Month: September 2018

Blog
Innovative Sliding Doors in Manila
Glass Swing Doors? We got you covered!
Why Your Open Office Needs To Go (and how sliding doors can help)

How to Maximize your Condo Space

home office set-up

One of the most popular investments of today is a condominium unit. Millenials save up their hard-earned money and invest in condominiums to move closer to business districts and have a taste of independence. Expats who venture into business here in Manila also have condominiums as their prime choice of accommodation. Living in condominiums have tons of perks like proximity to almost everything you need from malls, hospitals, schools and entertainment. You also have gyms, pools and amenities that are not regularly available in traditional home settings. One set-back is the limited space that a condominium offers. In this article, we give you ten tips that can help you maximize your condo space so you can make the most out of your condo-living experience!

1. Multi-Purpose furniture all the way!

Let’s face it, your 30 sq. meter condo won’t have enough space for both a huge sofa and a guest bed. So why don’t you opt for a sofa bed that transforms into a classy piece in the morning and a comfy lounge for guests when you have them? Multi-purpose furniture is your best friend when trying to decorate your condominium. Think of beds with underdrawers, ottomans with storage and frames with extra shelves.

convertable beds
Take this sofa that turns into either a queen sized bed or two singles! Talk about functionality!

convertible bed with drawers below
Another bed magic! Think you’ve run out of space? Take a look under your bed. You might have just found the next home of your intimates, socks and shirts.

man reading a book above a convertible bed
Now this is storage galore! Every storage maniac is drooling now. Grab some tissue, darling!

2. Stick to Neutral and light colors

When working with limited space, avoid stark contrasting colors. Stick to neutrals that not only give a room a clean feel, but gives the illusion of a wider space. White may look boring but painting a tiny room with a plain white color makes for the walls to look longer and more continuous. With slightly cramped up furniture, the last thing you want is a distracting background palette that distracts from the beauty and style of your furniture or decors.

color abstract
Light colors give an illusion of continuation especially when you have big wide windows.

spacious work space at home
A small but well-maximized space. Notice how the white paint makes for an airy and more spacious feel?

color pallet
Creams, dark greys and off-whites are your best friends when painting small spaces.

3. Think vertically

Since your condo is already horizontally challenged, why not go the other way around? Use up your vertical space wisely and maximize your walls. Your walls can be used to hang up frames that have extra shelves inside. Instead of putting your television on top of a table that would take precious floor space, why not mount it on the wall instead? Remember to note here the word “maximize” does not equate to “clutter”!

kitchen tools cabinet
Complete your condo’s industrial feel with this clever set-up that not only saves space but also gives your space that much needed style spike.

ladder cabinet
Look for those nooks and crannies! Vertical empty spaces are everywhere if you only pay a little bit more attention.

4. Declutter!

Speaking of clutter, we know that the biggest challenge in keeping a condominium looking spic and span is hiding all the clutter. We can get all the hidden storage magic that’s available out there, but if there’s just too much clutter then there’s just too much! The only way to deal with this is to declutter and let go of things that are not that necessary. A life changing book that has touched many is Marie Kondo’s “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up”. Try to let go of multiples that are not needed like your 25 mugs collection and those shoes that you never really wear. You can either donate them or make money off of them by selling some online. There is a certain bliss in trying to live with less, maybe you can give it a go?

7-day challenge
Check out this KonMari-Inspired declutter challenge from POPSUGAR

marie condo magic
Marie Kondo Magic, for the win!

5. Mirrors! Mirrors! Mirrors!

You already know this! Mirrors give the illusion of a wider and bigger space. But not only that! Mirrors also add an undeniable flare and style to any room. Use mirrors with your sliding doors, as cupboard covers, as wall accents, the options are endless. From my personal experience, a room adorned with mirrors is always a room that leaves an impression of elegance and style.

bedroom mirror facing bed
This contemporary home makes use of a mirrors as a divider. Not only does it complement the modern feel of the room, it also make it look more spacious.

bedroom indoor closet
Wardrobe with mirror to give the illusion of infinite space

backdoor entrance
Give it a go and go full length for that fuller effect!

