Winners: Do More with Your Door

The grand prize goes to DL Design Architects, Inc. for their conceptual entry, The Sliding Door House.

The Concept

The "Sliding Door House" was designed from the inside out specifically to showcase The Sliding Door Company doors. In the center of this 1,000-square-foot one bedroom house is a 24' long x 5' wide x 9' high enclosure that conceals the entertainment center, kitchen, closet, toilet and laundry area. Placing this core element in the center allows natural light to move freely throughout the interior space. Each side of this enclosure has 9' high triple track sliding doors that stack on either end. A 4' modular grid was established in the terrazzo flooring to align with the 4' module of the sliding doors.

Clear smoked glass doors allow glimpses of the kitchen and cabinets on the living/dining side. Smoked mirrored glass doors hide the toilet, closet, and laundry and simultaneously reflect and enlarge the bedroom, bath and study side. Smoked frosted glass panels divide the dining area from the living area. Lami glass and mirror panels are used to define the bedroom, bathroom and study.

Milky glass doors acting as window coverings control sunlight through windows and stack flush to the walls. Clear smoked sliding glass "Sunshades" over the clerestory windows filter incoming sunlight from above. Paint, millwork and flooring finishes were chosen to compliment the silver frames with smoked, lami, or milky glass doors that are used throughout the house.

In close second is Whitney Collins for his submission, Modern/Asian Remodel.

The Concept

When I first walked through the house, I understood the need for the renovation and the potential held within its walls. Although the original design and exterior of the house were inspired by the architecture of Japanese temples, the inside space was disjointed.  The layout of the rooms made the house seem much smaller and darker than it was. The house was a maze of hallways and many of the rooms were rarely used.

A primary goal of the remodel was to make the whole house accessible so one could view the magnificent garden and outside areas from all rooms of the house. The resulting remodel transformed the living room, kitchen, dining room, and living room into an open, airy space measuring over 60 feet from end to end.

While the open floor plan is wonderful for entertaining, the owners also wanted to be able to section the space into distinct rooms. When open, two sets of the doors slide into pockets in the walls.  When closed, the doors divide the kitchen, living room, dining room, and den into separate, intimate spaces. Given the size of the doors and the need for them to be easily operable, they needed to be constructed of lightweight materials with a concealable track system.

We chose doors with a bronze frame to complement the stained fir floors and walnut trim and interior doors. The beautiful effect of the doors is accentuated by the use of sandblasted glass and the application of vertical dividers, giving the doors a shoji screen effect in keeping with the many Japanese elements of the house.

In the master bathroom set of bi-pass doors is used for the entrance, and a trimless door on pivot hinges is used for the water closet. In these rooms the door frames are brushed aluminum and were chosen to match the bathroom fixtures. A translucent resin panel was inserted in lieu of glass creating a luminescent effect. To quote the homeowners, "we love our sliding doors!"

Third Place

Our final winner is Chris Keller for his entry, Garage Office.

The Concept

When you work from home, creating a "home office" that inspires can sometimes be a challenge. Not wanting to sacrifice a guest bedroom, we turned to the garage as a possible solution‚ but who wants to have a desk parked next to the Prius?  With an over-sized garage with river views, we had the space, but creating a delineation between office and garage that was both functional and stylish stumped us.  We tried hanging blinds, but they were neither functional nor stylish.  We chose smoked-glass sliding doors with silver frame, and as soon as the doors were up, it transformed the space.  Before we had office desks in a garage, now we have an office--with parking.