Is Your Attic Door In The Middle Of A Hallway? Don't Ignore It, Decorate It

Functional items in homes are not always the prettiest features, with elements like electrical boxes, outlet switches and access panels often leaving you scrambling to find a way to hide them, disguise them, or cover them up. Attic doors, which can often be found in the middle of hallways on the ceiling, are one of these elements that grant important access, but can look odd, awkward, and attractive. There are many great ideas for dealing with this unsightly element, involving everything from peel and stick moldings to wallpaper, molding and millwork, and paneling, all of which are easy to install and budget-friendly. 

These treatments are a great solution for an overhead access door or for other small doorways that grant entrance to attics, basements, and crawl spaces. In some cases, they draw attention as an architectural element, in others, they diminish the visual impact and help the doors blend in entirely with what's around them. 

One of the simplest and most transformative ways to deal with these panels is to make them resemble just another architectural accent on the ceiling. This is easily done by adding strip moldings on the door and around it. Paint your attic door or access panel the same shade as the ceiling or wall around it, then add molding to the center of the flat door to give it a more polished look. You can add multiple frames inside the door or a thicker frame around the outer recess it sits in. You could also use peel-and-stick silicone moldings if you're renting. 

For a more ornate feel, add other millinery elements like scrolls, medallions, or floral accents in the center or around the edges of the door or access hole. This will make the panel look more intentional and polished than a plain bare panel and access hole. You can also get rid of that unsightly attic door string by employing an attractive metal O-ring opened by pull-down hook stored elsewhere.

For a farmhouse or cottage style feel, you can add wood paneling to the door, either alone or as part of a fully paneled ceiling surrounding it and helping it blend in. Use interlocking shiplap, or large strips of plywood affixed with wood glue and nails to add garden or barn door flavor to your panel, which you can augment with metal hardware that gives it a rustic design. You could also use garden trellis or picket fence panels to add additional dimension to the door.

For a more modern aesthetic, use wooden dowels or thinner strips of lumber to create a vertical fluted effect. You could also use 4-inch planks cut from plywood to create a luxurious herringbone look on a budget for the door that you can stain to match your décor and other wood features in your home. Or give the panel a stunning makeover using jumbo craft sticks for a similar vibe.

Another great way to decorate or disguise your ceiling panel is to cover it with another material. Great options include wallpaper, decorative peel and stick murals, and hand-painted details. Make it resemble the Sistine Chapel ceiling frescos or an oil painting. Peel and stick wallpaper is a great way to cover up an attic door in a rental-friendly way. Or add a poster over the door that will look like a framed piece of art on the wall or ceiling.

To add additional texture, you could also cover it in fabric, woven natural materials, caning, and other decorative elements, like a faux wrought iron framing or window film for a stained glass panel effect. Or create a simple frame from 2 by 4s and add a glass panel with LED lights or battery operated-twinkle lights behind to create a faux skylight.