6. Go Slender

If you are working with an open-space plan, slender décor and furniture are your best friend. Don’t be afraid to go long and slender. Be it your mirrors, clocks, light fixtures, curtains and even your chairs and tables. These long slender lines give an illusion of a wider and more spacious area that rids your condo of the cramped-up feel. Sticking to slender décor and furniture also gives your place a unifying theme that just ties up everything together. Say a slender table for your work space instead a bulky one. You can still have space for all your necessities and maximize space. Use side tables with long slender legs that allow for extra storage space under.

different type of dividers or cabinets
Going slender not only saves you space but gives your condo a sleek modern feel

work space
Get inspiration from this lovely narrow home office. Notice the slender tables, clever use of wall space and white paint that gives the room a more spacious feel

7. Wall Cabinets

Cabinets are perfect for organizing and keeping our things but they take way too much space. The solution? Wall cabinets! Use them in your living room, in the hallways, your bathroom and of course in the kitchen. Not only will you maximize barren wall area, you also save floor space. Bathrooms are one of the most compromised spaces in bathrooms. Make sure you have all your essentials in place by mounting wall cabinets. These not only look good but make your bathroom look more relaxed and organized while keeping all your necessities in proximity.

tv wall cabinet
Hide your clutter stylishly with these stealth wall cabinets

kitchen utensils cabinet
Filler up to the top! Notice how the stacked walls give out a rustic feel? Keeping a monotone background ties everything up and makes the space look more neat.


Make the most out of your bathroom walls with hanging shelves

8. Sliding Doors Magic

Doors in your bathroom, doors of your cabinets, doors in your rooms. Have you ever wondered why it just feels cramped in certain areas of your condo? Imagine the floor space you can save if you opt for a sliding door instead of a traditional door mechanism? Sliding doors are perfect for your cabinets, your bathroom and even as a room divider.Sliding doors are perfect for dividing open space areas

We mentioned using mirrors earlier and here is another application where that is useful. Sliding doors can be customized with a mirror finish that will help give your space a airier feel. Sliding doors are also perfect room dividers.

Pocket doors are perfect for achieving that balance between openness and privacy in small spaces

Condominiums usually have an open-space plot that you can utilize and divide according to your preference. Sliding doors can help you section up a space while still giving you the flexibility and openness of a free-flowing space layout.

sliding doors for multi-purpose spaces
Sliding doors are perfect for multi-purpose spaces. Maximize your unit without sacrificing style.

Say you want the privacy of your room at night but want the free-flow openness in the morning? A pocket sliding door is perfect for that!

9. High up!

Positioning your décor and cabinets high up in the walls seems like a simple trick but it actually makes a difference. Especially when you are trying to maximize space, every tiny bit of hack makes an impact! Direct guests’ eyes higher up your walls and away from the objects laid on your floor space. This technique redistributes the weight of the room and makes the floor space less heavy on the eyes. Longer curtains that hung higher on the walls also give the illusion of a higher and bigger space.

living room with aqua blue accent color
Notice how putting elements atop the room redistributes the weight and spaces out your line of vision

living room with book shelf right above the entrance

10. Natural Light

When arranging your furniture make sure that you don’t block precious natural light! Just as white paint opens up a space, imagine what natural light can do to give your space a airier and more spacious feel. Instead of opting for bulky and opaque walls to divide your space, why not use glass interior dividers to maximize the flow of light in your unit? Condominiums today, especially those that are not in the prime locations barely have the big wide windows we see in movies. Maximize the little that you have by using dividers that let light through instead of blocking them.

dining area with dining table
Aside from getting your daily dose of vitamin D, did you know that natural light has tons of benefits to your productivity? Check out this infographic that we made: bring in that natural light and boost your productivity

Blog
Innovative Sliding Doors in Manila
Glass Swing Doors? We got you covered!
Why Your Open Office Needs To Go (and how sliding doors can help)

Smoothest Sliding Doors in Asia

glass closet doors

Sliding doors have been around for the longest time. A quick search on Google about the benefits of sliding doors, and you’re bombarded with tons of lists and articles (Check out our own article here!)

