Modernist-style sliding wardrobe doors, internal sliding doors and sliding room dividers

Modernism; 1930s Style; Deco Style; the International Style; Industrial Style – these are all terms used to describe a certain clean aesthetic, often associated with a strong emphasis on the horizontal aspects of a design. In this article we will look at how this style can be introduced into your home using our sliding wardrobe doors.

The ‘Modernist’ look

The Modernist look is typified by the use of slender horizontal and/or vertical framing and glazing h-bars, to generally create either square or rectangular glazing panels. (For a little more background on ‘Modernism’ see the paragraph at the end of this article). The Modernist-style is ideal for adaption to create stylish sliding wardrobe doors and internal sliding doors or sliding room dividers, providing your home with a clean, modernist-inspired aesthetic.

Modernist-style sliding wardrobe doors

Bring the look of the Modernist-style to your sliding wardrobe doors by choosing any of the door designs from the Wardrobe Doors Direct range. In particular, the Milano Collection, Verona Collection and Lovara Collection are well-suited as their horizontal h-bars are equally spaced within the height of the doors, splitting them into 3, 4 and 5-panel designs respectively. When glazed with any of our clear safety glass, coloured glass or mirror panels they beautifully replicate this simple and enduring style.

If a very subtle overall effect is desirable, this can be created by co-ordinating the framing colour with the panel colour – for example, Gloss White framing with Pure White glass panels or Graphite Grey framing with Satin Storm Grey frosted glass panels. Alternatively, to create a striking contrast in the design, this can be achieved by teaming, for example, Black framing with Silver mirror panels, or Silver framing with Black glass panels.

The Art Deco style is most effectively achieved when using the reflective qualities of Black, White or Mirrored glass panels with either contrasting or co- ordinating metal framing.

Industrial-style sliding wardrobe doors

Bring the mid-century aesthetic of Modernism and industrial-inspired design into your home with our range of sliding wardrobe doors, or for a more recent industrial look (which became popular during the post-modern movement in the1980s, and has been re-vitalised again for the current day) consider using bright coloured framing with mirrored glass or glass panels that are of a contrasting colour to that of the framing.

Internal Modernist-style sliding room dividers

The Milano, Verona and Lovara designs are also ideal for creating Modernist-style room dividers and internal sliding doors. The 3, 4 or 5 panel designs, with horizontal h-bars equally dividing the glazing panels within the height of the door beautifully replicate the mid-20th century period look of the Modernist- style. Wardrobe Doors Direct now offers any design fully-glazed with traditional clear glass panels using 4mm clear safety glass. Clear glass Modernist-style doors are priced on an individual basis – please email us your requirements so we can quote info@wardrobedoorsdirect.co.uk.

Made-to-measure

All of our Modernist-style sliding wardrobe doors and internal Modernist-style doors and Modernist-style room dividers are completely bespoke and made to your specific measurements. They can either be designed and manufactured to fit an existing wardrobe space or to perfectly fit the opening between your rooms; or to form part of a completely new wardrobe installation or interior re-modelling scheme.

Contact us

If you would like to talk in detail about your requirements please call our Technical Team on Freephone 0800 035 1730.

A very brief history of Modernism

‘Modernism’ was primarily an architectural movement and style that was prominent in the early to mid-20th century, overlapping with and encompassing the Art Deco (1910s to 1930s) and later post-modern (1950s to 1980s) movements. ‘Modern’ architecture was based upon new and innovative technologies of construction (particularly the use of glass, steel, and concrete); the principle of ‘functionalism’ (i.e. that the form of a building or product should be a direct progression of the building‘s or product’s function, or purpose); and the celebration of ‘minimalism’, where any necessary ornament or decoration was rejected.

Early Modernism in Europe was pioneered by architects such as Auguste Perret, Henri Sauvage, Otto Wagner, Adolf Loos and Peter Behrens. In 1909 Behrens designed one of the earliest and most influential industrial buildings in the Modernist style, the AEG turbine factory in Berlin. Later, between 1911 and 1913, architects Adolf Meyer and Walter Gropius were responsible for the Fagus Factory in Alfeld, a building without ornament and where every construction element was on display. Although the style became used across all types of buildings including commercial, public and domestic, it was perhaps because it came to initial prominence in these industrial buildings that it also gained the descriptor ‘Industrial Style’.

Similarly, in the USA, although he was a highly original architect who rejected categorisation into any one architectural movement, Frank Lloyd Wright created many buildings over his lifetime which could broadly be described as being in a Modernist style.

After the first World War, the style progressed and evolved, led by Modernist architects and designers such Le Corbusier in France, Walter Gropius (who founded the Bauhaus School in 1919) and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in Germany, and Konstantin Melnikov in the newly-formed Soviet Union.

Today, even a century after the first ‘Modernist’ buildings appeared, the style that favoured simple, clean forms and championed emerging and innovative construction materials still pervades in the design of many contemporary buildings and has remained an enduring aesthetic within the areas of interior, furniture and product design.