What is a French Door?

Most people have a particular image in mind when hearing the phrase ‘French door’. In most cases, people tend to think of a French door as a large pane of glass which is sectioned off into smaller grids or panels. A French door is a lot more then a simple way of entering or leaving a household. It’s one of the most elegant ways you can have of welcoming natural light into your home, and it has its own natural beauty that enhances any home where it’s installed. Below you can read about some of the other characteristics of a French door, and you may even be inspired to have one installed in your own home.

Natural lighting

When French doors were first developed in the 17th century, it was primarily to bring more light into homes that were otherwise dimly lit. With this as their goal, developers set up these doors to act much like windows, extending the length of the glass through most of the door’s entire length. There have been some changes over the centuries to French doors, but they are still patio doors made mostly of glass, and most still have grids in them. Today, you can buy French doors that swing inward, outward, or have a sliding door style. There are also a great many grid patterns available and a number of different configurations, so practically anything you can think can be incorporated into your French doors.

Eye-catching doors

When you install a French door in your home, you’ll be quite likely to get some comments about the door, and probably lots of compliments as well. The beauty of a French door comes from a strong sense of symmetry and the proportions of the door itself. If you’re looking for a door that does more than serve as an entry/exit point in your home, you should consider the aesthetically beautiful French door. Your friends and neighbors will also notice the beauty of your French doors, and may even ask you some questions about the benefits to your household. When they see how much life and natural light your French doors add to the household, they may be motivated to have them installed at their homes as well.

Indoor-Outdoor living

French doors make it easy for you to enjoy both indoor and outdoor living. If your family tends to gather in the living room next to your patio door, that will be a natural development that encourages family members to spend more time outside. Summer gatherings, special occasions, and just spending time in nice weather, are all good reasons to include more outdoor living in your lifestyle. A French patio door can help enable this dual living style and provide easy access to the outdoors.

Energy Efficiency

On top of the fact that they’re aesthetically beautiful and can help you enjoy the outdoors a great deal more, it should not be overlooked that French doors are also quite energy-efficient. Most French doors are made with dual pane glass that is highly energy-efficient, and you can also add glazing to the glass if you live in a cold climate, so as to increase the level of energy-efficiency. If you’re thinking of installing a new patio door, you just couldn’t do any better than to install a gorgeous French door in your household.

Add excitement to an ordinary room

French doors are of course highly functional, but most homeowners have them installed because of their aesthetic features. A French door can completely change the nature of any given room where it’s installed, and can bring new life into a room that was formerly quiet and relatively unexciting. By interconnecting your indoor and outdoor living spaces, a French door can literally transform an entire section of your household and improve the aesthetics dramatically. Part of it involves all the extra light that gets welcomes in by the glass panels, and another aspect of French door aesthetics involves bringing the natural beauty of the outdoors into your indoor living space. That can create a harmonious lifestyle that everyone in your family appreciates, and that visitors will not fail to notice.

A great investment

Investing in a French door as your new patio door can bring a number of benefits to your household, including a significant financial benefit. When you install a French door in your household, it will increase the potential resale value of your home. Even if you don’t plan to relocate in the foreseeable future, it’s a good financial investment, because it will automatically increase the sale price of your home when you do relocate, or when you pass the home on to your children. Anytime new home buyers walk through a home with striking features like French doors, they jump right out and increase the sale appeal to new buyers.