Pivot and Concealed Specialty Door Hinges. Here’s What We Used

I began this post yesterday, thinking it would only take a few hours.

As is often the case, I was wrong.

This post is part of what will be a guide for everything I purchased for my home for my renovation, and much of the furnishings.

We began with the living room and den, and then the kitchen and upstairs entry.

It would be easier if everything could go in the widget, but not everything can.

 

This is really part 2 of the custom interior door post; however, these specialty door hinges deserve a separate blog post.

 

I can’t tell you the dozens of hours spent researching what was needed. And even after that, I got the wrong hinges for the jib doors. Fortunately, I was able to return them as they are expensive.

However, before we get into the specialty door hinges, we must discuss what an absolutely glorious day it was here in Boston, and I believe the entire northeast on March 10, 2026. It was a wonderful gift from God, and boy, do we appreciate it after the harsh, unrelenting winter we’ve had to endure.

 

If you couldn’t care less about our trees and weather and just want to get to the boring AF door hinges, please scroll down to here.***

 

Shortly before sunset, I went for a walk and cut through the Boston Public Garden.

 

It was exceedingly odd to still see a layer of snow on the pond that had been completely drained last fall. The first sign of life near the end of winter is that the weeping willow’s delicate branches begin to take on a rich golden-chartreuse hue.

 

It was the first 70-degree day this year.

 

The last one was on October 10th, exactly five months ago. Interestingly, that date of 10.10 was a record for the earliest last 70 degree day in the last 150 years since they began keeping records.

Beware; if you’re visiting or have recently relocated from the south to the north, you must understand something. If you wish to preserve your comfort, you must pay close attention to the short-term weather forecast.

Story-time

 

I will never forget one early spring day in April when I was 16 and living in Madison, WI, I woke up to a very mild morning with temps in the mid 60s, so I wore a dress and my raincoat to school. I had a rehearsal for a play I was in, after school, so I left to go home around 4:30, which was two hours later than my usual time.

Outside, to go and fetch my bus, I was met with a fierce blast of cold air that felt like the middle of January. The temperature had dropped 30 degrees with an exceedingly sharp, forceful wind that threatened to knock me over. The wind chill was in the 20s, yet I was dressed like it was 60 degrees.

 

That damned bus did not come. And after ten minutes, no hat, gloves, an insufficient coat, and nowhere to go, I was miserable.

 

Finally, the bus came about five minutes after that. I was never so happy to see the bus! The point is, I learned my lesson after that experience.

 

Laurel, you were 16, where was your mother? Wasn’t it her job to make sure you were dressed adequately for the possibility of bad weather later in the day?

 

She was around and getting her master’s degree in sociology. But I guess she hadn’t looked at the weather that day. Plus, we had lived in Evansville, IN, for the previous 14 winters. While the temperature can drop a fair amount, by April, it never went below freezing and probably not below 40 degrees. Most days were in the 70s-80s in southern Indiana.

 

***Okay, let’s return to our topic of specialty door hinges.

 

Indeed, these door hinges are exceedingly boring. In fact, except for the Harmon Hinges, they are partially or completely hidden– but essential. Writing about these specialty door hinges is a little like getting your teeth cleaned. It’s kind of a drag getting it done, but it feels so good later on.

 

However, if you’re thinking of doing some jib, concealed, or embrasure doors, this post will save you a lot of time and energy.

 

I’m sharing exactly what I used. It was exceedingly difficult to find out which specialty door hinges to use. My contractor was clueless, as were the people who SOLD the doors. That is, except for the rep at Little Window, where I purchased the embrasure doors. (More info about the doors themselves can be found on the custom interior door post.)

I had already figured out the embrasure door hinges, but double-checked that they were the ones to get.

 

Let’s begin with the pocket pivot hinges, AKA Harmon Hinge, for the embrasure doors.

 

Below is one of the Harmon Hinges for an embrasure door.

 

These hinges allow the door to fold back flat into its pocket. The hinges are wildly expensive, with some of them costing around $1,000 for ONE hinge. And each door requires THREE hinges, so I went with the cheapest pocket pivot hinge, AKA Harmon hinge, I could find. Select Door originally told me I would need four hinges per door, but I asked them to reconsider since the doors are only 15″ wide, and they said that three would be fine. Phew!

 

ABH Pocket Pivot Hinge (Harmon Hinge)

I got these Hinges at Cook and Boardman. (The link is above.) They come in several finishes, but I got the white to blend in. I only found out later 95% of their clientele are building contractors; however, the guy I worked with was so incredibly nice and helpful.

These hinges have given me no problem at any point, and I’m so happy I got them in white.

Next up are the main entry by the kitchen jib doors.

 

Below is the Rixson 370 Center Pivot Hinge for a 500-pound door.

 

This Rixson (Assa Abloy) hinge is available on Amazon.

 

 

This is the post where I discuss all of the details about the jib doors.

These pivot hinges are completely hidden, but also work super well.

 

There is a lot of information in these two posts that are like renovation diaries with the newest entries on top.

 

Renovation news & deets from 2023 are here.

Renovation news & deets from 2024 are here.

 

Last, we will look at the little hidden doors in the bathroom and under the stairs.

 

The little paneled doors and the hidden doors under the stairs also required special hinges.  All information will be linked to in the widget for the halls and bathroom.

 

Above is a bathroom door with its hinge immediately after installation.

 

There’s a larger pair of Soss hinges for these wonderful doors under the stairs. They measure 3-3/4,” and each door has two. You seriously do not see them, even when the doors are open, unless you crank your head inside.

 

I’m so happy with how this turned out!

 

That’s for the stair doors. The bathroom hinges, I can see a tiny sliver. I would get the plain matte steel because they are always less money. If it really bothers you, you could get a little brush and lightly paint them to match the inside of the cabinet.

 

The mini widget below links to the Soss Invisible (small and medium sizes) and Rixson pivot hinges.

 

Clicking on any image will take you to where the product is for sale. The larger hinge is 3-3/4,” but they seem to have gotten the information wrong. I am basing the size on the image as well as the model number.

 

 

 

Remember this? If you missed it and are curious about the saga with the stair railing, I believe most of the story is here.

Actually, this link will take you to all of the posts with the topic of staircase.

I hope you enjoyed taking a closer look at all of the specialty door hinges we used in my home!t

 

Okay, I am finishing off with a few more images I took at the Boston Public Garden on March 10th, the first #10 day of the year.

 

I couldn’t help but notice the green and white sign, which means that a tree needs to be removed.

It is difficult to sense the scale, but this tree trunk is HUGE, and the tree is obviously very old and looks very ill.

 

They do everything they can to save the trees, but every year a few are lost out of hundreds in the garden and lining the Commonwealth Ave. Mall.

 

We had an abundant amount of rain last week, so most of the snow is gone. But, there are still some small hills where they piled it up, or a “snirt alert.” Again, with the balmy temps, it felt odd to see that.

 

In front of my home, more snirt, but look closely. What do we have here???

 

 

Oh, my, it’s little white flowers! I had to look them up on Google images.

 

They are called Snowdrops. (Galanthus)

 

And for good reason. These are the very first signs of impending spring, yet they can survive freezing temps and even being snowed on. Good thing because I didn’t see any sign of coats, hats or mittens. ;]

If you’ve never experienced a winter in the north, please understand that for four plus months, it is dark and often unbearably cold. This is my sixth winter here in Boston, and I reckon that we got as much snow this winter as we did in the previous five combined. And it’s not done yet. But, hopefully, the bitter cold is behind us for several months.

xo,

 

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Thank you so much!

I very much appreciate your help and support!