Tips for making the most of bi-fold doors

There are lots of benefits to getting bi-fold doors fitted. They enable you to open up your living space and give you a great indoor-outdoor space for summer. Plus, they help to increase the light levels inside your home without compromising on security. But by following these design tips, you can boost the advantages of fitting bi-fold doors. 

Create a seamless transition 

The beauty of bi-fold doors is how they peel back to give you easy access to the garden. But to increase this connection and create one large entertaining space, you want to ensure there’s a seamless transition between the inside and outside. 

Firstly, moving between the two should be easy and step-free. To blend the two spaces into one, consider using the same flooring material for your lounge and patio. Many stone and porcelain tile options are suitable for both interior and exterior use, so this isn’t hard to achieve. You could also use large houseplants to mirror your garden inside the home. 

When choosing bi-fold doors, consider their size and style. Floor-to-ceiling glazing with light or minimal frames will reduce the barrier between the outside and inside of your home. 

Don’t block the flow with furniture

Part of making sure there’s a seamless transition between the inside and out is ensuring traffic can flow smoothly. The key to this is having the right layout. For instance, you don’t want to block access with bulky chairs, tables or sofas. Not only will it turn your garden access into an obstacle course, but it will also make it difficult to open and close your bi-fold doors. 

Of course, you don’t want to leave a completely empty space on either side of your doors. That would result in a lot of wasted space. Instead, you could go with smaller pieces of furniture that allow you to make the most of the view outside without blocking your path. If you have an open-plan living space that’s used for different activities, using smaller, lighter pieces of furniture will also help to keep the space flexible. 

If you do want some large pieces of furniture, you could position these to the sides, so seating areas still have a view of the outside but don’t block the path in and out. Then, you could use one or two smaller pieces of furniture nearer the doors, so you’re not left with a void in the centre of the room.  

But do put furniture in a prime position

When you’re having bi-folds fitted, you really want to make the most of this feature. So, aside from keeping your layout flowing nicely, you might want to position furniture and fittings to make the most of the view. 

For instance, you might want to angle seating towards the doors or position a kitchen island or peninsula, so you’re looking outwards as you cook. This also makes the space more sociable and enables you to keep an eye on the outside when kids are playing in the garden. So, this is another reason for placing furniture towards rather than in front of the doors. 

Make sure there’s something worth looking at

But it’s not just how you arrange things inside that’s important. There’s no point having all that glazing if there’s nothing outside worth looking at. Yes, you may have a large social space when it’s warm but what about the rest of the time? 

When your doors are closed, you still want them to benefit the room. So, it’s worth sculpting your garden to create the best view possible. Looking out to leafy trees, cascading water and bright flowers is always going to be better than a boring or ugly view such as a bland lawn or fence. Or even worse, a view of a road or neighbouring house. 

Frame the view

Once you have a view, it’s worth using some interior design tricks to frame and highlight it. Firstly, don’t be afraid to keep your décor simple, so it doesn’t detract from the view outside. And if you can, stick to lighter furnishings and colour schemes, to emphasise the wealth of natural light in the room. 

Secondly, it’s worth considering how your view of the garden can be retained at night. Bright lighting inside will simply turn your windows into a mirror, so lower the lighting levels and use side lights, to keep the outside visible. And think about using exterior lighting to pick out the best bits of your garden after dark.

But don’t obscure the view

It’s easy to think of bi-fold doors as large windows but if you dress them in the same way, they can quickly lose their impact. For instance, if you decide to draw curtains or blinds across them, they’ll simply blend into the background. Plus, hanging cumbersome treatments can make the doors harder to open and close. So, it’s best to stick to minimal dressings. 

What can you use instead? Well, you could consider blinds that clip into the frame. This gives you a flexible way to block out bright sunlight and add privacy, yet it won’t affect the function of the doors. But if you want to keep the glazing on show and maximise your connection to the garden, you could use a coating or tint on the glazing instead.