I'm told that traditionally, interior doors in Victorian homes always opened INTO a room - however, I find this extremely annoying, not to mention a waste of space. My partner and I are about to rehang bedroom doors and are having a disagreement about which way they should be open. If we were to sell, do you think viewers would rather see such Victorian features preserved, or would it actually aid a viewing (in terms of sense of space and light) to have the doors open flat against a wall?
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biffvernon
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Fortunately the Nanny State has not yet decreed which way a door should swing - but if I were hoping to sell a house soon, rather than indulge my own fanciful whims, I would certainly stick to the custom and practice of leaving the door to open into the rooms.
Also, as these doors are normally situated adjacent to narrowish passageways and corridors it woud be a certainty that sooner or later you would give someone a black eye by opening the door into their faces.
Similar to front doors opening inwards.
Can you immagine someone Knocking at your door, as you open it he/she ends up under a bus or falls three or four steps down.
As Biff said, wait untill the law changes.
Similar to front doors opening inwards.
Can you immagine someone Knocking at your door, as you open it he/she ends up under a bus or falls three or four steps down.
As Biff said, wait untill the law changes.
Thanks for your responses...but I don't think I was clear - either way the door would open into the room, as opposed to out into a corridor, but I was curious as to whether it would matter if it opened to one's right or left. Meaning, if I were to open the door into the sitting room, if it opened to my right, it would rest against the wall leaving the whole of the room in my view, but if it opened to my left, it juts out into the middle of the room, thereby obscuring my view of the rest of the room. Does that make more sense?
I thought usuk2004 meant which side should the hinges be?
Victorian practice seemed to be to have to walk around the door, particularly for bedrooms, where the extra few seconds' notice of an unexpected visitor could be used to advantage...
Modern practice is to hinge the door so it opens against a wall, the theory (estate agent speak?) being the room looks larger as you enter.
Sometimes the lightswitch position decides for you. Otherwise, hinge on whichever side you prefer according to room usagae, furniture arrangement, etc.
Victorian practice seemed to be to have to walk around the door, particularly for bedrooms, where the extra few seconds' notice of an unexpected visitor could be used to advantage...
Modern practice is to hinge the door so it opens against a wall, the theory (estate agent speak?) being the room looks larger as you enter.
Sometimes the lightswitch position decides for you. Otherwise, hinge on whichever side you prefer according to room usagae, furniture arrangement, etc.
biffvernon
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Ah, yes.
Geoff Flegg
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My wife's 95 year old great great uncle, an ex-joiner, told me the reason for this once.
"You should always hang a door so it shields the view into the room, for privacy".
At the time he was berating me for hanging my bedroom doors the "wrong" way! Like you, I wanted the space.
Individual preference really, but that apparently was the historical reason.
"You should always hang a door so it shields the view into the room, for privacy".
At the time he was berating me for hanging my bedroom doors the "wrong" way! Like you, I wanted the space.
Individual preference really, but that apparently was the historical reason.
Carol
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The theory we were told was to prevent the servants catching the master/mistress doing something inappropriate. (The mind boggles!) We have changed two of ours and carefully filled the hinge holes, rehanging so the open door is flush with the wall in two rooms as we haven't got any servants and it makes a considerable difference to useable space in small bedrooms. For the purists, I also say that our house originally didn't have doors in these positions anyway and we aren't reinstating the single room hall and one solar. So there!!
Leave them as original, Victorian houses have doors like this for privacy reasons and is handy if the nearest wall has a light switch otherwise that bit of wall will be unused.
Filling in old handle holes and hinge marks is always noticeable and I think future owners will be more thankful to have doors which they can strip at a later stage.
Filling in old handle holes and hinge marks is always noticeable and I think future owners will be more thankful to have doors which they can strip at a later stage.
Penners
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The butler once walked in unexpectedly when Ada (the tweenie) was performing a little service for me by the fire.
Fortunately the door opened into the room, rather than against the wall. This gave us just enough time for me to drop my monocle, and then pretend that we'd been looking for it.
Imagine my embarrassment if it got around that I'd been getting the maid to help me with The Times crossword .
Fortunately the door opened into the room, rather than against the wall. This gave us just enough time for me to drop my monocle, and then pretend that we'd been looking for it.
Imagine my embarrassment if it got around that I'd been getting the maid to help me with The Times crossword .