All the details of our viral pocket door

The response I had to this video has been insane – who knew that this simple solution would be such a hit?

Because the room behind the door is so compact it was not practical for the door to open into that room… meanwhile, on this side, it irked me that the open door would block the view and light through our gorgeous new windows (the kitchen sits just off to the right and, without windows of its own, needs all the help it can get.

So, much to my builder and architect’s delight, I made a last minute request to incorporate a pocket door – essentially a door that slides away neatly into an invisible cavity. The wall was consequently built out to accommodate the hidden door and, I have to say, it is an absolute triumph – I just love it.

I had so many questions about the details and hardware we used to achieve the door and I have listed it all below…

POCKET DOOR DETAILS

The pocket door hardware all came from From The Anvil – they have quite the selection from pocket doors to sliding barn doors and all the handles and pulls you could ask for.

We opted for this pocket door kit, with the touch latch (which means the door slides away flush with the frame – a little push releases it to pop out from the cavity) and these beautiful polished brass handles.

After much research for period style, hardwood doors, and subsequent horror around the price of said doors, I headed to the salvage yard one afternoon, thirty minutes before closing, with measurements, a vision and a pressing timeframe (the door being fitted the next morning). Twenty minutes later I was driving home with knees folded up to my chin, my chair so very far forward and this beauty of a door in the boot. Truth be told she was not a beauty… yet. A lot of stripping and sanding and filling and she is, now, indeed a beauty.

PERIOD DETAILS

Selecting the right finishes for an open plan space that straddles the original house and the new build extension was a little confusing but, in the end, my love of period details won out and we trimmed the doors with these architraves and added these skirting boards pretty much throughout.

WHY I LOVE IT

We are so, SO happy with how this turned out; the look is everything I hoped for and it feels like such an elegant solution to the problem we had. It was certainly not straight forward to install but absolutely worth it.

THE MISTAKE I MADE

In hindsight, perhaps a little more time spent selecting the door would have been useful… I opted, without thinking, for a door with protruding details on one side and, for the pocket door, inverted trims would have been more practical. We live and learn right?

I think I covered everything but do reach out in the comments below if you have any questions and I will do my very best to answer.