What To Add To Your Open Concept Kitchen To Close It Off Without A Wall

You've designed the open concept kitchen of your dreams, but something is amiss. While the space has a bright and expansive vibe, there are moments when you wish you could have a cozy movie night in the living room without seeing the dirty dishes in the kitchen from the corner of your eye. Closing off the space again with a wall would undo all your creative efforts and block the flow running through adjacent zones, like the dining room. The solution? Installing a sliding door that provides flexibility and doesn't block the light coming from windows and skylights. 

As sliding doors run on tracks and don't swing out like regular hinged doors, they take up a minimal amount of floor space. When open, they lie flush against the walls, which means they don't obstruct walkways. Some varieties of sliding doors (known as pocket doors) can actually be pushed into the recess of a wall when open, making them virtually invisible when not in use. This means you can get the best of both worlds — an expansive and roomy free-flowing space that includes kitchen, dining, and living areas for entertaining, or cozier hybrid areas that are closed off from the sounds of the noisy kids in the lounge. A pair of sliding doors can be added to transitional spots, like large open doorways that separate a dining room from the kitchen, while a single door is ideal for closing the gap between a wall and a peninsula or kitchen island.

Installing a transparent sliding door into your open concept kitchen is the best idea if you don't want to obstruct natural light. As the glass panels in these doors are clear, you'll also be able to keep an eye on children in a connected playroom or living area while you cook or set the table for a dinner party. However, Crittal, reeded, or frosted glass sliding doors are also excellent options as their translucency enhances privacy while allowing natural light to flood through. Any variety of sliding door is perfect for keeping cooking smells contained within the kitchen, screening off messy spaces like playrooms that you want to hide from view, or confining pets to areas like mud rooms and foyers. Though entertaining is easier in an open concept kitchen where guests can grab a drink from the fridge and mingle in the living area, you may want to safely conceal kitchen eyesores or hide the laundry that's piled up in the utility room if you're hosting a formal dinner party.

If you don't have the wall space for a full-sized sliding door or barn door, an accordion or folding door could be a useful option. These doors have a partition down the middle and fold in on themselves.