Doors can be so much more. If you've ever lived with a hollow core door (like most of us) you know what I'm talking about. Even if you can't have something like this secret library door, by Peter Pennoyer Architects, there are other ways to do it up. Here is some inspiration:
1. Cover Them: With starch and water, you can "wallpaper" fabric to any surface. When you're sick of it, simply pull it off. That's your cue to get giddy from all the possibilities.
2. Camouflage Them: Painting the door, trim and wall the same color cleverly masks a not-so-pretty door. Spice it up with an 80s inspired mural and there is now "art" where there was previously only "door."
3. Wallpaper Them: With some leftover wallpaper, BOOM. Mini accent wall.
4. Paint Them: This is a quick no-brainer. Choose one solid color, or an inspired pattern, and go to town on that hollow core door.
5: Chalk Them Up: Okay, this is really the same as painting. But it's especially entertaining for such notes as "I live with stupid."
6. Accessorize Them: One ceiling medallion and some hardware later, you have a formerly blah door that looks super custom and expensive.
7. Stud Them: Apply brass nail heads in any design you can dream up and do. But promise me that you'll buy them in strips vs. individual nails. Otherwise, you won't have time to brag about your finished project.
8: Slide Them: Attaching existing doors with sliding barn hardware saves room and creates an new architectural detail. Also perfect for farmer and wife role play in the evening.
9. Upholster Them: This might require a little more time and energy if you do it on your own, but a padded entryway is the shizznit. Let's take a moment just to admire that zebra stripe door, shall we?
10. Fold Them: And the pièce de résistance: I love this set of doors most. A leap of faith and some creative finagling is required here, but I believe in you.
(Images: 1. Peter Pennoyer Architects 2. How About Orange; 3. David Bilborough via Cadenced; 4. Anthropologie; 5. Wary Meyers; 6. Aimee Herring/Living in a Nutshell via Design*Sponge; 7. Martha Stewart.com; 8. Jeffrey Hirsch for New York Social Diary; 9. Eleanor Cummings; 10. New York Social Diary; 11. Γιώργος Κορδάκης via 79 Ideas)
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Our house has all it's original 5 panel doors. Most of them aren't in great shape but they have so much character that I love them nonetheless.
What do you guys think of the blue color on #6? It's the exact color I picked out for my front door (dark red/mixed brick house). Too dark?
Jess13. I love that color. I do not think it is too dark.
Thanks :)
That door really inspired me to get a plan together to add trim to my solid but flat interior doors. It's so easy to add trim to an existing, good quality door and paint white than to buy a new hollow slab and try to force it to fit in a 60 year old frame!
I agree with Kathryn1123, Jess13. It sounds like it'll be lovely.
I really needed this post. My condo has a hollow core door that doesn't block any noise from the hallway and I was wondering if I should treat it in an attempt to buffer the sound,
I would like to take a minute and say that I loved the way this post was written. It put a smile on my face.
You left out add trim/moldings on them! I just did this to all my boring apartment closet doors and it really makes the place look a lot more upscale!
Great post! And I agree with @Andreasantos about the writing!
The one I like best is the simplest, #2. That hidden library door is awesome, though!
Thanks for the laughs!
"Farmer and wife role playing?" Hilarious.
Excellent writing. It's like I wrote it myself!
Number 6 is genius. I guess you'd need a pressure latch? I may try that one.
Any ideas for where to buy vintage/antique doors like the ones in #8? Love those!
@LadyJanea try local salvage shops for finding antique doors but you can also make a faux antique door yourself with some moulding, sandpaper and paint!
Oh, why did you just post this now?
I have just bought 32 feet of 1-inch molding to put rectangular panels on my boring flesh-colored flat metal front door. I could have just done some fun painting or wallpapered it. Oh, I don't know. I still like my original plan but looking at the job it entails, simply painting it looks waaay easier.
Agree with all the comments on the great writing! You literally had me saying out loud to myself: "Who wrote this? They're hilarious!" And I enjoyed the post, too.
One of the best posts in a while! LOLs all round.
I've always wanted a secret door to a secret room...
I would add: hang art on internal doors where you will see it a lot - i have a great typographical map of NYC that I have hung on the outside of my bathroom door, because that side of the door faces directly into my kitchen. When the bathroom door is shut, it acts as an extra piece of wall in the kitchen and so looks great with art on it rather than just a bland white rental door!
Love the way this was written - warmly, happily tongue-in-cheek!
Does anyone know the brand and color name for door #6? Also great door knob.
We had a friend who mounted bookshelves over her apartment's open doorways. The shelf brackets were custom-made to include curtain rod holders and she hung tapestry curtains.
Not only did they look lovely....They helped even out the apartment's wild temperature swings. They gave privacy to visitors guesting in the other room without confusing the home's cats. And even the landlord was happy because there were no unauthorizes changes to undo at the end of the lease.
Wow!
This is very tempting. Rather well written.
Our doors are vintage/original to the house and not plain hollow-core, but I still love some of the examples above - very creative!