Wide-span Doors Gain Popularity

The Small-space Factor

In Washington, D.C., where Richard Loosle-Ortega’s firm, KUBE Architecture, is located, space and natural lighting within a rowhouse are issues homeowners seek to resolve. “Most of these homes have minimal glass and windows,” he says. “We suggest making it all operable glass so they can open it all up. Homeowners love that idea and a lot of them make room in their budget to have that option.”

Loosle-Ortega, who specifies Mill Valley, Calif.-based NanaWall Systems Inc. doors, often takes clients to homes in which the doors already have been installed. “They can touch the door, see how easy it is to open and how it functions and they really love it,” he says. “They see it really does make the whole wall disappear and they have that continuous connection between indoor and outdoor.”

He adds that in the D.C. area very little new land is available and most people like their neighborhood and therefore choose to remodel. “They want to build up or out and they want to make it very open space. These doors can do that for them.”

The Web Factor

Shamual Choudhury, senior associate with Moore Architects, Arlington, Va., jokes with his colleagues about websites driving a lot of their clients’ requests, including for wide-span doors. “My clients’ primary source for examples are websites, like Houzz,” he says. “They’re always telling me to look at things online.”

Wide-span doors’ beauty helps them stand out on these design and decorating-idea websites, but, as with any product, remodeling professionals still need to educate their clients about the cost and appropriateness of the doors for their specific project. “We aren’t automatically proposing them for every client because it’s a cool idea,” Choudhury adds. “Homeowners are asking for them, but we have to tell them about the price and determine whether they can afford it.”

In addition, Choudhury, who has specified Wausau, Wis.-based Kolbe & Kolbe’s Folding Door, likes wide-span doors because of the way they can transform a space. However, he’s cautious about where he is specifying them. “We deal with bugs here; we don’t have southern California weather,” he says. “Just recently I put them in a family room leading to a screened-in porch. The doors literally doubled the space.”

The Cool Factor

Despite their premium cost, wide-span doors can offer new aspects to a client’s living situation that he or she hadn’t considered, including improved daylighting, an expanded living space into the outdoors, energy efficiency, weathertightness and beautiful views. These characteristics and their aesthetic appeal will continue to offset the doors’ potential sticker shock.