In case you've been following the design (Japanese-style pantry folding doors) and building (Shoji-style doors) of my shoji-style pantry doors, you might have noticed that the discussion has progressed to the topic of the rest of the wall: what to do with it.

My original vision had been to make a closet door in a Craftsman style. However, several people (beginning, I believe, with John Raftery, and continuing with Michael Kellough) have suggested making the whole wall in a shoji style.

Based on that suggestion (which I initially rejected), I made some mock-ups in Adobe Illustrator to see what it might look like.

The first version had a closet door of the same style as the pantry doors, and then a panel next to the front door (to the left of the other doors) that could be shoji on the top, and with a grill of some sort at the bottom:


Of course there's no grill or shoji in this one (on the left), but use your imagination.

The second version has the closet door in shoji, and then similar shoji panels continuing to the front door:


I kind of like this (in contrast to what I said earlier in the other threads). I gives the wall a definite theme, and it's not as imposing as I thought it might be. It puts definite constraints on the decor of the rest of the room, but that's okay.

I'm happy to entertain your thoughts on this. Let me know if you want me to send you the Adobe Illustrator file to play with. Don't pay too much attention to the details in these mock-ups - they're just to stimulate the creative juices.

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I don't have as many Festools as Fred. Or Marcou's, or Brese's, or Lie-Nielsen's, or Lee Valley's, or Blue Spruce's, or Harold and Saxon's, or...

Peter,

I think that it might look better if the casing over the top and the pieces between the two sections and at the corners were removed, leaving just the two distinct closet door sections. The whole wall just doesn't look right to me.

Best,
Rutager

Are you thinking something like this, Rutager?


I haven't put anything over the left-most section of the wall (which was what Michael K had suggested).

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I don't have as many Festools as Fred. Or Marcou's, or Brese's, or Lie-Nielsen's, or Lee Valley's, or Blue Spruce's, or Harold and Saxon's, or...

Partially, I would like to have another false set of doors over the vent area. So just remove the casing from the wall, leave all the doors.

Are you thinking of something like this, Rutager?

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I don't have as many Festools as Fred. Or Marcou's, or Brese's, or Lie-Nielsen's, or Lee Valley's, or Blue Spruce's, or Harold and Saxon's, or...

Peter,

So close! I would not have a divider between the false and the furnace doors. Pretty much have the sets mirror each other.

Best,
Rutager

P.S. another idea for a room divider might be to buy Fred's entertainment center and place it there.

I can't see any way of making the closet doors (the middle ones) and the fake doors to their left co-planar. The fake doors would be attached to the wall, while the closet doors would be in the door frame. It would be possible to butt the fake doors up to the closet doors, but they'd still sit proud by 1 3/8". That's why the trim is an attractive option, I think.

That being said, most shoji lie in different planes so that they can slide horizontally over one another. So it wouldn't be unusual. The lack of trim would, though...

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I don't have as many Festools as Fred. Or Marcou's, or Brese's, or Lie-Nielsen's, or Lee Valley's, or Blue Spruce's, or Harold and Saxon's, or...

I favor this one, although Rutager's variation may turn out better once dialed in.

I'm surprised at how much this changes the look of the room.


.

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John

John,

Agreeing with me is usually the first sign of insanity; publicly admitting it is the second.

Rutager

Peter,

It is not impossible to set all the doors planer; might be more work than you want, but could be worth it in the end.

- Rutager