How many types of interior doors can you name off of the top of your head? Even if you can list several, I bet there are many more you didn’t even know existed!
In day-to-day life, we’re more concerned about whether our interior doors close securely or if the hinges squeak than what they actually look like. But the type of doors you use throughout your home can have a huge impact on its visual appeal.
Finding the perfect door for your master bedroom, bathroom, or closet is a major part of designing your home. Keep reading for 18 Different Types of Interior Doors and the best ways to incorporate each into your living spaces!
The Different Types of Interior Doors:
1. Flush
A flush door is the most basic option for finishing any interior entryway. This style of door features a completely flat surface on both sides.
Flush doors can be made from solid wood or composite materials. While the former is much sturdier and will last a lifetime, the latter is a great option if you need an interior door that is lightweight and affordable.
These interior doors can be finished with a natural wood grain pattern or painted any color you like. You can also find flush doors made of metal but these versions are typically reserved for exterior applications.
2. Raised Panel
Raised panel doors offer a softer and more ornate finish than flat panels. These doors can have any number of panels in various sizes and shapes.
The great thing about raised panel doors is that they are the standard in most homes today. If you’re looking for an interior door style that will blend into the rest of your home, this is probably your best option.
3. Shaker
The shaker style of carpentry is extremely popular in cabinet design. Shaker doors are built the same way, with cope-and-stick joints and one or more recessed panels.
Compared to raised panel doors, shaker doors have an even simpler aesthetic. Shaker panels always feature 90-degree angles and flat borders.
These interior doors are perfect for any craftsman- or farmhouse-inspired home but are surprisingly versatile. White shaker doors offer a very clean, modern appearance that can be installed alongside nearly any style of decor.
4. Beadboard
Beadboard doors are essentially a type of panel door. But instead of a flat or slightly raised surface, each panel is made up of vertical wooden planks.
The planks that make up a beadboard door are not perfectly flush with each other. Instead, there is a small ridge between each plank known as a “bead” — hence the name of this door style.
Beadboard doors have a quaint, almost handmade appearance. This makes them ideal for cottage- or rustic-style living spaces.
5. Louvered
Louvered doors feature a basic wood frame with angled horizontal slats down the center. The slats (called louvers) can be any width and may run the entire length of the door or only part of it.
This style is not just about looks. The louvers offer built-in ventilation to combat moisture, mildew, and unpleasant odors.
A louvered door provides much-needed airflow without sacrificing privacy. The louvered design is most often seen in closet doors. Some homes, particularly those prone to moisture issues, may also use a louvered door for the bathroom.
6. Double
Double doors offer a more dramatic look and feel to your interior entryways. Doorways outfitted with double doors are typically quite wide. You can also mount a set of narrow doors inside of a standard-width frame.
Nearly any style of door can be mounted in this fashion. The key difference between a single door and double doors is the type of mounting and knob hardware.
The main appeal of a double door is its appearance. However, a wider doorway can also help open up your home’s floor plan and make it easier to move furniture and other items in and out of a room.
7. Sliding
A sliding door relies on a linear track rather than a set of hinges. This track can be located at the top or the bottom of the door — some doors have tracks on both ends.
The greatest benefit to this type of door, aside from its sleek appearance, is how little space it requires. Unlike a traditional hinged door that needs several feet of clearance, a sliding door opens parallel to the supporting wall.
8. Bypass
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Bypass doors are a type of sliding door defined by how the door slides open. Most bypass doors are installed in sets of two or three (larger sets are also possible).
While a normal sliding door can only slide back and forth in one direction, bypass doors offer much more flexibility. Bypass doors feature staggered tracks that allow one door to slide in front of the other.
A bypass setup allows you to push all doors to one side. You can also open any of the doors independently, which is particularly useful when accessing a closet.
9. French
A French door is a door with glass panes encompassing most of its surface. French doors are most commonly hung in pairs but there’s no rule against using this style as a single door!
French doors are great for spaces like formal dining rooms or home offices. Use French doors anywhere in your home that will benefit from being more open and bright.
