Last Updated on October 2, 2021 by Kimberly Crawford
Patio doors are very common and are great for homes, they allow a lot of natural light to pour into a room, allow you an unobstructed view of your garden, create a nice flow from the inside to the outside and look very stylish.
You’re probably accustomed to seeing French doors or sliding glass doors when you think of patio doors, but in the past few years there has been a new type of patio door that has burst onto the scene: Bi-Fold doors.
So what are Bi-Fold doors? How do they compare to more traditional patio doors? And Why are they suddenly so popular in the interior design world? Read on to find out!
Related: 46 Different Parts Of a Door, Sliding Door and Door Frame (Include Knob)
What Are Bi-Fold Doors?
Simply put Bi-Fold doors are patio doors that’re made out of separate panels connected by hinges, this makes the door so that it opens by folding panels up on each other to the side of the doorway, this will give you a complete unobstructed view of your home’s garden as the doorway will be clear and creates a nice flow from exterior to interior.
How Do Bi-Fold Doors Compare To Other Patio Doors?
For most people, Bi-Fold doors are superior to other patio doors like sliding glass doors and French doors, as they’re much more efficient with space.
With a sliding glass door half the door must remain in place and French doors will often have side windows which are stationary, this makes it so that they can never really be fully open unlike Bi-Fold doors.
Bi-Fold doors also have an edge when it comes to style, while the French door and sliding glass door are classic designs, they’re often made from white UPVC plastic which has gone out of fashion and can look a bit cheap and tacky, whereas Bi-Fold doors are often made with a brushed metal like aluminium, which makes bi-Fold doors look more sleek.
When it comes to shading patio doors, the Bi-Fold door also wins the battle, wide windows and doorways are tricky to shade as blinds will cover the door and make it hard to use the door, whereas you can get specially made blinds for Bi-Fold door, which slot into each door panel rather than going over the doorway itself.
The only area that more traditional patio doors beat Bi-Folds in, is price. As Bi-Fold doors are relatively new and made with metal rather than UPVC plastic, they can be more costly than other patio doors.
Related: 25+ Best Patio Door Curtain Ideas and Designs
Why Are Bi-Fold Doors So Popular?
We’ve already mentioned some of the many advantages of Bi-Fold doors over traditional patio doors, all of these factors have formed a perfect storm for Bi-Fold doors as they’re coming into style. As well as the many bouses of Bi-Fold doors social media has given these doors a good popularity boost as they’re often featured in ‘Instagrammable’ houses and on décor blogs.
Social media is now at a point where it can create trends overnight, so platforms like Pinterest and Instagram have been a boon for Bi-Fold doors as users share stylish photos of them around!
