The Chic Closet DIY Idea For Your Unattractive Sliding Doors

If you have traditional sliding closet doors, you might be tired of only being able to see half of your storage space at a single time. Or, you may be sick of finagling with the imperfect door tracks that can often malfunction. Lucky for you, with this unique DIY hack, you can ditch those builder-grade closet doors and have a simple, chic set of custom closet doors instead. 

The first step in the project is removing the sliding doors, which can sometimes take a good amount of elbow grease. If you want to make sure this DIY is renter-friendly and won't jeopardize your deposit, be sure to store the original doors somewhere safe and remove them without damaging them. Check the bottom of your door frames for some kind of base that holds the doors in place, and unscrew it so that the doors are able to come out of the track. Then, examine how the doors are connected to the top of the frame. They likely have wheels holding them in place that you can easily pop out to remove the entire door. 

Once you have a clean slate, measure the size of your closet's frame. Split the width in half to figure out how wide your doors should be. For example, if the frame is 60 inches wide and 80 inches tall, you'll want to make two doors that are a little smaller than 30 by 80 inches. That way, they can cover the space but still open and close freely. Build your doors with some simple wood you can get from your local hardware store (1-by-2-inch boards are likely to be the best option). Use a saw and drill to screw each piece together, and add a few support pieces throughout the middle that will keep the door feeling sturdy. You can paint or stain the wood after building these frames if you want a pop of color or for the doors to match your room's aesthetic.

Then, select a type of fabric to add to the wooden frames. TikTok user Diya DIYs used burlap fabric on the door frames to give the project a chic, bohemian look. But, you can use just about any fabric you like, as long as it's thick enough to withstand being stapled or fabric glued to wood. You should also consider if you want transparent or opaque doors because there are benefits to each. Using hinges and screws, attach your new doors to the closet so that they can easily open and close.