Why Sliding Glass Doors are the Perfect Sliding Barn Door Alternative

If you had to make a list of some of the most popular design trends gripping the world of home decor today, barn doors would undoubtedly be on them. Generally speaking, people like their distinctive, upscale look – they certainly act as a stark contrast to traditional doors in both style and function.

Having said that, barn doors are also quickly becoming something of an outdated trend – something that experienced an immediate peak of white hot popularity so quickly that it couldn’t help but burn out sooner rather than later. But thankfully, there are a number of viable sliding barn door alternative options out there that bring with them a host of unique benefits that cannot be ignored.

The Problem with Barn Doors: Breaking Things Down

While barn doors remain somewhat popular, more and more people are beginning to realize that they may not be the ideal choice for their own homes. Part of the problem is that they’re not really as functional as they appear at first glance – because they slide across a door frame instead of opening inward or outward, you really are limited in terms of where they can be used in a space. You need at least an equal amount of space on either side of the frame to house the barn doors when they’re in the “open” position, which isn’t necessarily possible in older homes in particular.

Because barn doors are also so large, they quickly make a room feel closed off – which is problematic if you value the advantages of an open floor plan elsewhere in your home. Along the same lines, barn doors also have gaps that transmit noise in a way that also makes it difficult to achieve a true sense of privacy in most situations. Their large size and construction also makes them very heavy, which can also make them difficult to use in some cases.

Finally, while the barn doors themselves are very easy to install, they’re also very tricky to find locking mechanisms for – which may make them a complete non-starter depending on your circumstances.

Sliding Glass Doors: The True Sliding Barn Door Alternative

Sliding doors, on the other hand, offer all of the benefits you thought you were getting from barn doors with as few of the potential downsides as possible.

Modern day glass doors have come a long way from their minimalist predecessors. Today’s glass door options not only offer custom finishes that are perfect for any style that you happen to be going for with your home, but they also offer incredibly thin profiles that allow them to be used in even the smallest spaces, too. They’re absolutely not the sliding glass doors that you’re used to finding in track homes – which is certainly a good thing.

A Horizontal Sliding Wall (or HSW for short), for example, is the perfect option to serve as an interior divider to enclose or open up the space in your home. The HSW Door System is the premier option for maximizing openings (up to 100%) by sliding and storing panels outside of the opening. Featuring completely customizable parking areas, the panels slide and stack anywhere – even in a closet around the corner.

The award-winning Multi-Slide TS.X0 glass door system is another great example. Because of their innovative slim-profile design, oversized panels and elegant look, they can make even the smallest spaces feel huge and expansive – perfect for hosting large parties, or just for situations where you’re trying to maximize every last square foot in the room.

Commercial Multi-Slide TS.X0 glass door systems offer similar advantages, allowing you to maximize the use of even the largest professional spaces without actually changing your workflow to open or close rooms depending on who is using them at the time.

In an era where social distancing and room dividers are gaining in use, offices are turning to sliding glass doors as the perfect barn door alternative. Sliding glass doors allow for private separation without blocking precious views and daylighting.

The Panda Windows & Doors Approach

At Panda Windows & Doors, our in-house designers work hard to understand our client’s goals to help them create an elegant, custom product make the right decisions in terms of profile thickness, glass and weather resistance, color, material types and more. We can easily accommodate almost any request and thanks to the fact that so many different parameters of your sliding doors can be fully customized, there is a potentially limitless number of possibilities to truly make this element of your home or office your very own.

For us, the performance and function of a product is just as important as its look and style – which is why we believe that sliding glass doors are the true barn door alternative you’ve been looking for. To learn more about the major benefits that sliding doors have over barn doors, we invite you to download our Residential Door Buying Guide or Request a Quote if you’re ready to discuss the specifics of your next big residential or commercial project.