Sliding doors are great for saving space, practical dividers for offices, and is a safe option for kids and those who are physically challenged. There are tons of benefits when choosing sliding doors versus the usual swing door. So now that the advantage is settled, the question you ask next is, are all sliding doors made the same?

Of course you can check glass standards, stainless fittings, installation service and delivery and maybe even warranty and after-sales service. And in all things, you definitely get what you pay for. So what makes SDC different? Well, we can brag about our high quality standard glasses, our endless customization options, our high-tech locks and the flexibility of our designs, but let’s focus on our patented system. SDC is different because we made a difference, literally! Our founder Mr. Doron Polus, invented his own sliding door mechanism that applies to windows, glasses, mirrors, barn doors, pocket doors, you name it! Bogged by the usual pain points in the sliding door industry and with the straightforward and modest goal to make the best sliding door there is, the “Smart Track” mechanism was invented. Don’t take the word invented lightly! Mr. Doron actually invented this and had it patent registered! We definitely are different and no one has the same system that we have!

When you think sliding doors, what are the most common dilemmas that come into mind? First, is the quality of the material. Is it going to rust, how sturdy is the glass, are the fittings stainless? Second is the performance. Is it going to slide as smoothly as it did in the first day or is it going to get stuck every other day? Third would be safety. Since sliding doors are slabs of heavy glass anchored into tracks, it is imperative that these slabs on their tracks and not easily wobble and disengage. Lastly, you would want to consider flexibility in design and the overall aesthetic look of the door and whatever other practical and logistical considerations.

Now that we have that settled, let’s dig deeper into SDC’s magic!

SMOOTHEST SLIDING DOOR EVER

“There’s nothing like it in Manila”

We’ve all had that experience in where we are about to enter an establishment or maybe a room and we are faced with a sliding door, we take our position and we aim to flawlessly slide it but alas! It gets stuck and we get in a very unflattering situation where the slab either falls of or we have to exert too much effort to slide the door.
This will never happen to our mechanisms. Why? It’s not just some motherhood marketing “make you trust us” more spiel, it literally won’t because of the unique design that we employ in each of our mechanisms. They say the devil is in the details, and in our case, it definitely is.

The typical sliding door has an upper track and a lower track. Gravity dictates that majority of the door slab’s weight is carried by the lower track. In line with this, upper tracks are usually designed for the purpose of guiding the door slab so that it stays in line and in place. To effectively achieve this purpose, the upper track is usually looser, this usually creating undesirable screeches and noses caused by the friction between the upper parts of the door and the upper track.

The SDC difference lies in the upper roller and lower wheel assemblies that not only provide a smooth and quiet glide, but also a safety mechanism to ensure that the sliding door, window, mirror, etc. remains on its track.

Take a look at the photo below. Here you can see that the first shaft is disposed adjacent the front side A of the frame, and the second shaft is disposed adjacent the backside B of the frame. In this way, the periphery of the first roller extends beyond the plane of the frame’s (and the door’s) front side A, the and periphery of the second roller extends beyond the plane of the frame’s and door’s back side B.

This type of configuration is what allows our sliding doors to be stable and glide smoothly without any frictional contact between the upper track and the slab of the door. Specifically, the upper track defines at least one channel having first and second opposing side walls, as shown in the figure above, the first side wall extends downwards over, and parallel to, the back side B of the frame’s horizontal top portion, and the second side A of the frame’s horizontal top portion. As noted above, the combined span of the rollers extends beyond the width of the frame.

