Internal doors

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Increasingly, doors inside your home no longer block one room from another, but instead allow for flow of light and movement throughout a space. Here's the choices:

* Glass A hot trend is for sliding and panel doors in glass with barely there fixtures and fittings. Good suppliers include The Disappearing Door Company, Innerdoor and Dorma.
* Sliding Gone are the days of wobbly sliding doors – the new pocket doors literally disappear into the wall. ‘They are a complete system to which you can add you own door, leaving no need to compromise on door style,’ says Padraic Healey of The David Barley Company, distributors of the sleek Eclisse range of doors in the UK. ‘They’re also ideal as room dividers between living and sleeping areas,’ says James Fletcher, MD of Draks.
* Invisible Curved or flat seamless doors lend continuity to a space. Try Dooria and Doorhaus.
* Textured wood Try doors in dark grainy woods. Barausse’s Panama range uses coconut shell tiles and the Tetrix range boasts teak, stainless steel and leather.

FIRE SAFETY AND SECURITY
Fire prevention When replacing a door, inside or out, be aware of fire regulations (visit the professional section about Part B regulations at planningportal.gov.uk). Generally, this applies to any door that leads on to what is deemed a fire escape route. Royde & Tucker has created a discreet fire door system called SmoClo as an alternative to self-closing fire doors. It can be easily fitted to existing doors as long as it is part of an existing mains-operated smoke detection system. Visit firesafety.org.uk for more info.
Home security ‘Ensure any lock fitted meets the British Standard five-lever mortice deadlock system – a Yale-type rim latch cylinder lock on its own is not sufficient protection,’ says The London Door Company’s Kerry Walters. Security specialists Banham recommends a combination of a latch lock and a deadlock (try a Banham M2002 cylinder mortice deadlock and a L2000 rim deadbolt, which are both insurance approved and to British Standard 3621). If you live in a high-crime area, investigate the benefits of a reinforced steel front door. For added security, opt for laminated security glass. For more advice, visit securedbydesign.com.

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