Obviously, French doors don’t offer the same degree of privacy as other types of interior doors. Some homeowners install blinds on one side of their French doors to make up for this drawback.
10. Sliding French
Despite its popularity in modern decor, we don’t actually have an official name for this type of interior door. However, most people use the terms sliding French door or French-style barn door to describe this elegant style.
Sliding French doors typically feature glass panes from floor to ceiling. The vast majority of the door is made of glass — even more so than a traditional French door.
11. Pocket
Pocket doors are a type of sliding door that is built into the supporting wall. When opened, these doors disappear into the door frame rather than sliding along a visible track.
The pocket door first appeared in the Victorian era. It then reappeared in the mid-20th century but fell out of fashion again until very recently.
When it comes to saving space, you can’t do better than a pocket door. Just be prepared to rip out some drywall if your home isn’t equipped for this interior door style.
12. Glass
Glass doors are pretty uncommon in interior spaces. However, this style of door is perfect for the entrance to a sunroom or finished porch. Glass pantry doors are also popular as they allow you to see everything stored inside.
Though it is possible to construct a door completely out of glass, most designs feature a metal or wood frame for greater stability. No worries — this border won’t interfere with the sleek aesthetic of your new door.
13. Frosted Glass
Regular glass doors come with one glaring drawback… There isn’t even a hint of privacy for the people or objects on the other side. Frosted glass solves this problem by obscuring the view while still allowing a soft glow of light to pass through.
Frosted glass can be installed in a French-style frame or traditional panel door. Different degrees of frosting are available to suit your exact privacy needs (you can even use this type of door for your bathroom!).
14. Mirrored
Mirrors are the secret to making any room look bigger and brighter than it truly is. So why not conserve wall space by mounting mirrors on your interior doors?
For the most polished appearance, mirrors can be installed in place of glass in a set of sliding or hinged doors. But you can also mount a thin mirror to any pre-existing door in your home.
Before adding mirrored doors to your home, be sure to scope out the space. While a mirror will nearly double the natural sunlight in a room, it can also create issues like harsh glare or hot spots.
15. Barn
Barn doors are incredibly popular right now. While it’s true that some barn doors are sourced from actual farmyards, this style also encompasses plenty of doors that are manufactured from scratch.
Rustic barn doors are made of reclaimed or distressed wood, making the door look like it came straight from the farm. But this style can also be adapted to match more modern decor with your choice of paint.
Barn doors are most often installed as sliding or bypass doors. Heavy doors may feature large wheels at the bottom that make it easier to slide open and close.
16. Bifold
Bifold doors are almost exclusively used as closet doors. If you’re willing to think outside of the box, though, there are plenty of creative ways to use this door style throughout your living spaces.
A bifold door is any door that folds in half. These doors have a hinge connecting them to the wall as well as a second hinge in the middle that allows the door to fold. Bifold doors are typically (but not always) installed in pairs.
Bifold doors offer many of the benefits of sliding or pocket doors. While a bifold door has a slightly larger footprint, it can be mounted in corners and other tight spaces. This wouldn’t be possible with a sliding door that doesn’t fold.
17. Accordion
What do you get when you add one or more folding pieces to a bifold door? You get an accordion door! Accordion doors have three or more panels (however many are needed to cover the opening) with alternating hinges.
An accordion door can be any size and made out of nearly any material. You can install an accordion door in a framed doorway or from floor to ceiling.
Accordion doors make excellent room dividers and are often seen in large office buildings. This style would work wonderfully in an open-concept home lacking traditional doorways. Small accordion doors are often used as closet doors.
18. Dutch
A Dutch door is made up of two segments — a top panel and a bottom panel — that can be open and closed together or separately. The Dutch door concept can be applied to almost any type of interior door.
Interior Dutch doors are the perfect solution for pet owners or parents of small children. With the top section open, you have full supervisory access to the other side of the door while still dividing up the space (and keeping little ones where they belong!).
Because this type of door is essentially two doors in one, you can expect to pay a little more to install one in your own home. However, you may be able to convert an existing door in your home into a Dutch door as a DIY project.