As such, in operation, the first roller rotates in frictional contact with an inner surface of the first side wall, and the second roller rotates in frictional contact with an inner surface of the second side wall, thereby eliminating any frictional contact between the frame and the side walls.
You can also see here how the combined span of the rollers is slightly larger than the horizontal distance between the respective inner surfaces of the side walls, and rollers are made of flexible rubber, so as to provide for a snug fit between the rollers and the side walls.

ALWAYS AND FOREVER ON TRACK

Aside from the assurance that SDC’s doors glide as effortlessly as possible, the ‘Smart Track’ technology also ensures that the tracks don’t wobble and fall off. It is important to ensure that sliding doors always remain in their tracks. Disengagement of a sliding door, may it be a window or a mirror, from its track is problematic for these main two reasons. First, the door, or portions of it, might fall and break. This will require costly repair and replacement. You want your sliding door investment to last as long as possible, of course! Second, and most importantly, a disengaged sliding door poses a significant health hazard not only to the person operating the door but also to anyone who may be in close proximity to the door. This is especially important when designing rooms for kids, the elderly or those who are physically challenged.

AESTHETICS AND PRACTICALITY

When designing spaces, architects, engineers and interior artists not only consider the aesthetics of elements but their functionality as well. The reverse is true. Alvar Alto, once said, “Beauty is the harmony of function and form”. This ideal is well true for SDC’s designs and configurations.

Typical sliding door configurations have very limited customizing options. If there are any options to do so, they come with a hefty price tag. This does not apply to the SDC’s designs. Our configuration allows for multitudes of customizing options without the worry of going over your budget. Want a panel with some horizontal slices, 2, 3, 4? No need to manufacture separate slabs. Our convenient movable straps can easily be configured to the design that you wish.

Now let’s imagine your usual sliding door mechanism. There’s that bulkiness at the bottom right? The one where you always hit your foot, or that weird looking slab that just kind of looks wrong. Well, the SDC created a design that put this problem to its grave.

This invented design relates generally to sliding door systems and more particularly to a modular type of sliding door system that includes modular lower tracks that may be equipped with ramps on either side so as to allow the tracks to lie on top of a floor or other surface or may be recessed into the flooring. This modular design allows one to easily add, relocate and uninstall the sliding doors. How convenient is that! Further, with respect to lower tracks that lie on top of the top floor, the ramps on either side of the lower tracks prevent one from tripping on the tracks as wells as add stability to the sliding door.

  • FLEXIBILITY
  • AESTHETICS
  • EXTRA STABILITY

Furthermore, in existing sliding door systems, each set of lower tracks has slots for two sliding doors. These lower tracks allow two doors to slide in parallel alongside each other. If a user of a sliding door system wishes to place more than two sliding doors in parallel, however, the user must generally install multiple sets of lower tracks in parallel, with each set accommodating only two sliding doors. Such an installation is inconvenient and gives the sliding doors an aesthetically unpleasant and inconsistent look. Also, such an installation often results in a gap between the sets of lower tracks to accommodate for the width of the additional sliding doors. The resulting gap is not only unaesthetic, it can pose a hazard to people walking over the lower tracks. Multiple lower tracks installed in this manner would not meet the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards for safety. Further existing sliding door systems require the installation of the lower tracks into the flooring. Such installation prevents easy relocation, removal and addition of installed sliding doors.

So to wrap it up, here are the things that make SDC’s configurations different

  1. Smoothest Glide Ever – technology that reduces friction between tracks and doors
  2. Tracks in place forever – Smart Track technology assures that the doors remain on track forever
  3. Invisible Tracks – Tracks can be recessed to flooring in order to make it more aesthetically pleasing, safer for people with disabilities and also adds extra stability to the door.
  4. Additional Panels Optional – You don’t need to be limited to only two panels, if your design requires multiples, the SDC’s mechanism allows your design dreams to come to life.