! A lot of activity.

First of all, i have pocket doors all over the place, barn doors as my front door, and a glass barn door to my bathroom off my mbr (the w/c is separate! the glass barn door just shows a view of my tub in the bay window.) SO, we are very door-fluent and my builder is door-agnostic . : )

Second, my pantry is fairly large and it is in a hall across from my kitchen (I have a lot of space in my kitchen and breakfast ares so this is not an area I expect to use daily.)

Third, I could fit any kind of door I wanted. I just want a 'no hands' door when I am taking things in or out.

That said, a lot of folks seem not to like them ... i will have to reread these comments to figure out why.

thanks for all of the input!!

Here is a link that might be useful: aerial of pantry

We had a swinging door between the kitchen and dining room left mostly open for 11 years. I hated it. When closed there is a lot of activity between the rooms and a few kids have had their head bonked and lots of tears. Every time using it you had to say "coming thru" otherwise another accident. Even smaller kids trying to open the closed door (just push) but used fingers and got pinched. In the remodel it got removed. I would have liked a pocket door but this wall is already 20" solid brick and we would have to add a "barn door" instead. No room for that.

A pantry door gets lots less use. If you want the door to be normally closed I think it's the way to go. You do need space on the other side when coming thru otherwise it will get in the way and block your pantry access. If you don't care if it's open most of the time (but just closed when company is over) I would get a pocket door. I think most people won't close the pocket door in normal use.

My pantry to located across from the half bath behind the kitchen. I wanted a pocket door but not enough space. It will be open but I will get glass sliding cabinet doors and hopefully it will not be too messy.

What about a bi-fold door? It's a one-handed operation and doesn't take up as much space into the room. You can't close it with your butt, but it almost opens the door all the way.

Pal,
You just gave me a Christmas present. Now that I have a puppy, I have been regretting not insisting my GC give me the pocket doors I originally wanted for my butler's pantry and dining room. When the house was built, the GC refused to do the pocket doors, saying, "My carpenters hate them." I guess it was best that he not force them to do what they hate.