Interior French Doors: Sizes, Styles and Where to Use Them
Interior French doors (pairs of doors that open from the center) turn a standard doorway into a statement. They make it easy to open up a home office, den, dining room or wide closet when you want it, and close it off when you don't. Here's how to choose the right size and style.
What Counts as an Interior French Door?
Traditionally, "French door" meant a door with glass panes. Today the term is widely used for any pair of hinged doors that meet in the middle. At AAA Doors, our interior French doors come in both glass and solid-panel styles, all as prehung units with both doors in one frame.
Standard Interior French Door Sizes
Interior French doors are named by the total width of the pair. Our prehung French doors come in these widths and heights:
| Width (pair) | Heights we offer | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| 3 ft (36") | 6'8" and 8' | Narrow closets, small offices |
| 4 ft (48") | 6'8" and 8' | Offices, pantries, closets |
| 5 ft (60") | 6'8" and 8' | Dens, dining rooms |
| 6 ft (72") | 6'8" and 8' | Wide openings, living spaces |
Each door in the pair is half the total width. For example, our 4' Shaker 5-Lite French door uses two 24" x 80" slabs. Check the overall frame size on the product page against your rough opening. The 4' x 6'8" White Shaker 2-Panel French door, for instance, lists 49 1/2" x 81 1/2" with the frame.
For more on choosing heights, see our Standard Interior Door Sizes guide.
Interior French Door Styles
Glass: 5-Lite Shaker
The Shaker 5-Lite French door is our go-to for home offices. Light passes between rooms while the Shaker frame keeps it crisp. It's available in 3', 4', 5' and 6' widths.
Solid panels: 2-Panel, 1-Panel and 5-Panel Shaker
For privacy, solid-panel French doors match the rest of your Shaker interior doors. The 2-panel style is our most popular, the 1-panel is the most modern (and especially striking at 8 ft tall), and the 5-panel adds craftsman detail. See how these compare in our Shaker interior door styles guide.
Flush
Flush French doors have a smooth, flat face and are a simple choice for wide closets. We offer a 6' solid core flush unit and a hollow core flush version. These flush units are listed with no bore and a ball catch.
Best Rooms for Interior French Doors
- Home office: 5-lite glass keeps the room connected to the house while cutting noise.
- Den or playroom: open for supervision, closed for movie night.
- Dining room: a formal touch that can close off the room for gatherings.
- Pantry: 4' French doors give full access to shelving.
- Wide closets: a pair of 2-panel or flush doors in place of bifolds.
Solid Core or Hollow Core?
Almost all of our French doors are solid core, which gives them a substantial feel and better sound control. That's useful for an office. Hollow core is lighter and costs less, which can make sense for a closet. Learn more in solid core vs. hollow core doors.
Planning and Installation Tips
- Measure the rough opening and compare it to the listed unit size, leaving room for shims.
- Check swing clearance. Both doors swing open, so make sure furniture, vents and light switches won't block them.
- Plan hardware. Many French door setups use an active door with a passage or dummy handle and a fixed door held by a ball catch or bolts. Browse interior door handles.
- Get help. Wide prehung units are heavy and awkward, so plan on two people. The installation steps in our prehung door replacement guide apply here too.
Frequently Asked Questions
What size interior French door do I need?
Measure your rough opening and choose the unit whose overall frame size fits inside it. Common widths are 4', 5' and 6'. We offer 3' through 6'.
Do interior French doors come prehung?
Ours do. Both doors arrive hung in a single frame, which makes alignment much easier.
Can I get 8-foot interior French doors?
Yes. We carry 8' tall French doors in 1-panel and 2-panel Shaker styles, plus a 4' x 96" 5-panel.
Do French doors come painted?
Our Shaker French doors come primed white, ready for your paint color.
Open up your space: browse interior doors at AAA Doors, including Shaker French doors from 3' to 6' wide.