Choosing a door that suits your wall: height, width and design

Most people choose a door from a photo. In the photo the door stands alone. At home it sits in a wall, next to windows, under a ceiling, above a floor and near furniture. A door that looked good on the phone can look too narrow, too short or too busy once it is fitted. A few minutes spent looking at the wall first saves that mistake.

Look at the whole wall first

Stand where you first see the doorway: at the gate for a main door, or in the hall for a bedroom door. Then note:

• How high the ceiling is, and how much wall will be left above the door.
• Any window, ventilator or other door on the same wall or close by.
• Big furniture that will stay: almirah, sofa, TV unit, shoe rack.
• Where the switchboards are, and which way the door will open.

Now draw the wall as a simple box on paper and draw the door inside it. Add the window and the furniture. It does not need to be neat. A phone photo of the wall with a few pen marks on it works just as well, and it is easy to share with your mistri or with us.

Pick the height

NordWood standard doors come in two heights: 7 ft and 8 ft. A few simple points help you choose:

• Try to keep the top of the door in line with the top of nearby windows. Doors and windows that end at different levels look untidy, even when each one is nice on its own.
• A taller door suits a high ceiling or a big entrance. In an ordinary room, check how much wall will be left above the door before you choose 8 ft.
• If you want a ventilator or a glass panel above the door, decide it now. It changes how much height is left for the door itself.

Pick the width for use first, then for looks

Our single doors come in widths from 2.5 ft to 4 ft, and double doors from 3 ft to 5 ft. Before you think about looks, think about what has to pass through the door: a sofa, a fridge, a bed, an almirah, or a wheelchair for an elderly family member. The main door usually needs to be the widest. Bathroom and store doors are usually narrower.

Then check how that width looks on the wall. A very wide door on a short wall crowds the room. A narrow door on a long, empty wall can look lost. Your sketch will show this quickly.

Check the design at your size

Panels and carving are spaced out to fit the height and width of each door. So the same design can look quite different on a 2.5 ft door and on a 4 ft door. Many small panels can look crowded on a narrow door, and one large carving can look stretched on a wide one. Before you finalise, ask us how the design will look at your size.

Let the room decide the look, and the tape decide the size

A photo shows you a style you like. It cannot tell you whether the door will fit. Once you like the look, compare it with our standard door sizes and prices, always reading height and width together. Then ask your mistri to confirm the exact door size for your opening. Our guide to standard door sizes explains how to measure and write it.

If your size is not in the list, send it to us and we can discuss a custom size. We can also visit the site and advise.