Closet Door Buying Guide:

When it comes to closet doors the options are almost unlimited in terms of style, colors, materials, and design. You can buy mirrored closet doors, bypass, louvered, bi fold, and traditional styles. The mirror closet doors can be framed or frameless depending on your preference. We have the bifold closet doors in 3 of our bedrooms and so far they have functioned just fine. I know they tend to come of the tracks and need repairs, especially when kids are treating them rough. Bypass doors are great for bedroom closets - they work well with small walk ins where you need access to a whole side. Louvered closet doors are also very popular - they can either be bifold or bypass. I prefer the bypass panel louvered doors in master bedrooms where the closet space is typically larger than the other bedrooms and often 3 panels are required for the width. We have even gotten to colors and designs yet so you can see just how complicated the purchase of new closet doors can be.

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Closet door options are many and to get some ideas on style and design we recommended you go to a website like Interiordoorandcloset.com where you can see full color photos of all the door types. See how the closet doors with mirrors look or determine if the bifold door is better suited for your bedroom. Closet door hardware is another variable and usually you can match the knobs or handles to those already in place on the doors in the room. Our daughter has the bifold closet doors in her room and she loves them. When she was younger we did have a few episodes with pinched fingers as that is always a problem with that particular style. Our son has a traditional closet door that swings open and that works best for him. Home Depot and Lowes are 2 great stores to go to if you want to touch and see closet doors in person. They carry many of the leading brands including the popular sliding doors from Andersen. Mirrored sliding doors are pretty much a thing from the past, but I still see them in the home improvement stores so I know someone is buying them. Which closet doors require more maintenance or need more repairs? Many of our readers ask that question and I would have to say that the sliding closet doors tend to come off their tracks quite often but they are rather easy to put back on. The bifold doors can be a problem if the fixtures at the bottom of the doors "stick" or get stuck in the tracks. Our folding closet doors have held up, although there have been a few times where a small piece of a toy or something gets stuck in their closing mechanism and prevents them from being opened or closed. Again, the fix is easy and doesn't cost anything. Most contractors tell you to keep the track clear of debris and the doors should work just fine. Oil the hinges periodically to keep them smooth and the doors should last a long time.

Closet Door Prices and Installation:

The one thing that everyone needs to do before shopping for new closet doors is to measure the opening. Although we all like to think of our homes as "standard", you'd be surprised at how many homes were built with odd sized doors or closet openings. When I recently went to replace a water damaged front door, the installer told me that the doorway was slightly larger than standard size and it would require a custom door. Add 20% to the price at that point. Closet doors range from $80 to about $400 and then add installation to that. One of my neighbors just recently had 2 glass mirrored closet doors installed and he paid $300 for the two doors and another $100 for the install. That's pretty cheap considering bypass or panel closet doors can cost as much as $400 from home improvement stores. The Internet is loaded with information on almost every door type you could imagine with pricing and specs. Get your measurements exact and then look into some pricing options that fit your budget. The louvered doors tend to be pricey and the bifold doors are on the cheap side. Installation shouldn't be more than an a few hours for most doors and if you have a local handyman they can do it for pretty cheap. We found a guy on Craigslist who did the job for $35/hr which is totally reasonable.

Closet Door Ideas and Design:

Interior closet doors are an excellent way to add your own personal style to a room. I know many teenagers that have decided to take out their closet doors and put up beads or drapery panels. Although that would hardly look great in a master bedroom or even guest room, the point is that you can really let your design ideas go wild. The other good thing is that many of the doors can be installed without hiring a professional contractor. If you currently have tracks for say a closet sliding glass door, then you can replace it with an equivalent size panel or sliding door. Removing old doors is easy and new ones take a bit of effort to get on the tracks and squared up but it's a project you could take on. Use the Internet to shop online and see what the manufacturers offer on their websites and check with Lowes, Home Depot and Sears to see what they carry. You can save money by buying unfinished doors and painting them yourself or staining them before installing them.

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