Readers' Rooms: Keith's Glass Closet Doors

Longtime reader Keith wrote to us: Just a note on using glass closet doors as a design element. It would have been cheaper to flat out replace them with something else but I like how this turned out. This was totally custom but anyone can do it...

...I started with a royalty free photo-illustration that I bought from ~~Fotodisc.com~~ Photodisc.com. Then I had it converted to vector format by Fixbadart.com. They charged me something like $30, which compared to trying clean up the original file - with all of its nasty gradients - in Photoshop myself was dirt cheap and a no-brainer. Then I sent the artwork to ~~Onsitesystems.com~~ On-sitesystems.com who output it as laser-cut film and shipped it to me. Unlike the cheap vinyl clings you can get in any department store, their process only leaves the frosted shapes on the glass. The end result is a high end look that resembles frosted glass. It's somewhat tricky to install - and not easily removable - it can be removed but it takes hours and requires lots of razor blades and patience. If you're renting a place and will be there for a few years it's not a bad idea but removing it will destroy it and your investment.

Anyway here's the final result. Obviously I'm heavily into the Middle-Eastern / Central-Asian look but anyone wanting to do this is limited only by their imagination. And no, I don't own their stock or work for them...LOL.

Thanks, Keith!

It's absolutely gorgeous! I'm moving in with you Keith. I promise, I'm a good cook.

posted by dblitz1 on May 20th 2008 at 8:01am
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I LOVE IT!!

posted by Sleek on May 20th 2008 at 8:13am
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love it.

posted by olga on May 20th 2008 at 8:37am
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awesome awesome awesome!!!!!!!!!

posted by jenna on May 20th 2008 at 8:45am
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FYI, www.vectormagic.com is a great cheap source for quick vectors. You must pay for the versions without the vectormagic label embedded in them, but you can try it for free to see what your design would look like.

posted by scmtngirl on May 20th 2008 at 8:52am
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What a great solution for modifying mirror doors!

posted by Seaside on May 20th 2008 at 8:56am
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WOW! Creative, ingenious, individual, and needless to say an absolutely stunning result. You rock, sir.

posted by lookingupatleaves on May 20th 2008 at 9:20am
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Thats unbelievable...I would never have thought it wasn't actually etched glass. Looks way more expensive than it probably actually cost.

And very resourceful of you!

posted by rebecca326 on May 20th 2008 at 9:32am
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Onsitesystems does laser cutting? At that link? I'm confused. How much did that cost?

posted by Palmetto on May 20th 2008 at 10:32am
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Okay, backtracking to the original question in April, answered by Keith aka Boomer--

(and this should be a related link, by the way)
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/good-questions/sf-good-questions-how-can-i-camouflage-my-mirrored-closet-doors-048859

This is correct On-Site Systems:

http://www.on-sitesystems.com/

and the ready made film is about $60 a yard

posted by Palmetto on May 20th 2008 at 10:42am
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Fantastic!

posted by ami on May 20th 2008 at 12:27pm
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how difficult is it to clean the doors once the film is applied?

posted by dmstudio on May 20th 2008 at 1:23pm
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omg, that whole room is making me swoon!

posted by *heather leaf* on May 20th 2008 at 4:23pm
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Palmetto,

Thanks! (I actually prepped this as I was about to jump on a plane at JFK, and ran out of time... will fix the post as soon as I can.)

posted by leslie on May 21st 2008 at 10:34am
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