Maximising Versatility with Sliding Doors

Sliding doors are an elegant and practical solution for modern homes, offering flexibility and style. By seamlessly blending function with aesthetics, these doors can transform spaces, creating a dynamic and versatile living environment. Here’s how you can use different types of sliding doors to make your rooms more adaptable and efficient.

1. Pocket Sliding Doors

Ideal for: Small spaces, open-plan living.

Pocket sliding doors are designed to slide into a compartment within the wall, completely disappearing when open. This design is perfect for small spaces where traditional swinging doors would take up valuable room. By using pocket sliding doors, you can:

• Create Seamless Transitions: Easily connect or separate rooms, such as the kitchen and dining area, without taking up additional space.

• Enhance Open-Plan Living: Maintain an open-plan feel while still having the option to close off areas for privacy or noise reduction.

2. Barn Sliding Doors

Ideal for: Rustic or industrial interior designs.

Barn sliding doors, with their characteristic exposed hardware, add a unique charm to any room. These doors slide along a track mounted above the doorway and are excellent for:

• Adding Character: Introduce a rustic or industrial element to your home, perfect for adding personality to living rooms or bedrooms.

• Versatile Room Division: Use them to separate living spaces, such as a study area from the main living room, without the need for a permanent wall.

3. Glass Sliding Doors

Ideal for: Modern homes, and spaces needing natural light.

Glass sliding doors are a stylish option that allows light to flow between rooms, creating a sense of openness and space. These doors are perfect for:

• Maximising Natural Light: Allow light to penetrate deeper into your home, brightening up areas that might otherwise be dark.

• Maintaining Visual Connection: Keep an open and airy feel while still having the ability to close off spaces for privacy or noise control.

4. Multi-Panel Sliding Doors

Ideal for: Large openings, outdoor-indoor living.

Multi-panel sliding doors are composed of several panels that slide and stack neatly. These doors are excellent for:

• Creating Indoor-Outdoor Flow: Perfect for connecting living areas with patios, decks, or gardens, creating a seamless transition between indoor and outdoor spaces.

• Flexible Space Management: Open up your living area for entertaining or close off sections for a more intimate setting.

5. Shoji Sliding Doors

Ideal for: Zen-inspired or minimalist interiors.

Shoji sliding doors, inspired by traditional Japanese architecture, consist of wooden frames with translucent paper or glass. These doors are ideal for:

• Creating Tranquil Spaces: Introduce a calming, zen-like atmosphere in bedrooms, living rooms, or meditation areas.

• Optimising Privacy with Light: Provide privacy while still allowing light to filter through, maintaining a soft and serene ambience.

Tips for Choosing the Right Sliding Door

1. Consider Your Space: Evaluate the size and function of the room. Small spaces benefit from pocket doors, while large openings might be perfect for multi-panel doors.

2. Match Your Style: Choose doors that complement your home’s architectural style and interior design.

3. Think About Functionality: Decide whether you need the door for privacy, light management, or simply as a design feature.

Conclusion

Sliding doors are a versatile addition to any home, offering practical benefits while enhancing aesthetic appeal. Whether you’re looking to create seamless transitions, introduce more natural light, or simply add a touch of style, there’s a sliding door option to suit your needs. By thoughtfully integrating these doors into your design, you can maximise the functionality and versatility of your living spaces.

For more innovative architectural solutions, contact Mark MacInnis Architect today. We’re here to help you design the home of your dreams, combining beauty with practicality.

Shelving as a design opportunity

Shelving can be an excellent feature in any home, not only for its practicality but also for its aesthetic appeal. Here are some tips on how to use shelving as a feature in your home:

1. Create a focal point: Use shelving to create a focal point in your living room, bedroom or any other room in your home. You can achieve this by arranging your items to draw the eye towards the shelves. Consider using items of different heights and sizes, such as books, photo frames, and decorative objects, to create a visually appealing display.

2. Use shelving to divide spaces: Shelving can be a great way to divide up a large room or open-plan living space. You can use shelving units to create zones for different activities while maintaining an open feel. For example, you can use a large bookshelf to divide your living room from your dining area.

3. Use shelving to add storage: Shelving is an excellent way to add storage to any room in your home, from the kitchen to the bedroom. You can use shelving to store items you want to keep on display, such as your favourite books or decorative objects, or to store items you want to keep hidden away, such as clothing or kitchen appliances.

4. Use shelving to add colour: Shelving can be a great way to add a pop of colour to your home. You can paint your shelves brightly or use colourful storage boxes and baskets to add interest to your shelving display.

5. Use shelving to display collections: If you have a collection of items, such as vintage cameras or figurines, consider using shelving to display them. This showcases your collection and adds visual interest to your home.

6. Use shelving to add texture: Shelving can be a great way to add texture to your home decor. Consider using natural materials, such as wood or rattan, for your shelving units to add warmth and texture to your space.

In summary, shelving can be a versatile and practical in any home. Whether you use it to create a focal point, add storage, or display your collections, there are endless possibilities for incorporating shelving into your home decor.

My Award Entry Into The Victorian Architecture Awards

Here is the presentation I gave last month for the Victorian Architecture awards

A 7 minute presentation of a home I designed for the Victorian Architecture Awards.

A renovation to an existing clinker brick house with a contemporary two storey extension. The owners engaged a builder but also sought to undertake much of the construction works themselves in order to keep costs a low as possible. The architect was not engaged to administer the build.

