I have to jump in this conversation! I just ran across a gorgeous pivot door while hunting at the salvage yard, and even though we aren't working on the kitchen, and I was hunting for a bathroom pocket door, and it's much newer than my original doors (single panel art deco vs 4 panel victorian), I couldn't resist buying it!!! We know our house originally had a pivot door at the kitchen, and had been debating adding one again, but the debate was swinging against it because we can't seem to work out a kitchen/dining room layout that doesn't have the door swinging into open space on one side, and although I happen to think one of the advantages of a door on the kitchen is no one can see if you've forgotten to do the dishes (since we don't have an "Alice"), I was also thinking about the safety issue and hadn't seen a door with a window in it that didn't look like it belonged in a restaurant. But this door won me over, totally original pivot, no window, wood is lovely, very heavy and has the rounded back edge already and a piece of hardware at the base, but I haven't looked to see if it's just the pivot pin. I've already changed other doors on the main floor (well there were only 2, one between the LR and the front hall, and one on the room I made the library) , swapping two of the 4 panel hinged doors for 15 light glass because its nice to be able to close them to zone the heat, but still feel open and let light flow in the house, and we added/plan to add matching pairs of 10 light pocket doors (replacing a missing pocket door some evil previous home owner ripped out and destroyed the pocket, but the evidence was there (darned "Modernizers aka remuddlers) plus add a matching set to finish & separate the dining room from the entry hall. So I can justify the shift in door style at the kitchen, besides, I think most of kitchen doors looked a bit different/simpler. (In case you wondered, the removed 4 panels were used elsewhere in the house where we added a closet and a bathroom. I'm excited about it. Of course it means I still need to go back to the salvage yards and find the doors I was supposed to find for the bathroom in the basement!! ;-) Oh and hello, I'm Hunzi, and I am the caretaker/obsessed owner of a 1884 Victorian brick vernacular farmhouse. We call it the wealthy farmer's house but it's now smack in the middle of the city. Always ;-) Hunzi

Technicolor, that is a great idea to add space if you have a standard size opening. I may do that in another room. Our master bedroom has an 18' wide opening for the closet, so we need a way to hang multiple doors without a frame. Sochi, I would love to see pictures of the whole wall, as well as the hardware. I was planning on using wood veneer doors (rift cut white oak stained gray to tie in with gray tones used elsewhere, or maybe walnut to match the vanity), but using standard slab doors painted an accent color (a shade of grayish blue, likely) probably would be faster and cheaper to order. (Most of the walls in the house are painted Dunn Edwards Fossil - an off-white with a slightly cool, taupish-gray undertone, with a couple of accent walls in shades of blue.) What size are your doors? If I get rid of the custom built-in "armoire" in the center, I could use 3 pairs of 36" doors to span the space, with less expensive drawers, shelves etc. behind the doors. If I keep the 4' center section, I have 84" openings on each side. I could do each side with a single pair of 42" wide doors (or 40" doors if I use 2" thick vertical "columns" at each end like in the kitchen). I could also use four 20-21" wide doors for each opening, which might look nicer, but will cost a lot more to buy twice as many pivot hinges plus the contractor's time to install the extra hinges. We do have enough floor space to open wider doors, so it is just an aesthetic and cost based decision. What do you think would look better?

Hi Kaysd, I posted a reply on the decorating forum!

The doors can be attractive and I've used them for interior spaces since 1979. I'm sure there are no issues with the mechanics. So I would have no concern about using them. They are not new. However, I caught a digit in a dryer door yesterday, and I never thought that would ever happen. These doors have the potential to be a safety concern for the very young and the very old especially if there is no hold open or closer involved. A pivot door with a frame seems all wrong. The door is a minimal aesthetic and the frame blows it. Below illustrates a bad location for a great door. IMO the flooring should be the same level on either side of the door for at least a few feet. These pivot doors seem to work in the space. I admit the frame with the glass door makes sense to me in this image below..