Doors and windows are curious things. They serve a dual purpose, performing two related, yet contrary functions: as barriers and portals between the inside and outside world.
As mankind has civilized and industrialized, we’ve done what we could to make ourselves comfortable. We’ve shut out the cold and the heat; the wind, the rain, and the sun. We’ve put up rooves and walls and cultivated spaces full of soft things, of convenience and easy utility. Everything is just so.
We went from dwelling in trees and in grasslands to caves to huts to houses and apartments, and as the years have passed and we’ve built cities and roads and telephone wires, and all the luxuries of modern living. We have slowly but surely shut ourselves off from nature.
Some people thrive in climate-controlled rooms filled with fluorescent light, with nothing green or growing. But many of us feel constrained by this modern way of living, and long for something a little less sterile. A little less controlled. A little more natural.
At PINKYS, we don’t believe you should have to give up the comforts of modernity and go live in the woods in order to satisfy that primal urge to feel the grass between your toes or have the sun on your face, to smell the fragrance of blooming flowers or the salt spray of the sea.
We believe the best places let you have both. A warm, cozy, quiet home when you want it, and nature on your doorstep. We believe you ought to have control; to seamlessly blend indoors and out to the degree that suits whatever mood strikes you — and we’ve got plenty of ideas of how to do it.
Personally, I love the idea of a room that’s really open to the outside air. A room that’s got all of the stuff you want inside, that’s clean and orderly and free of spiders, where you can enjoy the light and the breeze of the bright sunshine day when the weather provides. Of course, the garage satisfies most of those needs (aside from the lack of spiders), but there’s something inherently gloomy about a garage. Unless you’re tinkering or you’ve made yourself a man cave, you most likely don’t want to settle for the room the car goes in.
For most of America, opening the house up to the outside means a big glass sliding door, or perhaps an expansive pair of French patio doors — and it’s hard to knock those, French doors with sidelights have a class that’s hard to match. But for a room that truly lets nature in, it’s hard to beat bi-fold accordion doors.
Bi-fold doors, which start out at eight feet wide and can get to more than fifteen, can turn an entire wall of a room into one expansive opening, folding up neatly against the wall on smooth tracks. A corner room with accordion doors outfitted on walls that meet turns into something of an alfresco area—neither wholly outdoors or in, with the advantages of both.
And when the weather turns cold, and you’d prefer not to turn your house into an icebox? Since our accordion doors are primarily glass, even closed they’ll let in an abundance of natural light while keeping your home just as cozy as you like. For those living in regions with proper winter weather, a set of thermally broken doors will ensure you enjoy the view all year long without condensation causing costly damage to your walls and flooring.
Of course, bi-fold doors aren’t for everyone. Some prefer a more traditional option, and for those of you out there, it’s hard to beat the timeless elegance of French patio doors, which I mentioned before.
Imagine for a moment a yard, filled with plants and trees and wildflowers, bees buzzing around the blooming lavender, birds chirping, a wall fountain softly burbling, and you in your pajamas standing with a cup of coffee in your hand, framed by your doorway and a pair of gauzy white curtains like a member of the aristocracy, simply pausing to take it all in. The sun on your cheek, the sounds and scents of the outdoors, and the soft comfort of your bed not five strides away.
It sounds dreamy, but it doesn’t have to be a dream. With the right pair of french doors, you can bring the backyard into your bedroom and live like a member of the upper crust even while you hold down a nine-to-five.
When discussing bringing the natural world into your home, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention windows. In the late 1600s, William III of England imposed a tax on his citizens based on the number of windows in their houses. As a result, people boarded and bricked them up and lived in darkness and gloom. This is the opposite of what you want.
The more of your wall that’s taken up by windows, the closer you’ll feel to the natural world outside. Whether you opt for fixed windows (ones that don’t open), casement windows (ones that do), or a combination of the two, the natural light and airflow they provide will help to make your home into the bright, comfortable space that you deserve.
PINKYS has countless options for people looking to let nature in. We couldn’t hope to list them all, from sliding doors to dutch doors, from pocket doors to pivot. Take a look, surprise yourself. Enjoy the view.
