Bringing the door in harmony with the house

Nirwono Joga, Contributor, Jakarta

Few people realize that the right door can lend greater attractiveness to a house, and not many are aware that doors can also favorably affect the atmosphere of a house.

With just a touch of creativity, a door will be attractive in its own right and will stop being a mere functional partition that protects the privacy of the house occupants, either from the outside world or between rooms.

A front door leads occupants or guests to explore the interior of a house and all the activities that occur within it. Therefore, the door can accentuate a particular room and lend focus to it. Of course, the shape of the doorframe, the door itself and the material the door is made of must conform to the architectural style of the house as a whole.

The shape, size and architectural style of a house influences the shape of the door, and in turn the shape of the door will immediately affect the appearance of the house as a whole. Country, minimalist, funky, Mediterranean, futuristic and traditional architectural styles are but a few that can be used for the door. Its durability and appearance will also depend on the material used.

Before you choose a particular material for your door, you must first decide the concept of the door. A glass door, which gives the impression of lightness, transparency and a floating feeling, for example, will create an atmosphere characterized by brightness and openness. With this door, you will allow a lot of sunshine to flow freely into your room.

In houses built with natural or traditional nuances, a wooden door remains a popular choice. A wooden door can also suit every room in the house. There is a variety of wooden doors, though. You may have plain or varnished wood that shows off the grain or lends emphasis the texture of the natural fibers. This can also feature in a wooden door covered with varnished plywood with a motif that looks like natural wood. If the grain of the wood does not look perfect, you can still paint your door and make it more beautiful with a variety of colors. You may choose the colors that go with the color of the walls in your house or those that create a contrast with the color of the walls.

When applying the paint, you don't need to use a single color and apply it evenly on both sides of your door. A variety is quite possible. You can use two matching colors. The darker color will be applied on the outside of the door while a lighter color will be used for the other side of the door. Then, if you choose two different matching colors for the doorframe and its panels, you are simply accentuating the door as a gate that leads to the rooms in a house. Remember that the door can also be considered a canvas on which unique and creative themes are painted.

The technique you use when painting your door and the appropriate choice of colors will produce an effect that reflects the character of the house occupants. In addition, the door must be protected against insects and the weather.

Doors made of iron or aluminum sheets, previously used only for bathrooms because they do not easily deteriorate, are now being used for the rooms inside the house and even for the front door. Light, durable and futuristic doors accentuate the minimalist and, of course, futuristic nature of many houses.

Uniquely, however, in many traditional houses, you can still find doors made of plain or beautifully patterned cloth or plastic sheets. These doors will create an intimate, open and artistic atmosphere. Doors made of cloth or transparent plastic can be comfortably installed in rooms that do not require a lot of privacy or show quite distinct functions such as the sitting room and the living room, the living room and the dining room, the dining room and the kitchen or the living room and the room for your baby. Your house will look more artistic if you decide to use cloth doors with a traditional motif, for example, batik.

The doorframe need not be rectangular. Beautiful door frames in triangular or half circles are now often found. In pursuit of cost efficiency, it is becoming increasingly popular to install a door without a frame. The door, then, is directly built into the wall of the house.

Today doors come in various sizes. They no longer have to be the standard size of between 0.80 meters to 1.5 meters wide and 2 meters high. If the house is large, the door must also be bigger in size as otherwise the house will not look imposing enough. Narrow doors are useful to serve as a partition between two rooms that, despite their different functions in the house, can be used at the same time, such as the sitting room and the living room, the living room and the dining room or the dining room and the kitchen. If you have double doors, when you open them, the room inside seems to be warmly welcoming you, an impression that a single door can never produce.

In some cases, you can also split your door into two equal parts, top and bottom, or you can keep the lower part at one meter. On ordinary days, this lower part is closed while the upper part is left open. This will give the visual impression of several rooms being combined.

The door can be opened in a variety of ways depending on your preference and the availability of space. In a small house, a sliding door or a cloth/plastic door would be preferable as it saves space while maintaining privacy. Generally found are sliding doors that move to the right or left only and double sliding doors that open, simultaneously, to the right and to the left.

For your door, standard keys, hinges and door handles come in various famous brands of guaranteed quality and durability. These door components can also be made to order so that they will also serve as decorative pieces that will enhance the artistic value of your door. In some traditional doors, however, wooden beams are still used to lock the front or rear door of the house.

When your door is in harmony with your house as a whole, you will find that it will not only be more beautiful and but also more comfortable to live in.

The writer is a landscape architect.