Simplicity of the design and its construction technology and identifying simple strong gestures that would make the design unique were of paramount importance. The entirety of the existing dwelling was retained. It was stripped back to its structure, underpinned, rewired, re-plumbed, and had all its internal surfaces and windows replaced. The new extension attaches cleanly onto the back of the house allowing the couple to reside in the front part of the dwelling whilst the back was being constructed.

The form and shape of the extension and the construction technology of the design was kept as simple as possible so that as few trades as possible were needed to complete the base building. The concrete slab was polished for its beauty, resilience and cost effectiveness. The steel and timber frame is clad in color bond siding with some rendered cement sheet. The zinc alum flat roof provides a platform for solar panels and is easily accessed via a roof hatch with a built in ladder. The staircase was designed to be fabricated by the projects steel fabricator. Its detailing and utilitarian simplicity create a striking center to the house. Its open structure filters light and permits views from one end of the house to the other.

Long slot windows on the eastern and western facades, skylights over the staircase, bathroom light shafts, and hallway slot windows filter natural light into the all areas of the house in different ways and provide outlooks and vistas that extend the interior spaces outside. The ground floor extension is open connecting the inside of the house with its back yard.

A large open kitchen with a butler’s pantry connects the built in dining area with the family room. The joinery was kept simple and designed so that prefabricated systems could be used and installed by the owners. In addition to repurposing as much of the existing dwelling as possible, solar panels on the roof, electric hydronic heating, double glazing and upgrading of all insulation further enhance the energy efficiency of the home.

The first floor was designed with a dramatic curved cantilevered wall at the back of the house. The shape of the façade generated from an analysis of overlooking. By angling the windows inward into a V shape and blending the apex with a curve overlooking into the neighbors yards is prevented. This further allows for full height glass windows to look down onto the backyard and into the tree tops without screening. Standing in front of this window one gets the sense of floating.

Throughout the day this sculptural glass façade reflects its surrounding trees. At night from within the curved glass reflects its interior back into itself creating distortions akin to abstract compositions.

The Australian Institute of Architects Presentation to Juries offered entrants in the 2023 Victorian Architecture Awards an opportunity to address judges with their nominated projects. Featuring some of Australia’s most prominent architects, Presentation to Juries is a rare opportunity for the public to learn about the influences behind some of Victoria’s most innovative buildings and follow the architectural process from concept to construction.https://www.architecture.com.au/archives/awards/neville-street-mark-macinnis-architect

See the other entrants here

The importance of light in a design

We all know it when we feel it but it is sometimes hard to put our finger on it. Light. That warm glow in a kitchen, the drama of a hallway pendant or the soft ambient light from a lamp in a study. Getting lighting right is a real art and something that is not a consideration of the design of your home until the very last minute.

When designing a restaurant creating a vibe or feeling adds to the overall experience of that space and so why should our homes be any different? The answer is they shouldn’t be but lighting is often forgotten till the end of a project.

A good way to think about light and lighting design is how you want to feel in the space. How will you be using it. I think it is always preferable to use natural light where you can and understand the orientation of your design to capture this. Simple elements like window orientation, skylights and doors with glass panels can make such a difference to the light in your home.

There are also spaces in your home where you might want low or moody light. For example the bedroom or study. Choice of drapes, paint choice and lighting all come into play to create that moody atmosphere.

Lighting has changed significantly in the past few years with more options for both inside and outside the home. From strip lighting, solar and more. You only have to go into a lighting shop to see the range of options and it is easy to become overwhelmed. So think about the space and feeling you want to create in each room and the overall space and start from that place. It will help you make better lighting decisions.

Read also: Picking the right light.

Colours for 2023 according to Architectural Digest

There are nine colours or hues, according to Architectural Digest that is trending for 2023.

1. Terra Rosa - earthy tones, pairing rich terra-cotta with a dusty rose. Part of the brand’s Life in Poetry palette, the colour more than holds its own as a dominant ground, while its muted shade makes it a tasteful, timeless accent to almost any colour palette.

2. Vining Ivy - subtle transition away from the neutral-ish greens that defined 2022, Vining Ivy successfully straddles the line between green and blue by incorporating jewel-like elements.

3. Blank Canvas - neutral, monochrome calm as seen in trending organic modern interiors. Despite the implications of its name, Blank Canvas is more than capable of standing on its own by offering a playful, warmer take on traditional white.

4. Redend Point -sits at the centre of the neutral spectrum and the emerging trend towards energising earth tones that play well with other neutrals.

5.Raspberry Blush -Warm and vivid, it’s designed to create an instant impression in both big or small doses, adding a touch of excitement and happiness to any space.

By Annie Hall Interiors - Boston

6. Alizarin -Deep but effervescent red shades are popular in brands’ Color of the Year 2023 selections. A rich, stirring auburn hue

7. Amber - draws on the influence of its namesake gemstone to replace the negative energy of the pandemic years with soothing positivity. The honeycomb in colour.

By Design Lines

8. Viva Magenta -A berry red that blurs the lines between warm and cool, Viva Magenta is the bold color that is turning heads on the runway and turning up in the metaverse.

Atherton Residence

9. Breezeway - A silvery green suitable for everything from beachside vibes to modern, contemporary settings, perfectly viable neutral for those ready to brighten a space by bringing the outdoors in.

Traditional living room