The great kitchen door guide

Which material is best for the door leaf - glass, wood or metal? Is it a single-action, swing or sliding door? What style is the kitchen designed in and how can the style of the door fitting emphasise this? To be satisfied with the choice in the long term, it is worth finding answers to these questions in advance and adapting the door requirements individually.

By the way: If you want a sliding door as your kitchen door, you don't have to do without odour and sound protection: The tightly closing Planeo Air Silent sliding door system keeps out sound as well as kitchen odours, water vapour and draughts and is comparable to a wooden door in terms of sound insulation. The look is minimalist and simple.

Besides sliding doors as kitchen doors, there are countless ways to design a kitchen. The different styles include basic features that characterise the respective design - and are thus decisive for the kitchen room door.

Designer kitchens

This type of kitchen is oriented towards extravagant design, through strict and clear lines. Design kitchens are often colour-reduced, e.g. only black and white or grey tones. All elements of the kitchen are coordinated and create an overall picture.

Classic/modern kitchens

Classic kitchens rely on a simple, timeless design, for which wooden or high-gloss surfaces are often used. The colours are kept rather simple and timeless. Here, too, the emphasis is on clean lines.

Country kitchens

Country kitchens tend to be romantically playful in design. Delicate and warm colours are used. The elements are often made of wood. Individual fronts can also be more elaborately decorated with profiled frame or coffered fronts, mouldings or panel structures.

Vintage kitchens

A vintage kitchen is associated with an antique look in light colours. Usually very detailed, for example with floral patterns or framed fronts.

Scandinavian kitchens

The Nordic kitchen style is reduced and the overall design is rather simple. The elements are light and friendly and also predominantly in wood. Individual black elements lend structure to the overall picture. Coloured fronts, such as the typical Scandinavian red, also create a cosy atmosphere together with white framed fronts.

Knowledge of the characteristic features of the respective furnishing styles is helpful in optimally integrating the kitchen doors into the overall picture - after all, the ideal door should also harmonise with the kitchen front. There are various door types and door fittings that differ in design, functionality and thus in the handling for opening the door.

If it is important that no food smells or sound from the kitchen are drawn into the rest of the flat, you should definitely make sure that the door is sufficiently odour-proof. Not every door is completely tight. This means that heat and odours can easily escape into the entire house.

Sound and odour protection can also be retrofitted to existing doors. To do this, sealing tape can be stuck to the edge of the door leaf or a door sealing rail can be fitted to the lower end of the door. Door fittings with large keyholes can be retrofitted with covers to seal them or replaced with closed locking systems. When buying a new kitchen door, you should make sure in advance that the door and frame close tightly and that the door fittings are functionally adapted.

Hinged doors are doors that are attached to the door frame on one side, i.e. they are "hinged". They are the most frequently used door types for kitchen doors. The door leaf and the door handles can be adapted to the respective furnishing style and functionality. For modern and classic doors, a plain, single-coloured door leaf with an equally plain door handle or door knob is suitable. In vintage kitchens, the door handle tends to be more curved and playfully decorated than is the case in designer or classic kitchens. A round rose is also more suitable for a country or vintage kitchen. To support the clear lines of designer and classic kitchens, it is advisable to use square rosettes and long escutcheons.

If the kitchen and dining room are separate, the door can be fitted with a glass insert. 
If the kitchen and dining room are separated, the door can be fitted with a glass insert ("light cut-out"), e.g. to allow a view into the dining area even though the door is closed.

All-glass doors also make sense for classic and designer kitchens to further emphasise the style of the door. A door handle made of black metal and with clean lines goes well with kitchens with a simpler style.

Sliding doors can save a lot of space, especially in kitchens with high ceilings. Sliding doors do not have a lever handle, but a vertically mounted door handle to push the sliding door open. For modern and designer kitchens, sliding glass doors are the best match for the interior style.

For specialists: Even a touch-free opening of the door, as is often the case in gastronomy, can be realised with an electronic sensor or a button on the wall or on the floor - recommendation: Have it done by a professional! Here, too, the door handle can be adapted to the style of the kitchen by means of material, shape and colour. 
Swinging doors or swinging doors consist of two parts, each of which is attached to both sides of the door frame and swings into one room as well as the other. These doors go well with a vintage or retro kitchen. As a rule, these doors have no door handles and are usually made of wood, rarely of glass.