Turn An Unused Door In Your Home Into A Stunning Finished Feature

Whether we rent or own our homes, there's always that one eyesore of a feature that we haven't quite gotten around to solving yet. It could be a jiggly doorknob, a wonky table leg, or even a closet in dire need of a paint job. Of course, we can fix almost anything around the house on the cheap with a few items, but there are times when a simple fix-it job calls for an aesthetically pleasing make-over as well. Such is the case of turning an unsightly and unused door into a striking accent wall.

A simple slat wall panel can be used to create a beautiful accent wall and hidden door. Plan for enough slat wall panels to cover the entirety of the door as well as the spaces around it. You'll then mount them to the surfaces with a strong construction glue like Loctite Construction Adhesive before nailing them down with a nail gun for extra security. This DIY contributes an interesting textural layer to any space, and is a fairly affordable way to turn a doorway eyesore into eye candy. You can use this hack to disguise a closet, laundry room, or mudroom door around the house. 

Before starting the project, remember that preparation is key. Remove any borders, trims, and baseboards around the door and walls. This will keep your panel boards level, thus avoiding one of the biggest mistakes when DIYing a wood accent wall. Measure and cut your panels to fit on and around the door. Make sure that the panels are cut to accommodate your door's hardware, if any, and that the slats neatly align with each other.

For materials, we recommend using acoustic slat wood wall panels like these Wood Slat Acoustic Panels from Home Depot. In addition to their sound-absorbing qualities, these panels are backed by foam or felt, which come in handy for easily accommodating the hinges to facilitate your door's smooth opening and closing. To do so, position the wood panel next to the door hinges and trim away a space for the hardware in the foam backing with a sharp utility knife. Once your door is completely covered with the slats, you can glue and nail the rest of the panels to equal widths on both sides of your entryway, spanning them from floor to ceiling to create the illusion of a door hidden within an accent wall.

If wood paneling is not to your liking, you can tweak this DIY to create an accent wall and design that fits your style. The easiest way would be to paint the entire wall where the doorway rests in a striking color. This results in an accent wall feature that allows the door itself to melt into the background.

Taking cues from other accent wall ideas, you could add wainscoting details to flow seamlessly across the walls and door, using these convenient Coengwui Peel and Stick Wall Molding Trims or more elaborate wall panels like the Ekena Millwork Ashford Molded Scalloped Wainscot. You could also cover the door with any wallpaper or textile of your liking, exploring different options with textures, patterns, and colors. Further, if you're feeling particularly crafty, you could use this opportunity to flex your artistic abilities and paint a mural over your door and wall.