We have 2 sets of French doors in our kitchen that lead out to a screened-in porch. Love them! We have nothing else along that wall so we do not have any issues with hitting something. That would bother me if I did. So I would not pick Option #1. With either option you choose, I would make sure you have stoppers on the walls or on the floors so nothing would get hit. Have you thought of having the doors swing out? If you have lots of covered area out there, it would not be a problem, but check your code first. If your outdoor area is covered, you could put your shoes out there, at least in the summer. Also, have you considered a sliding door? They do have much nicer ones out there now than before. Do you have an architect that you are working with--if so, what does he suggest about the doors?

Sliding doors aren't really an option because my wife has a bad back and has trouble opening and closing them.

Having the doors open out isn't an option because the deck isn't covered. ALso, having it open outward wouldn't work because we would have to have the ugly screen on the inside and 3/4 of the year, the door will be closed anyways.

Thanks for your comments. I'm trying to not comment on which option I'm leaning towards.

Anyone else?

We had the fixed panel/one swing door, and had your option B setup. It worked great, and since we don't have AC and it was the only "window" in the kithcen, we had it open quite a bit in the summer (The screen is a slider). It was really nice to be able to open the door fully and out of the way for bringing things like sheetrock and furniture into the house.

After four years, we ended up taking ours out and replacing it with fixed windows - but that was due to problems unrelated to the actual door. It's still in our shop - I think I'm going to take it apart and use the glass for cold frames. Listed it for $100 on craigs list but got no takes, but we live in the boonies too.

I think I'd price out a fixed panel - for an operable single door of 36" width (~5 foot fixed) opening like the black background drawing. It's plenty of passage room and the door could completely store against the fixed panel without hitting the pantry doors.

Hi bmorepanic,

Can you please clarify your post a bit for me? Sorry. The total rough opening is 6' at the moment.

A good quality sliding door, like Marvin, is not difficult to open. If that really won't work for you I would do option 2.

Funny you should mention Marvin, because that's the brand we're going with. I thought of the sliding door as well, but I just don't like the tracks, and they just don't seem as nice to me. Maybe I've never experienced the joy of operating a quality sliding door. Nonetheless, I think we're set on the swinging door.

On option 2 if you cut one door/cab off the full length pantry does the door clear? How much space is left between wall and refrig? If you can get about 12 inches you can do a full pull out pantry to make up for loss.

advertguy2, we have your Option #2 set-up and love it. When we built this home almost 17 years ago, we went through a similar analysis (although we don't have the issue of pantry cupboards on the far side) and settled on this as our best option. One plus we've discovered since moving in is that the counter right by the door is a very handy landing spot for food on its way to or from the grill on the deck. Set the plate down, open the door, head outside. This also means you're not juggling plates of food, putting shoes on (we're a no shoes house, too) and opening doors all at the same time. I'm just not that graceful! LOL

We plan to remodel the kitchen sometime this year (wish I knew then what I know now so that my kitchen functioned better) and that door/counter set-up is something we intend to keep.

One thing you could do that in order to gain a bit more space just inside the door for shoe storage is to go with a window slightly smaller than a fixed door. A plus: you can open a window for additional air circulation and never worry about it hitting the pantry cupboards. Or you could have a swing door between two fixed sidelights.

Our set up is similar to your option 2, but the opposite, too. Let me see if I can explain. Our farther door is the one that swings, but it is hinged in the center, so it has the full swing option and folds all the way back onto the fixed door. We live a in cold climate, too, but we have a very light sliding screen door (Our set-up is all Marvin, and their sliding screen attaches at the TOP which is GENIUS!!!)

Anyway, in the warmer weather, we have the screen door pulled closed and the door open all the way. SO, the majority of time that the door is actually being used, (nice warm days) it's not the DOOR that's being opened and closed but the screen.

What home4all6 is exactly what I was going to suggest!

So pretty much everyone (except me) prefers the second option? Really? Wow. Guess I'll just give up and place the order.

home4all6, we're going with a retractable screen instead of the sliding screen. In the colder months, the screen would just be hindering the view of the backyard. My wife and I actually agreed on that one!

Thanks for all the replies. Much appreciated.