Sorry Bifolds — French Doors Are the Coolest Choice for Your Extension Right Now, and They're Anything but Basic

Simon Drayson brings his expert eye to Livingetc’s latest feature on French door ideas, offering insights into creating beautifully light-filled, connected spaces. His contribution highlights thoughtful design that seamlessly blends elegance, natural light, and modern living.

Placing matching sets of French doors opposite one another, either across an internal courtyard or by adding them to a garden room facing the house, is a brilliant way to highlight their design and draw separate elements of a building together.

This project, by George & James Architects, involved enlarging the terraced property as well as adding a garden room — and both new structures now enjoy coordinating charcoal-grey French doors.

When used in conjunction with additional glazed sections, they form a dramatic full wall of glazed features, enhancing the sense of space within the home," explains architect Simon Drayson. "This effect is often difficult to achieve with bifold or sliding door systems, making French doors a versatile and stylish option.

About Simon

Simon is director of George & James Architects and the ‘George’ in George & James (it’s his middle name) when he and co-founder Darren Leach founded the practice they embodied the perfect combination of skills and interests, with Simon bringing more emotional intelligence and Darren more logic and analytical thinking. Simon has worked on his fair share of high-profile urban projects over the years, as part of extensive teams and big practices, but upping sticks and going it alone definitely ranks as one of the best decisions of his life.

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