What Makes French Doors Special: Origin & Design
French doors are an excellent choice for your house if you want to get the most out of your outside views and let natural light flow into your home. These doors combine the features of doors and windows unfolding the beauty outside your home. Why are these doors in particular so trendy and loved by homeowners though? Let’s dive into it.
What is a French Door?
A French door, also the same style as French windows, is a door of light construction with glass panes that extend to the full length of the door. Instead of a single door, they are frequently installed in pairs. Generally, when you hear a French door, you imagine a large pane of glass divided into smaller panels known as window grids. These doors are ideal for connecting the patio with the living or dining room.
Origin of French Doors
The name itself tells us that the door originated in France. These doors became popular in the 17th-century and French architects refer to them as porte-fenêtre (French window). The origin of French doors can be found in the Renaissance during which symmetrical design, regularity, and geometry were all valued highly in architecture. During the Renaissance, new ideas in art and architecture came to the surface.
The French door wasn’t always meant to be a door. Rather, they were originally large windows. These windows were designed to be opened so that people could walk out onto a balcony. Over time these French windows became popular as French doors.
The French began to use glass in their architecture a lot because they wanted more light to fill the room and provide a well-lit atmosphere for a long time. Later, these doors were also used for interior rooms that had limited lighting.
These French-style doors became popular first in Great Britain and then in the United States. These were especially famous in the bourgeois houses of New York.
There are many various options available today when it comes to the style of your French door. They’re suitable for almost any room in the house, while they remain the most popular for accessing balconies and other outside spaces.
What Makes French Doors Special?
Let’s see how these doors are special and what kind of features they have.
Energy Efficiency
Modern French doors have a tight-sealing feature ensuring energy conservation. Also, exterior French doors can have two panes of glass. During the winter months, dual glass panes are designed to prevent warm air from fleeing your dining and living areas. The same is true for the summer because the extra glass will prevent the cool air from escaping your home.
When our homes are dark and cold, we have to use electricity to warm and brighten them up which leads to energy consumption, increasing electricity bills. A French door provides natural light to fill your home and reduces electricity costs. These doors keep the home hot in cold weather and cool in hot weather.
Access to Outdoors
Through these doors, it’s much easier to enter the garden or balcony and bring the outside freshness into the house, especially on summer days. Also, if you want to organize a party to celebrate a particular occasion, these doors are flexible and can create much more space, letting your guests enter the garden with ease.
Natural Light and Larger Room
As seen above, these doors allow more light to flow into the house, making your room seem larger. Natural light helps you focus more easily while working and reduces anxiety and stress. Light can provide you with vitamin D, improve your immune system, enhance your productivity, and boost your mood.
And if you want to give a larger look to your small house, then these doors are what you need.
Increased Home Value
French doors can increase home value because people are more likely to buy houses that let more light in. Potential buyers get impressed when they see an exterior French door because these doors increase the home’s curb appeal making it seem elegant and aesthetically pleasing.
Timelessness
These doors don’t lose their popularity from generation to generation. Through their beautiful design and versatility, they stay trendy and can suit both your traditional and modern interior design. You should only need to choose the right type of French door for your home style.
Design
French doors come in various types, designs, colours, sizes, and materials, including wood, aluminium, fibreglass, and more.
They can be external, which means that the doors are used for exteriors, such as gardens and balconies. They open outwards and let more air and light flow into the house.
They can be internal, which suggests that they are used as separators between your rooms, allowing sufficient ventilation in the house. As your interior rooms become brighter through the doors, they create the illusion of a larger space.
Also, there are sliding French doors that save space and are used for both exterior and interior design. Thus, there are various design types for French doors, and you can choose them considering your house design. For example, if it’s contemporary, then definitely you should install modern French doors.
Now you know all the essentials about these elegant French doors. If you’re looking to get French doors for your home, opt for Arqa, where our experts will be happy to help you increase your home’s curb appeal.