Every homeowner struggles with space constraints. Whether you live in a tiny house or a sprawling mansion, you could probably use more space to store away odds and ends, to stretch, to decorate, to walk freely, and to live comfortably—but how do you find the extra leg room when you’re dealing with limited space? From closets-turned-pantries to staircases-turned-closets, here are 10 ingenious ways you can use sliding doors to save space and spruce up your home.
Solution #1: Get Extra Elbow Room in the Kitchen with Sliding Pantry Doors
Tip #2: Use Every Inch of Space to Increase Pantry Storage
Kitchen pantries cry out for creative space saving solutions. Always packed to the brim with essentials, as well as superfluities, these alcoves are an organizer’s worst nightmare. Fortunately, there are ways to increase your shelf space without compromising the look and feel of your home.
Solution #3: Create a Brand-New Pantry with Shelves and Sliding Doors
Ever wonder how to store food when you don’t have a pantry? The simplest answer is to build your own kitchen pantry with custom doors. Transform an existing broom closet into a food storage area by adding a few extra shelves, or dig into a wall to carve out a brand-new space.
You can also transform smaller cupboards into one large, open pantry. Adding a pantry to existing cabinets is relatively simple—just replace individual cupboard doors with floor-to-ceiling interior sliding doors to transform discrete little nooks into one spacious storage cavity. However you create your new pantry, it’s important to find the right shelves and get the right measurements for your new doors.
Solution #4: Store Smarter with Shallow Shelving
Most pantries feature deep shelves. While it’s nice to have so much surface space, cavernous storage areas make it harder to locate things you need. More often than not, items tend to get trapped in the back. By the time you finally get to that years-old pasta sauce, it’s no longer edible.
Here’s where it pays to get creative with your small pantry organization ideas. One way is to go back to solution number three—convert a closet or hallway nook into a backup pantry by adding extra shelving. Another strategy is to install more shelves in the kitchen itself. Either way, you’ll want to add frosted doors (either sliding or swing) to protect the items inside and shield them from view.
Solution #5: Replace Swinging Doors with Barn Doors to Free Up Walls and Walkways
If you have a traditional home, you probably have plenty of swinging doors. If you’re a space-savvy homeowner, consider replacing them with sliding barn doors. Since they glide quietly along a wall instead of swinging outward, they free up wall space and walkways. With a sliding barn door in place of a swinging door, you can easily add shelves, tables, and decorations in what would otherwise remain a dead zone.
Want the space-saving efficiency of a suspended track system without the rustic look that comes with most barn doors? Take a look at The Sliding Door Company’s collection of contemporary glass barn doors. Featuring beautiful handles, high-quality glass, and suspended track systems, they add a modern twist to this traditional design fix.
Solution #6: Store Items Behind Glass Sliding Doors
Clutter is one of a designer’s worst enemies. Fortunately, there are solutions. Section off unsightly messes and increase your storage space with beautifully designed sliding glass doors from The Sliding Door Company. Perfect for covering up laundry areas, closets, and shelves, these interior sliding doors add elegance where disorder once reigned.
These vanishing doors are especially great for storage areas since they leave ample room for loading and unloading items. You can even transform a large space into an extra closet simply by enclosing it with an opaque or semi-opaque sliding door.
Solution #7: Maximize Both Privacy and Space with Room Dividers
Open living arrangements are popular since they impart a sense of expansiveness to a home and cut down on wasted space. That being said, many homeowners would prefer a little extra privacy without cutting into their square footage. For that, they turn to room dividers—The Sliding Door Company’s go-to solution for dividing and beautifying interior spaces.
Use your dining room as an office during the day? Close it off with a sliding door, then open it up again when night comes and the family sits down for a shared meal. No matter why you need them or how you use them, room dividers give you the flexibility to balance privacy with open space.
Tip #8: Outfit Narrow Hallways with Glass Closet Doors
Unless you’ve perfected the minimalist lifestyle, you probably need more storage space— somewhere to stick your sporting gear, electronics, food, winter clothes, etc. More often than not, stuff ends up piled up on kitchen counters, bookshelves, floors, and tables.
A word to the wise: If you do have a closet in a narrow hallway, make sure it’s made of safe, durable glass. It’s easy to bang into doors, particularly if you have pets or children, but even if you’re simply trying to remove larger items in such a confined space. Fortunately, every closet door manufactured by The Sliding Door Company features tempered or laminated glass for maximum safety. We also engineer our doors so that they’ll never leave the track, no matter how roughly you treat them.
Tip #9: Install New Storage Spaces in a Basement or Walk-In Closet
If your existing hallway closets won’t cut it, you can always opt for a more innovative approach. With a little creativity and the help of a few sliding interior doors, homeowners can transform their nooks and crannies into spacious holds. If all you have is a bare wall, inspect it to see if it’s deep enough to accommodate a few extra shelves or a closet rack. Then enclose it with a sliding closet door made of frosted, milky, or even opaque glass.
Tip #10: Do It Your Way
There are countless ways to save space. Whether you want to reduce clutter, open up walkways, or free up walls, interior glass doors can help you make the most of what you have. With The Sliding Door Company, you also get superior customization options. Not only can you choose between barn doors and sliding doors, pocket doors and suspended doors—you can also select the type of glass, frame finishes, door designs, and handles that complement your sense of style.