The r/mildlyinteresting online community is among the most well-known subreddits on the entire internet. It has a jaw-dropping 23 million members who love sharing pictures of—yup, you guessed it—mildly interesting stuff.

In short, they post images of all the things that interest them. In this particular case, we’re focusing on the pictures of unusual doors that some of the members have shared.

Doors aren’t something many of us think about a lot in our day-to-day lives. Well, unless you happen to be an architect, interior designer, door salesperson, or work in the security field.

But when we stop and look around, we can notice a lot of interesting details. Doors, like other architectural features, can tell you a lot about the design philosophy that went into the building projects in your local area.

You might spot that all the buildings in your block have identical doors and focus on cheaper, utilitarian, minimalist designs. Or you might notice the opposite. The architectural features in your neighborhood might lean toward uniqueness and beauty. When you look at all of these details on a massive scale, you can tell a lot about the city’s character.

People tend to want to live surrounded by art and beauty. However, integrating these things into new buildings usually requires more time and a larger budget. Keeping that in mind, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that architects, city planners, and designers opt for budget-friendly project ideas. They might look blander, but they’re cheaper. Unfortunately, in many cases, the budget trumps beauty.

What kind of door you want to have in place is going to vary wildly depending on where it is and what you hope it’ll accomplish. For instance, when considering what to do about your exterior door, generally, you want it to be super tough with high-quality locks. You want it to be secure to protect your family and possessions from potential break-ins.

Of course, the core of your super-secure door can be thick and tough with an elaborate safety mechanism, but the exterior can still be artistic, playful, or elaborate—whatever fits the character of your home. However, there are cases when you might want to keep a low profile.

Say, if you’re a celebrity or a public figure. Then, you might intentionally choose blander elements for the exterior of your home, leaving all the artistry for the interior.

Regarding doors in the interior of the home, you may want to consider using sound-proof materials to give everyone some privacy in their own rooms.

That way, if someone’s dancing, playing the drums, or having a lively call with their friends, they’re not disturbing anyone else who might be sleeping, working, etc., elsewhere in the property. Obviously, in this case, it’s best to soundproof the walls and windows, too!

In public buildings, however, there might be different concerns aside from security or aesthetics. For instance, hospital staff might want doors to be made of materials that are easy to clean or resistant to microbial growth. They might also want the doors themselves to be made of see-through materials or have a small window in them so that it’s easier to keep an eye on patients.

Not only that, but a more open and see-through door design might help the patients feel like they’re not alone. If they constantly see people moving here and there, they might feel more connected and less isolated.

All of that being said, let’s not forget that purely utilitarian interior designs might not be the best fit for helping patients heal faster. Creating a warm, cozy, and inviting atmosphere can help them feel more at home and healthier, not like they’re desperately fighting for their lives.

Which of the doors that we’ve featured here did you like the most, dear Pandas? Which designs stood head and shoulders above the rest for you? What kind of doors and other architectural features would you love to have in your own house if you could freely design every little detail? Tell us what you think in the comments!