Before & After: One Smart Way to Add Some Simple Shaker Style
Jennifer had this plain, never-been-painted, oddball-sized slab door underneath the stairs in her living room. Since it’s located directly across from the couch, she saw that uninspired door every time she looked up. It was so boring, she even forgot to take a “before” photo, but you can imagine what it looked like from her Photoshop job up above. She decided to take that basic door and turn it into something utterly charming.
She took inspiration from Jenna Sue Designs and planned out a simple-yet—modern four-panel Shaker door.
I used some one side finished 1/4 inch plywood we had in the basement that was left over from another project. It was probably thicker than what I needed but I can’t resist making something out of nothing or, in this case, something out of scraps. If you don’t have a pile of extra plywood hanging around you can always buy a nice thin piece at the hardware store, and if you go to one of the big box variety you can even have them cut it all up for you.
She took the door off its hinges to make it easier to work with, then glued and nailed the various wood pieces into place. Once they were dry and secure, she used wood filler to hide all the nail holes and to fill the seams where the horizontal boards met the vertical ones. The next step was sanding, then a single coat of primer, followed by a couple coats of Benjamin Moore’s Simply White.
We chose to go with a magnet to hold the door closed instead of a regular doorknob because then we could use a nice simple-yet-slightly-rustic black door handle to finish it off. Though now that I’m looking at it I think we need to do something about those gold hinges.
Hinges aside, Jennifer is so happy with the results, and loves how this little bit of added architectural detail elevates her living room. Thanks so much for sharing Jennifer!
For all the photos and details about the project, head over to Jennifer Squires’ blog and read all about it.