In Smaller Homes, Pocket Doors Can Provide Space Savings

When finding extra space is crucial, an option like pocket doors can help maximize available floor space. Because they slide into the wall cavity rather than swinging out, pocket door frame kits provide solutions to save up to 14 square feet of floor space in any room of the home, allowing homeowners to squeeze efficiency from the limited functional space incorporated into today’s house designs. After years of growing ever larger, American homes are shrinking in size, according to U.S. Census data. A half century ago, the average American house measured 1,660 square feet. Over subsequent decades, it mushroomed, filling 1,890 square feet in the 1990s and continuing to swell until reaching its largest-ever dimensions, 2,687 square feet, in 2015. As of 2023, however, the average home size has slimmed to 2,014 square feet. That’s where an option like Johnson Hardware’s wide line of durable, high-quality, American-made pocket door frame kits can come up big in small spaces, ensuring smooth, quiet door openings and closings. The pocket door hardware can be installed with nearly any door style from solid wood to metal with glass. Equipped with a soft-close feature that provides secure, soft opening and closing of doors, it helps prevent slammed doors and pinched fingers. In addition to smaller houses becoming a trend, laws nationwide are being amended to allow homeowners to add Auxiliary Dwelling Units (ADUs). Taking the form of either small home additions or entirely separate miniature structures in backyards, ADUs allow homeowners to provide private space to long-term guests or rent out living space, thereby generating additional income to offset mortgage expenses and taxes. Whether in a small main house or ADU, pocket doors can offer much-needed floor space in bathrooms, bedrooms, kitchens and living rooms. For more ideas on how to save space with pocket, sliding wall-mount, bypass and bifold door hardware, visit johnsonhardware.com or call 574-293-5664.