During the first month at my new apartment in Brooklyn, my bedroom was doorless. In typical brownstone fashion, my apartment is a 1.5-bedroom, meaning there’s one big bedroom with a small room attached to it. I decided to use the bigger room as my study and the small room as my bedroom.
This small room, though, had no door, which was going to be a problem that I needed to solve quickly. My options were limited: I could install a cloth curtain, but I wanted something studier and more soundproof. I could go for an actual door, but there wasn’t much clearance, and honestly, I just didn’t want to deal with the install. But after many nights of being deep in door research, I came across my unexpected source of inspiration: a 1950s ad for accordion doors on Pinterest.
Accordion doors are exactly what they sound like—a door that opens by folding back in sections or panels, just like an accordion. Accordion doors were extremely popular in the ’50s and ’60s for creating new “rooms” in your home. People used them to create more bedrooms, laundry rooms, and overall just for more separation at home. Advertised in old JCPenney and Sears catalogs as “luxurious-looking doors at a low price,” they appealed to people everywhere. They were made from real wood or, most commonly, vinyl, and then coated with a wood-like finish. They came in all types of colors and sometimes even in washable fabrics.
Though, sadly, we can’t get accordion doors from JCPenney anymore in 2024, I found out that you can find modern versions at Home Depot and Wayfair in the $60 to $200 range. I’ll admit, the photos on the product pages look pretty questionable, but I had a vision and that was all the motivation I needed to place an order. Three days later, the door arrived on my doorstep and, after unboxing it, I was head over heels in love. Sure, it wasn’t a traditional door—there wasn’t a door knob, but there was a handy little handle with magnetic closure. Also, the panels looked like pleats, which was extremely satisfying to look at.
I casually shared a little home decor update on my TikTok and was surprised by how many people were falling for the folds too. “This is exactly what I’ve been looking for!” “Where can I get an accordion door?” “I didn’t know accordion doors could look so good!” I woke up the following day to a DM from the viral matching couple Young Emperors asking where I got my accordion door.
During this whole door dash, I was shocked by the lack of accordion door brands specifically. All I could find were the sterile-looking photos from Wayfair and Home Depot. But the Pinterest algorithm gods finally came through and I found a whole world of gorgeous folding doors. Dooor (no, that’s not a typo) was one of the most impressive brands I could find. They’re a small Italian folding door brand working with interior designers on homes, offices, and restaurants all over the world. On the website, they describe themselves as a brand that “combines tradition and foresight, awareness and passion, simplicity and innovation, functionality and refinement.” Their account is filled with elegant-looking doors in the most gorgeous colors—butter yellow, bubblegum pink, and so on.
