The Benefits of Sliding Glass Doors

Replacing traditional French Doors with modern Sliding Glazing

If, like me, you’ve lived with French patio doors that open inwards, you will appreciate how inconvenient they can be.

There are a couple of things I always liked about my French doors: they looked attractive with their small wooden panes; and they fitted the overall style of our country cottage.

However, the downside (there’s always a downside isn’t there)…

Traditional French Doors Eating in to my Kitchen

Being a country cottage our kitchen is small. We have a large back garden that has been our pride and joy over the years, and to make the most of it we installed French patio doors from the kitchen straight out onto the decking.

At the time, it seemed like the ideal solution. I could open the doors up on a sunny day and bring the outside in.

What I didn’t factor in was the amount of room the doors took up inside my tiny kitchen when they were open. It meant we had to forego another cupboard in that space, which I could have really benefitted from. When the doors were open, it was also a squeeze past the end of the kitchen table; do-able, yes, but we have a couple of more portly friends (I’m mentioning no names!), and it is always a bit of a struggle.

Modern Sliding Glazing in a Traditional Style Home

Anyway, several years later, having lived with the compromises of these types of doors, we’ve taken the bull by the horn and decided to do something about it. I still want to open up my house and enjoy my beautiful garden to the max, but I really do need that extra space in the kitchen.

I think we have found the perfect solution in sliding patio doors.

I had been a little put off in the past, as I thought they would not suit our old style cottage, but with the new advances in design I have been amazed at what is on offer. With slim aluminium frames it is hard to see the edges, giving the impression of an expanse of glass.

Even when closed, I feel like my garden is now part of my kitchen. The kitchen has been transformed into a light and airy room, and looks so much bigger. Whether open or closed we have a panoramic view.

Although the design is modern, because of the ultra slim aluminium frames, it doesn’t look out of place with our traditional style home.

Added Benefits of Glass Sliding Doors

Best of all – it’s so warm! With the high standard of thermal properties built into the glass we have been able to turn our heating down… a benefit I really was not expecting!

My only regret – I wish I had put a sliding patio door in years ago!