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Remodeling Design Dilemma Storage & Closet

Bifold or Regular Door for Linen Closet

2 years ago

last modified: 2 years ago

Building a linen closet that is accessible from the Guest Bedroom. You can see it in the attached photo. The closet to the left is the BR closet and I will be switching that bifold door to a regular door that opens up towards the wall on the left side.

At first I was deciding between a 24" or 30" Bifold door ( 2' shown in the photo), but then thought why not put a 2' door that opens to the left, which gives more access.

But I normally see bifold doors for a linen closet, but not sure why. Is there any reasons not to use a full regular door? Would a normal door look funny? I have the space for it and it would just open towards the other closet.

Also, the linen closet is shallow, only 15" deep. Any suggestion on how to effectively use that top shelf. Hmm, I could make another small thin 3/4" door above the other door. I wonder if that would look odd.

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Comments (9)

decoenthusiaste
2 years ago
My linen has a regular door. Louvered bi-folds are a pain to keep clean, so the stuff inside the closet likely isn't completely clean either.
kculbers
2 years ago
I would choose a regular door.
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Like the last poster said make sure the opening is the proper width to fit a pre hung unit. Like he said prehung units that big are a lot easier to move with the doors removed. Mdf Doors wiegh a ton and 2 of them in the frame would be impossible to move. A frame can be jockeyed around a tight stairwell. There is another route if the openings are a non standard size, bypass doors. All the closets in the bedrooms have them and I just ordered door blanks and installed them on new hardware. I recomend Johnson hardware for bypass doors. It's cheaper to order from the company than have a big box order it in. Here is a link that might be useful: johnson hardware
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Mark, funny comment. after a lot of searching, I found what I thought was a good pick for bi-fold doors. (for my laundry closet. no room for reg. doors) Home Depot had solid oak bi-fold doors. Apparently they are out of stock. right now I've got those hollow louvered doors and they are crap. thinking I may have to have someone make something because I can't find any suitable replacements.
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cwcf185
2 years ago
Another vote for using a regular door instead of bifold.
Connecticut Yankeeeee
2 years ago
Regular door would be my choice too.
jimandanne_mi
2 years ago
There were several bifolds in my previous condo, and I hated them. All regular doors!!
cat_ky
2 years ago
Regular door. Not a bifold. I like bifold on closets, that have wide openings, other than that, no. Regular doors are much nicer.
3onthetree
2 years ago
Swing door, and more drywall has to come out to frame it. To access a high shelf where the header restricts it, you shorten the shelf depth. In your case of a 15" deep closet, the top shelf would be like 6" deep. So rethink the height and spacing of the shelves.
Jilly
2 years ago
Solid. You can’t hide behind bifolds.
Jennifer K
2 years ago
- Louvered doors are traditionally installed on linen closets as a humidity control. Modern houses don't usually require that.
- Bifold doors are commonly used on closets as a space-saving measure- no need to keep a large area of floor clear so that the door can swing.
So if you don't have space or humidity issues, use the door type that pleases you.

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