Bathroom doors – how do you choose the right ones? All about bathroom doors  

7 minutes

When you set about decorating and furnishing your bathroom, remember to give your doors the attention they deserve. Not only do they serve a functional purpose, they are also an important design element. The ventilation of the bathroom depends on them. This text provides an overview of the technical and practical aspects and offers tips on how to match doors to the style of your interior. It will give you the answer to the question of which bathroom door is best.  

How do I choose the best bathroom door?  

When trying to choose a bathroom door, there are several different but equally important elements to consider:  

  • security (such as the direction of the bathroom door opening),  
  • privacy and intimacy (make sure the door is fitted with a lock),   
  • proper ventilation,   
  • appearance and how the door fits into the style of the flat or house. 

We discuss each of these themes below.  

Bathroom door dimensions  

The dimensions of bathroom doors are regulated by the Building Act, which states that they should be min. 80 cm wide and at least 200 cm high. However, practice shows that both narrower and much wider doors are often needed, which is why we have a range of bathroom doors with different widths: 60, 70, 80, 90 and 100 cm.  

Opening direction of bathroom doors  

The direction of opening of the bathroom door is also regulated by building law, as well as practicalities and safety considerations: a bathroom door that opens inwards is a mistake – a bathroom door that opens outwards is the only correct option. It allows:  

  • optimum use of limited room space and complete freedom of design,  
  • everyday bathroom comfort,  
  • more efficient exit from the room in the event of illness, loss of strength or fainting,  
  • quick help if the person using the bathroom needs to be got out (e.g. if they faint or fall and cannot get up). 

Bathroom door material  

There are at least a few options to choose from, with wooden and glass doors being particularly noteworthy. On the surface, it might seem that wood is not the best idea for a room where humidity is often high. However, you can choose wooden doors for the bathroom without any worries, as the right manufacturing technology and care for proper ventilation mean that such doors will last for decades without compromising on performance or appearance.  

On the other hand, glass bathroom doors – made of a solid sheet of milky glass that guarantees privacy and intimacy – are durable, allow more light into the bathroom (daylight and from other rooms) and optically enlarge the space, which is why glass doors are ideal for small spaces. Other materials used for bathroom doors include chipboard, MDF and HDF. 

Bathroom doors and ventilation  

A very important aspect is the adequate ventilation of the room, i.e. the issue of moisture removal and ensuring air circulation. The ventilation openings in bathroom doors are one of the key elements in this task (it is worth knowing that the total area of the openings and/or slots should be at least 0.022 m2). Manufacturers of bathroom doors offer several proven solutions.  

Ventilation grille  

The ventilation grille in bathroom doors is an option that has been used for decades. Due to its large ventilation area, the bathroom door grille is a very good solution in those rooms where a gas cooker is installed. Visually, the grille is most suited to classic, traditional arrangements. In more expressive settings, it will not find its way in, in which case it is worth considering another option. 

Ventilation sleeves  

Ventilation bushings are round ventilation holes in the door, located at the bottom, not far from the floor. There are usually several of them (generally 4-5) and they are fitted with the appropriate covers. Their circulation area is not very large.  

Ventilation undercuts  

This is nothing more than an appropriately shaped cut-out at the bottom edge of the door. The undercut creates a space between the door and the floor that allows air to circulate freely.  

Ventilation slots  

This is a modern, discreet solution. It consists of making horizontal, almost invisible notches on the outside of the door and leaving some space in the middle of the structure so that the ventilation process runs smoothly. Ventilation slots successfully pass the test even in rooms with high humidity levels. 

Bathroom doors with a door frame – what are the options?  

When installing bathroom doors, you can use either a fixed or an adjustable frame, and each door leaf comes in rebated and non-rebated variants. The fixed frame – as the name suggests – is characterised by its fixed, fixed width. The frame is economical and works well with walls of classic thickness (between 6 and 10 cm), but it is important that they are straight and even.  

The adjustable frame, on the other hand, similarly allows the width to be adapted to the dimensions of the wall in question. Thanks to its installation flexibility, it can be used in flats with standard wall thicknesses, as well as in townhouses and other older buildings where the walls are much thicker. Bathroom doors with a frame are often referred to as bathroom doors with a frame – it is worth bearing in mind that frame and frame are not synonymous. 

We will also briefly describe the door leaf variants: a rebated bathroom door is a design in which the leaf overlaps the frame when the door is closed, creating a step, whereas in the case of a non-rebated door, the door leaf forms a single, even surface with the frame when closed.  

Bathroom doors: white and beyond. How to match the door to the style of the bathroom?  

White or wooden bathroom doors are a common choice. However, it is sometimes worth going beyond the familiar solutions that have been around for years and considering other options – especially as among the many proposals you can find one that will suit any style, even the most unusual. It is important that the chosen door is consistent with the design of the bathroom as well as the corridor and the “surrounds” of the bathroom door. This raises an important question: which bathroom door should I choose? 

  • white bathroom doors – are a universal and safe solution, which will suit almost any interior, especially the modern, minimalist, Scandinavian and Provencal styles; we recommend such models as Nemezja, Laurencja, Turan and Baldur;  
  • wooden bathroom doors – are a suitable choice for flats and houses decorated in traditional, Scandinavian, rustic, colonial, eclectic and boho styles;  
  • black bathroom doors – a non-standard, interesting and intriguing idea, such doors will match minimalist, modern, loft (industrial), glamour and art déco interiors; we recommend the Miskant, Baldur and Epimedium series;  
  • grey bathroom doors – grey is one of the more frequently chosen and liked colours in various rooms as a subtle and eye-pleasing hue, the scandi, modern and vintage trend is particularly fond of it; pay attention especially to the Kamelia, Altamura and Berberis models;  
  • glass bathroom doors – these will suit modern, minimalist and industrial interiors; in addition to the classic variants in the form of a milky panel (such as Graf 11), you can let your imagination run wild and choose one of the original designs from the Graf series, including modern bathroom doors with a brick or concrete pattern or an intriguing geometric form. 

We have a range of both solid-surface and textured models, as well as ones with glass elements of various surfaces and shapes. You can also choose from colours that were not mentioned above, such as various shades of beige and brown.  

We hope that by introducing and clarifying certain issues, the task of choosing a bathroom door will be much simpler and more enjoyable.