Here is the floor plan and additional photo

Do you really need a door?

I’ve asked myself that question many times :) Pre-lockdown I would have been tempted to say no. Now with Zoom calls in the office all day long and remote schooling in the living room, unfortunately yes 😢

What about swinging the door outwards?

the challenge with either a barn door or cavity slider is there is no where for the door to go in the existing space so my suggestion would be to make the new opening on the kitchen wall and, as the majority of the wall has to be rebuilt to a cavity slider, invest in a deeper wall to allow for a deeper cavity for a heavier glass door to match the window (although the wall already looks thicker? )and i'm wondering if, instead of closing the old door you could fix the old glass door into the existing space and potentially have either a new glass or solid door for the new cavity slider as it will need to be shorter than the other window to allow for the supporting framework and why not extend a desk across in front of the old doorway with a view of the dining room

I would go with a glass cavity door. The problem with the barn door is the movement is on the outside which means it will always catch papers and anything protruding off the back of the desk against it when you open and close. You also lose the wall space it's attached to for using as a pinboard/whiteboard space etc. Also if you happen to own a cat you will want the cavity doors. Cats are known to play with sliding doors and a barn door will enable the cat to push against the door and bang it backwards and forth. The worst they can do with a cavity door is slide it open.

Cavity doors have been made with glass panels for years. They were installed in just about every `1950's home ever. Shopping centres and office buildings. You may even be able to have the existing door converted to be used as a cavity door just by removing the handle and putting rollers and a track on it. Although it may not be wide enough for that purpose.

Thanks everyone!

@OKLouise as always you blow my mind :) I hadn’t even considered changing the entry point! Absolute food for thought.

@me me - we have looked at opening outwards. It is a bit awkward as when the door is open (most of the time), it either covers a major piece of art or will open awkwardly into the space.

@Austere, we do indeed have a cat so very good advice!

You can not do a cavity door where it is as it hits the shower plumbing. I would swing it outwards swapping hinge to other side of doorway which makes it an easy change as hardware is unchanged on door itself.

@Kate aaah the shower plumbing! Mmm, could it be possible to add a faux wall to hide the cavity? It’s getting complex.

A chap who installed a wall to create corridor did suggest it might be possible to swap the door around. It’s probably the easiest way out. Just means when door is open it covers our art

I'am not sure why you need to move the door, you have plenty of wall space to accommodate 2 people? You need to keep a hinged door to help with sound, either from household or within the room for clarity, glass is not a good choice, ( experience comes from having owned a professional setup). Good lightening is important for your conferencing. Get a smaller rug to fit the layout. and as a last resort swing the door out move the art work across the wall, nothing says that it has to be centered on the wall. I actually love the entrance into your office your artwork would make a great back drop on the wall between the door and widow for your conferencing (siriuskey)

I'd rearrange furniture and sand back under the door to accommodate rug as a much cheaper fix.

@differentways - we need the wall space for our bookshelf that is to be installed. We have stacks of books in storage and can’t install it until the door issue is resolved. I think swinging the door outwards seems to be the only simple solution :)

What size is the bookshelf and what does it look like (siriuskey)

Hey there,

It is two black string furniture shelves like the one in the picture but without the cabinet.

Total width is approximately 180cm, height is 2m.

(btw, thanks so much for the advice!)

do you need the couch in there while there are two desks?

great, what depth and size of the day/ night lounge? (siriuskey)

The sofa is a daybed and where my husband escapes for Netflix so very functional right now. The dimensions are the pic below. The trunk to the left of it and the mirror to right will be moved and the new bookshelf will go in place of the wooden one.

The sofa seems to be too big to place in any other location 🤷🏻‍♀️

Sofa dimensions:

Some older photos to give better example of space

Hi Bee everything you have done looks lovely but it lacks practical storage. The day bed does take up a lot of space but if hubbie loves to watch Netflix can't argue with that what does he watch it on? because you are video conferencing it would serve both purposes to have a larger screen on the wall opposite the lounge above the desk for Netflix,computer and conferencing.

The pretty open floating shelves currently above the desk be moved above the lounge and replaced with full width and height bookshelves

Your new hanging book shelves really are only decorative and will block the view into what is already a cramped space and won't store very many books can you use it elsewhere. The art work on it's own would look better and more open.

Can the rug be pulled back further or sideways to avoid the door

You need to try and keep things off the floor to give a more open feeling. I hope the following might help to show where I'am going with this (siriuskey)

Wow. That is amazingly helpful! Thank you so much for the effort you’ve put in - the images make it so clear! Many, many thanks

Hi Bee I forgot to add the floorplan which shows how tight the space is. I have now added the floorplan of the Tween bedroom, dimensions weren't available for this (siriuskey)

I would definitely try and use the space above the desk for book storage. At the moment it’s just decor? That way if you do end up using string shelving it doesn’t have to be cram packed with books especially as that’s the view from the living area.....
The desk is hidden unless you are in the study and can be fully functional.