apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Paint them to match the wall.

I have a large closet that I pulled the doors off and replaced with curtains - I will say that it isn't the most satisfactory solution, after a year. Despite the curtains being wire mounted so they are flush with the wall and extend beyond the opening, they still allow a lot of dust into the closet, which I discovered when I pulled out a summer jacket at the end of the winter.


If these were *my* doors, I'd put a wallpaper on them, and add some kind of edge protection to keep the edges nice despite the use they'll get. If there is room between the doors, I'd put an oval mirror on each door and paint an ornate frame around it, give the room some baroque glam!

I like the wallpaper option. I have never done it, but with the concern of wear-and-tear in mind, is it possible to wrap the paper around to the inside of the doors to avoid having peeling wallpaper on the front corners?

you could paint the edges and wallpaper the center.

How about painting them, and then stencil a pattern all over? It would look like wall paper and wouldn't peel.

Curtis, please pick-up the white courtesy phone!

ha ha ha, jon_b! that sounds like a much better idea - i think they should go with yours! plus, it's authentic and no one else has it. plus it's very personal because you did it yourself.

I also recommend painting them to match the walls so they blend in.

You could also cover them in a warm burlap. I did this to my closet doors and it couldn't have been easier or cheaper. I just used a staple gun and it took all of about an hour for 4 doors. And I found the burlap for $2/yd on Bridge St. off the Fulton Mall in Brooklyn. Even if you end up hating the look, you'll have wasted little time or money checking it out.

If you do wallpaper you can seal the edges with a decoupage medium. This is really the technique you'd be using, anyway--decoupaging the doors with wallpaper.

Could the wallpaper be covered in some sort of sealant to protect it? It might make it shiny, but is that so bad? Better than grubby fingerprints and tears.

Jon_B -

I'm literally laughing out loud, although I can't quite bear the initials for it.

Actually, that baroque mirror idea sounds nice if you say it fast, but would only work on the outermost one of the two, since the mirror on the backmost one would get in the way of the operation of that front one.

Without seeing more of the room, I really don't know what would look best, but in this particular picture, those doors don't look all that bad to me as they are. In fact the flitches (the back-to-back matched grains) on that left one look kind of nice.

So, it just depends on what kind of feeling you want. I have to say that I truly do NOT unconditionally recommend stenciling across the board. Most places that I've seen, I haven't loved it. If you have a VERY good eye, and a lot of confidence, and know that you know that you know what you're doing, then please do it.

I absolutely unequivocally love the work of Olga, whose place has been shown on here a couple of times, and which features a flawless sense of where and what to stencil.

When I do stencils, it tends to be to try to achieve a very specific wallpaper kind of look. If you did that, I think it would be good to carry that onto at least that whole wall.

I really do agree with Maxwell's idea of some scenic like Jane & Darko's, but if you're afraid of it being a-frayed at the edges, what if you ordered TWO of those photo murals, and cut them insuch a way that you were able to wrap it around the edges and over onto the back like someone else suggested with regular wallpaper?

If it's a smaller size room you could paint, use some molding strips and mirror. I wouldn't do mirror on the entire thing or it might look to 80's (unless that's your aesthetic in which case cool, cool).

Anything to make them more unique really - stock doors can drive you crazy some times, eh!

decoupage

Replace them. Put those in storage if you're renting and just hang them back up when you move.

Buy some doors you *like*.

Closet doors aren't expensive. You can get nice basic six-panel doors at Lowes for $35 bucks each.

That's what I did here (the original doors were dark dated 80s crap):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7878321@N03/500132478/

It's literally a 15 minute project to hang them - just take off the hanging hardware from the old doors (they're usually just held on with screws), and use the same hardware on your new doors.

Or if you really want to make a statement you can spend more and get really nice ones.

On the HGTV show "Color Splash" they made a feature out of closet doors the owners hated by replaceing them with glas insert doors and then put lights in the closet - which you can accomplish with $10-15 worth of rope light.

I painted my doors which look just like yours. After only a month of so of sliding back and forth there's a big line of scratched off paint at the top of one door. I like the idea of burlap. Otherwise, if you do decide on painting, try an extra sealant. That could work.

Have you considered having them laminated with wood veneer? It would have to be professionally done, but there are som any nice veneers to choose from.

if you don't like the doors, why don't you remove them and replace them with thick frosted glass?

Chalkboard paint, definately. Then you can change the design
weekly depending on your mood, and you can even put telephone numbers and to-do lists. But I'd start with a big "Good Morning Sunshine" to make your day.

If you're excited about the wallpapering, just add knobs or handles! No worry about grubbiness (if you USE the handles, that is...) and you can still change the wallpaper on a whim.

For me, though, I'd be much more likely to replace yours with "real" doors on hinges or to paint the existing ones (maybe in high-gloss paint). Somehow, the idea of making the closet doors the focal point (by having pattern/color there when your walls are plain) just rubs me the wrong way. I'd rather just make them neutral on draw the eye to the art, bedding, etc.

Perhaps - since the sliding metal "track" isn't the most attractive thing, either - you could simply keep the doors but hang long sheers on a rod mounted above? That way you won't see the plywood you don't like, but you still won't see the visual noise of the closet's content, and you're adding a softening agent... maybe even the suggestion of an extra window if you match the sheers (or whatever fabric) to your existing window treatment.

Hello, everyone! Thanks so much for all the comments... I just got home and am catching up on them now:

1) I'd happily replace them, but unfortunately, it seems to cost an arm and a leg, because the closet is a rather unusual size.

2) Okay, message received: no staining, and definitely no stenciling! I think we'll try to go with the wallpaper solution, and keep everyone updated. (Now to find someone to help me wallpaper for the first time...)

3) Any pictures anywhere of this burlap solution? It'd be intriguing to try out as well :)

As always, thank you to the AT-ers for some much needed help!

~ Rina

I'd paint the doors a light background color then free hand the silhouette of a tree in a darker color.