Sliding or traditional doors – which, when to choose?

When choosing doors, we often face the choice: sliding or traditional? Or maybe this choice is not as difficult as it might seem? Both solutions have their advantages and work well in different spaces. Which doors to choose to enjoy functionality and beauty of the interior every day? In this article, we will try to clearly compare the most important features of the available solutions to make your decision easier.

Sliding doors vs traditional

Sliding doors are gaining more and more supporters, especially in spaces where every meter counts. The door leaf hides in a cassette or slides along the wall, thanks to which we gain a lot of free space. This is a perfect solution in small apartments, utility rooms or hallways. Moreover, sliding doors perfectly fit minimalist interiors and allow for interesting space divisions.

Traditional doors, i.e. classic hinged leaves, are a choice that is proven and universal. Their additional advantage is greater acoustic insulation, which works perfectly in a bedroom, bathroom or a room intended for work – that is, wherever privacy and peace matter.

Advantages of sliding doors.

A definite advantage of DRE sliding doors is space saving. Thanks to the fact that they do not need space to open, we can use the extra centimeters for completely different solutions. In rooms that are usually narrow – e.g. in a hallway – choosing sliding doors is an absolute bullseye! The space visually enlarges, and the interior seems more spacious. Another advantage of sliding doors is the flexibility of arrangement – when we want to maintain privacy, we can close the doors and vice versa: when we want to connect rooms, we just leave the doors open. This solution works perfectly when we invite guests and want to combine, for example, the living room with the kitchen, gaining more usable space. It is worth emphasizing that DRE sliding doors are available in a wide range of colors, which allows matching the doors to any style of arrangement – modern, loft or Scandinavian.

When are traditional interior doors a better choice?

If we care about the best possible acoustic insulation, traditional doors win. Wherever peace and quiet are a priority – a child's room, bedroom or home office – DRE traditional doors will work best. Moreover, for even greater comfort of household members, some DRE door models offer the option of choosing an additional Silent 37 dB package. This is a technology that increases the soundproofing parameters of the door, ensuring sound insulation at the level of Rw=37 dB.

Traditional doors are more "safe" arrangement-wise, which means that their classic form fits any interior: from modern, through industrial, to modern. And there is definitely plenty to choose from: from the standard DRE door collections to the DRE Supreme line.

Which doors to choose for small rooms?

In small apartments, every centimetre counts, which is why sliding doors are the best solution. They provide freedom of movement and allow you to save space and functionally arrange the space. At DRE sliding systems are available in two variants: NS (wall-mounted) and NT (tunnel), which can be matched to most door models. By choosing sliding doors in a small space, you are opting not only for convenience, but also for functionality.

NS and NT sliding systems – how do they differ?

The DRE wall-mounted sliding system is intended for single or double-leaf, interior doors, in the sliding variant. It can be used for doors available in the DRE offer, in the finish: DRE-Cell, 3D foil, CPL laminates, as well as painted doors (except for the collections: Enter, Enter Akustik, Solid, Solid RC2, Forca B, fire doors and doors of variable heights).

At DRE we have two types of sliding systems:
– NS (system mounted directly on the wall) – the track is mounted directly on the wall, and the whole thing is covered by a masking panel matched to the door colour.
– NT (system mounted using an adjustable tunnel) – the track is hidden in an adjustable tunnel, which creates an aesthetic frame around the door. The mechanism is invisible, and the whole thing looks very elegant and cohesive.

So which doors to choose? The final choice is yours alone: for the arrangement, for your needs and the size of the room. If you care about making maximum use of the space – choose DRE sliding doors. If you are a fan of classics and universal, proven solutions – traditional DRE doors will be a bullseye!