Bedroom door: open or shut?

I have been debating with myself whether I should close my bedroom door at night or not. I prefer it open because the master bedroom tends be be colder than the rest of the house in the winter and having it open gets warm air in there better. However, having it closed might provide one more barrier or at least cover in case someone were to break in. That being said, there is no lock on our bedroom door so it wouldn't provide THAT much protection. Also, perhaps it would allow me to hear someone break in better if the door is open. The other side of the coin is that if someone does break in, I don't want my dog running downstairs right away to check it out in fear it would be dangerous to my dog or I would lose her hearing and her being able to tell me if something is still wrong downstairs.

Open. The last thing I want is to be unaware of something wrong INSIDE my house & be greeted by an assault upon opening my bedroom door. I would rather have to close my door after hearing something than miss the noise because my door was already closed. IMHO, situational awareness trumps barriers INSIDE my house until the threat is recognized.

Depends. Single? Alone? Married? Got kids? House on tight lockdown?

Open, open, open, open, open.

Roomates?

CLOSED. Locked.

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Originally Posted by ghost tracker

Open. The last thing I want is to be unaware of something wrong INSIDE my house & be greeted by an assault upon opening my bedroom door. I would rather have to close my door after hearing something than miss the noise because my door was already closed. IMHO, situational awareness trumps barriers INSIDE my house until the threat is recognized.

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That's what I'm leaning towards now too. The alarm or dog will wake me up if something's wrong and then I can assess better what's going on by hearing past my bedroom door and not having to make noise by opening it or wondering what's beyond it.

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Originally Posted by Lotus222

Depends. Single? Alone? Married? Got kids? House on tight lockdown?

Open, open, open, open, open.

Roomates?

CLOSED. Locked.

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I am married, no kids yet. And, as I said, no lock on door.

It's kinda a personal choice. Since I tend to go to bed earlier than others in my home (usually because I have to wake up MUCH ealier than the rest of my family) I shut the door. The firefighter in me likes the door shut as well. However, Mrs. GSB wants the bedroom door OPEN. She likes the pooches to be able to come and go at night and she can keep an 'ear open' for the young'uns who might get up in the middle of the night.

I like the idea of my dogs getting my attention when something goes 'bump' in the night.... and they're good at waking me up!

Living and working in central Asia like I am right now, I keep the door shut..... as much for keeping what heat I have IN my bedroom than as for anything else.

I'm with ghost tracker on this one. I leave the bedroom door open, so I can hear what's going on, and my 130 pound labrador retriever can too. Yes, he's big for a Lab. :)

My home defense plan has evolved over the years, from having kids and now having just me and the significant other in the house. I leave the door open, and if I'm alerted, I investigate, with my pistol and a surefire light. Doesn't happen very often, as I live out in the woods.

Back when I was married, and had young kids in the house, I would move the kids to the MBR, where their mother would control them, while I investigated the cause of the alert.

If I were traveling somewhere, and unable to defend my castle, my spouse was to gather the kids and the dog when alerted, and get them in the MBR, behind cover, with the bedroom door closed. If she knew someone was in the house, she was to dial 911 and remain behind cover with the kids and the Remington 870. If anyone attempted to open the door, she had instructions to shoot the door, and wait for the cops to arrive before opening the door.

Worked for me. Be safe.

Closed, to keep light out and heat in. My comfort in my own bed 355 days a year trumps that day, IF it ever happens. The dogs sleep in the living area on purpose. They take care of everything out there and raise me from a dead sleep if it's bad news.

Mine is closed but not all the way just until it touches the door jam this way I can hear what might be going on easier because I sleep with a ceiling fan and a tower fan.

Never closed when I am sleeping and if I don't wake up to an intruder, BUSTER! That's right, my pet grizzly bear Buster/DOG will have no problem reminding an intruder that they have nerve endings all throughout their body after he takes a chunk out of them..

Concern yourself more with keeping them out of the house.

Bedroom door left opened.

Gaining access to the inside of the house would involve making substantial noise.

Max and Jessie have the run of the house .

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Regards,

FlaRon

I tend to leave the bedroom door open as we now have two dogs...our early warning system.

Our Irish Wolfhound turns heads although she is a 'lover'...the Rhodesian Ridgeback (still a pup) will be the one to take care of business.

Closed and locked. Three big dogs and alarm system. It would be a noisy time if somebody broke in.

My door stays open. I can hear things better, and I can close it if need be.