I have a whole wall that I need to block off with some sort of door. I'm thinking that a bi-fold door would be awesome. However, my husband kind of wants a sliding door. I just think how cool it'd be to have a whole wall made up of a door that could easily be tucked away when needed. This would make outdoor barbecues a lot easier. It would sure save me from having to open the door every time. http://www.superiorwindows.com.au/content/Products/BifoldDoors.aspx 

I couldn't tick one or the other of the boxes – I think the choice has to be made contingent on so many variables. In fact we have painted timber, double-glazed bifolds (with a fabulous retractable pleated fly-screen) at the end of the dining room leading out onto a terrace and a painted timber, double-glazed slider (with a timber-framed sliding fly-screen) on the other side of the kitchen (but on the same axis) opening onto a raised timber deck. Each works really well in terms of function and aesthetics but they would not be interchangeable as the different locations determined which was more suitable – but they have been made by the same highly skilled window craftsman and have given us nothing but pleasure. And on a hot, steamy evening with both open we have the most wonderful cross ventilation.

Hi again, thanks everyone for your input. I have been to a well known window/door manufacturer today which makes aluminium, timber and alu/timber composite to compare all options. It was a local company also so they were able to advise based on knowledge of our climate. The composite was higher in price but was also too contemporary in design, the aluminium was also too contemporary in design and not all options suitable for double-glazed glass, so we have returned to the idea of the solid timber but have taken all the advice on board and are opting for a pair of hinged french doors with sidelights in size to match and fanlights above so we can still retain the overall height and look but the actual doors will be closer to standard 2100mm height. Hopefully this will also eliminate any difficulty with opening them which we would probably have found had we had a bi-fold system or 2.7m door height. FYI the salesperson I spoke with also advised that there is a product available (sold in our local area from Inspirations Paint company) which when applied to the timber doors/windows gives 7 year protection from rot and fading due to rain and UV. He had used this himself on his own timber doors which were also exposed fully to the weather and highly recommended it - so I will post what this treatment is when I have more information on it. Thanks again everyone who helped out with their advice

I you are changing from stacker to bi fold doors you should ensure that there is a single door included within one of the bi folds, preferably next to the kitchen. I wonder why you are deciding between white or black windows and doors for this room when you already have white elsewhere. What colour are the internal and external walls.