apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Decorative Window Film.

is replacing the doors completely out of the question? they look like they're from ikea...

Why not try fabric-n-starching them? I'm not positive that it will work on a mirrored surface, but I think it should, and it would be cheap and easy to remove when you move out.

Contact paper?

Frosted glass contact paper?

Some friends of mine used to live in an apartment with huge mirrors. They artfully put up strips of rice paper in various patterns, and it looked much better.

you could buy fabric to either wrap the doors, or just stick on the fronts with velcro. just sew the edges for a finished look. you could pull a color or two from that rug and use different fabrics for a striped look or just use beige/white to help blend the closets into the walls.

I have the exact same problem - my new master bedroom has mirrored accordion doors. I have two thoughts - but I am not moving until the end of August so I am not sure how either will work.
1) Buy inexpensive fabric and cover each part of the door individually.
2) Place floor length curtains in front of the doors.

If you are into a modern / Asian look, you might like this idea - Ikea window stickers: http://www.roomzaar.com/rate-my-space/Closets/the-2500-Mirrored-Closet-Makeo/detail.esi?oid=2430690

What about putting some of that frost film that they usually use for privacy on windows. You can even get creative and make a cool design.

why did people like looking at themselves so much back then? Because people were less fat then?

that torquoise sparkle tom isn't helping the 80's dance studio feel.

I like the window film idea - here is a good example: http://www.roomzaar.com/rate-my-space/Closets/the-2500-Mirrored-Closet-Makeo/detail.esi?oid=2430690

Check out the temporary wallpaper at Mxyplyzyk in the West Village otherwise, window film like bepsf says, comes in lots of nice varieties.

What about something like window film or contact paper?

Several companies makes some cool window film designs that create the look of etched glass or mirror. You could turn that mirror into a design element rather than hide it entirely.

http://www.designpublic.com/shop/emma-jeffs
http://www.lighteffects.com/index.php
http://www.decorativefilm.com/ecart/allproducts.asp
http://www.raredevice.net/item.php?item_id=419

Rice paper would be nice but do you even have to keep them closed? If you kept them open, (afer organizing the closet of course) you could have like 3 separate stations, maybe with an armoir in one of them.

I'd use a nice thick paper with a recycled brown paper backing, then face it together with strong glue or double-stick tape. I'd be careful affixing it because sticky stuff can be a pain to get off, and it's not worth the time investment to scrape off contact paper. Maybe use some strategically placed clay or rubber cement, something that could easily rub off but would keep the paper attached.

The cool thing about using a nice thick paper in the color of your choosing is that if you wanted to get creative with it you could oil paint on it or use water colors. Then, you could also cut away portions to reveal the mirror. I'm actually kind of jealous of all the storage and the design opportunity.

Bepsf is correct. Decorative window film.

http://www.decorativefilm.com/index.asp?c=21622

Couple of ideas using fabric: you could staple hook & eye tape aka velcro to it and attach the other bit of velcro to the back of door. Other than hemming the sides you wouldn't even need to hem the bottom & top ends that way. Depending on how much sewing you wanted to do.

2nd: If you could take the doors off completely (and have room to store them somewhere -maybe behind the armoires?) you could hang up layers of sheer fabric (making it no longer sheer) using tension rods.

Hope you find a solution and can rejoin 2009 :D

You could remove the doors (store them behind the armoires) and then install curtains on tension rods on the interior of each armoire/frame. If money is no issue (doubtful) you could buy replacement/white PAX doors at Ikea or source them on craigslist. Let us know what you end up doing...

Window film, definitely. Contact paper will be too much of a PITA to remove once you leave.

to expand on Orchid's idea, you could (if you are mechanically inclined) flip the doors around so that the mirrored part faces the clothes, so that when the doors are closed= plain door, and when you need it (aka when dressing and the doors are opened) mirrors...

Alas, I don't think the idea of flipping the mirrors to the inside will work, because the hinge hardware has to be on the inside of the door. You'd have to break the mirror...

Get it done professionally.....darkest film tint similar to what is used to tint the car windows..

i would kill to live in an 80's dance studio.

Here's a trick from Berlin, Germany: just take buttermilk to make the mirrors look mat. It's cheap and it's easy to apply as well as to remove.
You can apply it with a "painter#s roll" like you use for laque (I don't know the correct word for it). The buttermilk will smell a bit while it's drying, but the smell won't last long. And if you don't like the result, just whipe it away with water and soap.

