Doors

Doors not just provide entrances and exits, they also add to the style and look of the house .The choice of a door for a given space differs depending upon the functionality and purpose of each room. The appropriate materials, colors and accessories used in doors should serve the different purposes of the door for that given space. The main door serves as an access point for the entire house. As it is the main entrance point to the house, it gives dignity to the house as a whole, besides providing protection. The main door gives a certain identity to the entry point of a house. So, design here should have prominence in terms of size, style and colour. The style of the door is a cornerstone to the taste of the inmate. Its design should be classy without being obstrusive .The design of the door must have appropriate scale and proportion to match the building. The prime purpose of the main door is to give physical and psychological protection.It should be thick and sturdy and preferably a panelled one with a good latching and locking system. For additional protection and as well as to keep the main door open for better ventilation, a grille gate can be installed However this may marr the beauty of the door. A small hatch door could be provided at eye level of the door instead of a `view glass.'to communicate with visitors without opening the door. Wood is the ideal choice for the main door and considering the life and the finish of the materials; teak is perfect for both the frame and the shutter. Wider teak panelled doors may be expensive but will certainly look aesthetic and rich. Unless the size and style of the house demands so, do not go for huge decorative doors. And certainly, not as a symbol of status, for they are inconvenient to open and difficult to maintain. If the architecture and interior design of the house demands a creative alternate, it should not be ignored because of preconceived ideas about the main door. Normally, varnish is done with melamine coating on the top of the teak wood finish. Expensive polyurethane coating is ideal for long life. Enamel auto-spray with polymer coat is ideal for the desired colours. The prime purpose of a bedroom/toilet door is privacy. So there is no need to go in for heavy, panelled designs. As the interior side of the toilet door is likely to get damaged due to constant wetness, waterproofing layers like aluminum/pvc/poly carbonate sheets or polyurethane coating is advisable. The living/family hall door has emphasis on neatness and simplicity.Since it is mainly used to control air-conditioning in the space or to simply enjoy the home theatre system or make private conversation, simple glazed doors could look neat here. For the office room door, if it is a large office space or cabin, a glazed door could be an ideal choice. For a smaller office or cabin, frosted doors with view glass or panelled varieties with view glass could help in keeping out distractions caused by movements outside the door. The design of the pooja room door is influenced by religious sentiments influence It could be a grand one with ornamentation or a simple one with minimum ethnic touches. The use of perforated doors here could give good ventilation and also create a visual link with the rest of the house. The storeroom door and kitchen doors should also lay emphasis on simplicity and functionality. Uses of a wired mesh at the back are advisable where ventilation is not possible. External doors having access to balcony/terrace or garden must be thick and panelled. It could almost match the main door in locking and security system but not necessarily with similar decorative features. The kitchen door is also used to keep pets and rodents at bay. It is also useful to avoid cooking/frying smell or noise from wafting across the rest of the house. It could be a simple door or a partly glazed design to avoid delinking from the rest of the house. Swing system attached to the door, to help it open both ways, is an added advantage. Exterior doors having access to well-secured courtyard or balcony or terrace could be of glazed/folded/sliding varieties. See to it that all external doors open outside and overlap to avoid rainwater from entering the house through the gap between the door and the floor. The finishing of the external doors is preferably painted. Polyurethane coating can also be done.