Among the many factors that can impact the character, style, and functionality of a living space, doors are certainly important in setting the tone. Besides their decorative function, they protect rooms from weather and noise, delimit spaces, define circulations, and provide privacy. As recent design trends continue to move towards clean, modern lines, the pivot door has never been more in style – being applied not only in main entrances, but also appearing more frequently in interior design. Apart from being bigger, heavier, and offering a dramatic contemporary look, pivot doors allow for a beautiful, elegant movement with nearly invisible hardware that rotates on a vertical axis, setting them apart from regular hinged doors.
Nonetheless, their most notable characteristic lies in what architects and customers often look for when choosing the right pieces to complete a room: limitless flexibility in all aspects of the design and building process. Whether it be through material, dimensional, placement, or installation flexibility, pivot doors can adapt to diverse situations and decors. Therefore, considering they are also easy to install and cost-effective, these become an ideal alternative when transforming interior spaces.
Countless materials, sizes, and placements
Because of the countless design options, interior pivot doors can respond to various needs and desired decors. Perhaps one of the most crucial factors, however, is being able to choose from a wide variety of materials that can define the overall aesthetic of a home. In this sense, the choice of materials is extremely flexible when designing a pivot door – in fact, basically every type of material is suitable.
With this in mind, FritsJurgens has developed durable pivot hinge systems, a hardware mechanism made with high-quality parts that allows doors to swing in both directions, unlike the traditional butt hinge. These can be installed in every door type in terms of materials, such as doors made with marble slabs, scaffolding wood with steel details, or even leather-clad doors, offering an array of colors and textures. This makes any look possible; from a rustic, warm ambiance with a nature-inspired wood board, to an elegant style with a marbled surface, or a sleek contemporary atmosphere with a fiberglass or steel pivot door.
Apart from this material flexibility, FritsJurgens pivot hinges can support doors up to 500 kg, providing endless possibilities regarding dimensions and weight. Hence, the height is practically unlimited, meaning it is possible to incorporate, for example, a floor-to-ceiling interior marble door. By emphasizing the height of a space, making it optically larger and bigger, this enables the inherent elegant and dramatic look of pivot doors. In the same way, because the thickness is also flexible (the minimum being 40 mm), a frameless interior pivot door can submerge in a wall or even completely hide on the surface.
Furthermore, pivot doors can be placed in numerous interior situations – basically everywhere that homeowners would generally apply a swing door –, such as the master bedroom, bathrooms, the pantry, or utility areas. Essentially, as long as there is space inside the door for the pivot hinge system, the design can take on almost infinite appearances, sizes, and placements. And at the same time, this high adaptability implies that pivot doors can transform a space in various ways, whether it be through a modern, open-plan approach with a bright and spacious atmosphere, or through a separated room that creates privacy while maintaining the flow of the space.
Easy installation and project management
Clearly, pivot doors are not ordinary doors; and for that same reason, they used to be difficult to install in place. Today, however, companies like FritsJurgens have incorporated new technologies that hide all the hardware, allow the versatility and creativity that characterizes pivot door design, and are particularly easy to install. While traditional pivot hinge systems go inside the floor, FritsJurgens solutions go inside the door instead – mortised both in the top and bottom of the door. Because only the two 8 mm pins that keep the floorplate in place go in the floor, the system is suitable for all types of existing or new floors and can be combined with radial heating.
In addition, as opposed to standard doors, interior pivot doors are not dependent on frames – the only ‘frames’ are ceiling and floor, contributing to the simple nature of the design. Therefore, installation basically consists of mounting the floor and ceiling plate, subsequently lifting the door into place. The door’s placement and movement can be fine-tuned afterward at any given time, and the whole process can be completed in thirty minutes of on-site work.
Flexible installation also translates to easier project management, since placing the pivot doors can be one of the very last things done on-site. In other words, final decisions about handles or door thickness, among others, don’t necessarily have to be taken until the last moment. Thus, planning and design changes can occur naturally without major difficulties. Simultaneously, this easy and time-saving installation – as well as the adjustability of the design and simple maintenance – leads to cost-effectiveness. For example, compared to a swing door, an interior pivot door can save homeowners up to one thousand dollars.
Ultimately, choosing the right type of door is crucial. Often, the focus tends to be in the front door, as it marks the first impression when entering a home. However, the importance of interior doors lies not only in their aesthetic value, but also in their ability to completely redefine the movement and spaciousness of a room. In this sense, the look and functionality of pivot doors is unmatched.
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