You can use the "starch trick" to cover the doors with thin paper. I covered two windows in my studio with alternating squares of two different textured rice paper designs and it looks quite nice still after almost three years.

Wallpaper or fabric put up with wallpaper paste. Either could easily be removed with water and a straight razor blade.

I would suggest wallpaper too

No, wait, have just checked Portlandia's link and it's fab, do that!

Get a pair of leg warmers and a gigantic boom box, install a barre on one wall, and just go with it!

In all seriousness, I would probably look into window film. I saw quite a few styles at Lowes last weekend and someone upthread posted some links. You could leave one panel un-filmed to use as a full-length mirror if you wanted to, and cover up the rest.

The quick, smart solution is to replace the doors. Most of these systems have door choices. And you are in great luck if these wardrobes are Ikea and you have one nearby. That will make it relatively cheap and easy.

Another idea is to run track with floor to ceiling curtains in front of the armoires. You can get track from Ikea or KonnectInternational.com. To finish the project, you will need to make custom curtains so that they hang to the exact length. I made mine using heavy duty iron on fabric bonding (I don't know how to sew) and discount suiting fabric purchased online. You could also use Ikea unhemmed drapes and hem the bottoms to the exact length.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28955208@N05/3455293186/in/set-72157617367542131/

it's a bass drum.
and don't ever get rid of it alexandra. i sold my set 5 years ago and it's my only regret. never sell a musical instrument.

I like the idea of maybe cork and blackboard wall tiles. Affix them using a strong double sided tape and use Goo Gone with a razor for clean up when done. That way you can write yourself reminders, keep organized, post photos, etc. It doesn't even have to cover the whole mirror. The mirrored parts would frame the cork nicely.

I think using draperies is your best bet. You may need to get some drapery hardware custom made to be long enough and to have brackets to hold it out from the wall since your armoires don't look like they span the entire length of the room. I'd do several, more narrow panels so that they can be easily pushed aside for access, rather than just a couple of very wide panels. Since you won't need lining to protect against light, these can be made cheaply, or you can buy pre-made drapery panels of of ebay or from some other discount source.

I like the etched glass look one of the other posters mentioned. Here is another link:
http://www.windowfilmworld.com/etched_decals.htm

Bobbycat5, that's exactly what I was thinking! I would also kill to have that much storage in my bedroom...

I'm with insantiy_pepper: cut the collars out of your t-shirts, bring out the tights and channel your inner Flash Dance.

I like them :(

If those units are 39 1/4 inches wide, they're Pax Ikea cabinets. Doors can be replaced for $30-110 each...and some of them are on sale now!

What about some nice wrapping paper stuck on with repositionable spray mount? Then just peel it off and give the doors a clean when you leave.

I'd say remove the doors and create a wall of curtains.

Just wrap them with fabric and use self sticking velcro tape on the back of the doors, or the frosted glass film idea will work too.

-DanNYC

Along a totally different track:

Reposition them so they are not all in a row.

Or, rearrange the bedroom a bit to get rid of that large expanse of empty space. Which is, after all, what is lending to the dance studio feel, right?

Man, I wouldn't be getting rid of them.

BUT, I'm saying frosted contact paper is the best solution.

Hello! I posted this pesky problem-- thanks to everyone for your wonderful suggestions! I'm definitely going to go with the decorative window film. That's a really great idea; it's temporary, fairly inexpensive, and within my abilities. If I were better at sewing or had money to get them custom-made, I would go with the curtain idea, but alack, alas. I'll try the window film and let you know how it goes. Thanks, again!

I'd go for floor to ceiling curtains covering the whole wall. You'll create a lot of room for storage - you could put that vacuum cleaner behind the curtains, decorative boxes with stuff on top of the wardrobe, ... Good luck and let us see the result !

these wardrobes are from ikea. the pax system. the white doors that go with the system are very inexpensive. you could store the mirrored doors behind the wardrobes until you move out and then replace them.

I think wood grain contact paper is the way to go. You can find standard grade at home depot and professional grade at several online retailers!

Spray-on window frosting.

And if you're feeling a bit more ambitious, use removable contact paper or vinyl stickers to make designs, then spray the frosting over the whole thing and remove the stickers.

I think its much easier to hide glass doors with frosted window film than it is with spray.
Perry Jamal
frosted window film