I have a MCM 1956 rancher and I purposely put in good sliding doors because I dot think french doors suit the house and also I really don’t like always having to deal with in or out swing of french doors.

Go with the sliders. The swinging doors take a lot of space, and hard to open if your hands are full. Sliders you can open with your elbow. :)

Hi Berni…………………hey, I actually own a similar home. Looks like your thirsty for STYLE, aren't you? Well in that case………..here it is! French doors are nice but dated, and the sliders pre-date the French doors. There, so having said that…….Why don't you try the Swing Out Glass doors with perhaps 3 panes on either side across. I believe you will be pleased.

Now, for some added "je ne se qua" …………………….look into some faux wood beams to lay across that ceiling and you will be amazed how they will look, although I will not tell you they come cheap.

However, don't dismay, your neighborhood carpenter can create a faux beam with three pieces of wood across for a whole lot cheaper and still get you the same effect.

By the way, you will have the option of doing those beams up in either the dark chocolate or the stark white. They will both look phenomenal!

HOuse MOuse Interiors

Miriam Mainieri

I think french doors look much better than sliding glass doors personally..

Love Darzy's door!

I would love to do French doors but have to do sliders because I don't have the space to open French doors.

Patio Slider.

Thanks for the feedback! Unfortunately I'm limited on space and I can only put a 6 foot wide door on that wall. I wish that I could put those amazing modern nano doors that fold into themselves completely, but like I said we don't have the width to put anything bigger than 6 feet. My question is if I should keep the door at standard height or get a custom door that is 8 foot high? The point that many of you made which makes sense is that French doors take up a lot of space and I am worried I will not have the space to open the doors comfortably without having to move dining room chairs around. Does anyone have any good suggestions for a unique style patio door that is a maximum of 6 feet wide?

Sliders remind me of apartment living.

HouseMouse, can you post a picture of the door you were describing? Thanks :)

If you have enough room on the outside wall, you could use a slider that's very popular here in Florida. It's called a pocket slider. It's a triple track door and both doors actually open on the track so that when it's completely open, you have a full six foot opening. They're wonderful for entertaining and for access should you need to move large items in and out of the house. The picture below shows what I mean. You would only be looking at two panels versus three.

I'd go with the 8 foot french doors. You can have them swing in or out depending on where you have the most space.

Darzy's door is the other best option.

Sliding French doors. If you were doing mid century modern style, I'd say regular sliding patio doors without divided lights, but since your furnishings seem contemporary, do something like this or the one Darzy posted earlier. I'd probably opt for 8' for more light.

@HOuseMOuse can you post a picture of what you are talking about?

I just ordered an 8' French Style slider made by Andersen for my house to replace a 6' slider. It will not have divided lights. Cape Cod style house. I don't think French doors fit mid=century modern but just an opinion

aaaawh, kitchensky, thankyou for your like! Give me a few minutes, I will look for that pic.

HOuse MOuse

Miriam Mainieri