Closet Doors: 7 Easy Ways to Make Them More Stunning
How can I modernize my bi-fold closet doors? And how can I do it easily and affordably— MYSELF? These questions and others flooded my mind after COVID-19 threw the entire globe a major curveball: shelter-in-place and mandatory social distancing. Fortunately for me, the DIY bookcases and wall molding I installed for my home office makeover and bedroom refresh have given me the confidence to try my hand at updating a pair of interior doors without the help of a contractor. But I hit a snag…
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Inspiration for Customizing Boring Bi-Fold Doors
This is not my first time updating a pair of double-doors. A while back I made my sliding glass patio doors more decorative with a simple window treatment and a bit of paint.
Around the same time, I purchased a pair of folding hollow core interior doors from OfferUp. They were to be the finishing touch on a storage closet The Husband and I built in our basement. The flat front doors provided the perfect blank canvas to do whatever I wanted! Or, so I thought.
The plan was to reface the “new” doors with trimmed down pieces from a wall-to-wall mirror that we removed. We were then going to reverse the hinges to make them bi-fold French doors. But that idea blew up in our faces when we learned that the mirrors were too heavy for the hollow doors to support. BAM, there were were, back to square one. And we have remained there ever since.
I was running dry on inspiration. But being stuck at home for the past 2 months has finally rekindled my flame for this project. Below are some unique ideas that I discovered for updating cheap sliding doors.
“Being stuck at home for the past 2 months has finally rekindled my flame to take on this project”
1. A Touch of Chinoiserie Wallpaper Brilliance
When these chinoiserie doors from the home of head designer at LOFT, Austyn Zung slid up my computer screen I was rendered speechless. These are, hands down, the most beautiful collapsable closet doors I have ever seen! The idea of using wallpaper or a mural to create a silk screen effect to cover all of the doors never occurred to me before. This stylish nod to a jib door will forever be etched in my mind.
“This stylish nod to the jib door will forever be etched in my mind. ”
2. Add a Ceiling Medallion
One of my favorite things to do is to use conventional materials in an unconventional way. These minty green French doors, featured on One Kings Lane by Megan Pflug, really got my creative juices flowing. Ceiling medallions and a pair of gold doorknobs was all it took to add dimension to these flat-paneled closet doors.
3. Nailhead Trim for the Win
There’s something about nailhead trim that makes me weak in the knees. Again, Megan Pflug proves that sprucing up a boring flat wood door is not as complicated as you think. Here she dressed up the frontside of a plain office door with a decadent forest green vinyl and beautified it even more with gold nailhead trim. This idea could easily be modified to fit a sliding folding door. Genius!
“Sprucing up a boring flat wood door is not as complicated as you might think.”
4. Lattice Trim, Paint and Hardware
When in doubt trim it out. Then paint and add new hardware. And that’s exactly what’s on display in these next two images. Above, Monica of Monica Wants It glammed up a pair of builder grade bi-fold closet doors by adding 2-inch lattice strips. A coat of millennial pink and acrylic knobs finished off the look. The result is nothing less than stunning.
5. Create a Modern Shaker Styled Closet Door
In like manner, Sarah at Room for Tuesday, used the same materials to completely transform her plain closet doors to create inset panels similar to a shaker-style door. These are sooo much cooler than generic shutter doors, don’t you agree?
6. For the Love of Shiplap
There’s even a door hack for fans of shiplap. This overhaul took me by surprise. Jess of Bright Green Door essentially took four boring old bi-fold closet doors and turned them into two pairs of French doors. There is absolutely no indication in the above photo that this was a full wall of louvered sliding doors.
7. Refacing Closet Doors with Mirrors
Just because this idea didn’t work out for me doesn’t mean I can’t pass the inspiration on to you. While I still love this look, I think I’m ready to move on with a new idea. This roundup of skillfully executed upgrades has provided me with the spring board I needed to get started. Stay tuned!
