Upgrade Your Boring Bifold Closet Door With This Aesthetic Doorknob Hack

Once you become deeply invested in home design and decor (with the literal investments to match), even the little things become big improvement opportunities. While something like the perfect shade of paint can make a sweeping difference in your space, the tiny touches are what truly imbue it with personality. And those bifold doors covering your closets are an excellent canvas for creative upgrades.

Odds are, the bifold doors in your home at this very moment are still studded with the utilitarian knobs they came with. And that generic hardware, innocuous as it may be, is a telltale sign of inattention. Fortunately, replacing it could barely be any easier, and you can even create the illusion of a more cinematic set of double doors in some cases.

We first spied the trick on Nadine Stay. In the event you have a single bifold door, which is to say two panels that triangle out toward the room, you can eschew the dinky knob and affix a pair of more substantial looking dummy door knobs or handles side by side instead. These non-latching pulls are as minimally functional as the original, with a more distinguished finish that looks just like chic double doors.

The doorknobs you select for this DIY make all the difference. This Sorwduerm set – a nice option for white bifold doors — has a faux antique finish that adds a bit of interest. On the other hand, if your closet door uses a deeper, moody hue, these sleek gold dummy doorknobs from Haidms are sure to add a lovely contrast. While your options are many, be sure to consider the color of your bifold doors, any trim color, and your room's decor. 

Wider closets that use two bifold doors may not be as suitable for this treatment, as the effect won't be as convincing; the seams that allow the doors to fold out on each side are too obvious a tell to masquerade as any other variety. But you can still improve their factory-made pulls with fancier handles. And once it's lovely on the outside, you might feel more of an incentive to organize what's inside your closet, too.

There are also plenty of DIY carpentry projects circulating the internet with instructions for how to rebuild bifold doors into doubles, which require much more time, equipment, and space. However, for anyone who prefers quick fixes and darling hardware over power tools and toil, this simple door knob hack makes a huge impact with minimal fuss.