Upcycle An Old Closet Door Into Cute And Meaningful Home Decor

You replaced your louvered closet doors a while back. You kept the old doors because you just knew you could do something with them. Why waste all that good wood, right? Here's a creative idea to give new life to basic bifold closet doors with slats: Turn them into a contemporary photo display  by painting them, mounting said photos in cute tabletop picture frames, and slotting them by the stand between the louvers. All that's left is to lean the door against a wall where they'll get noticed.

If you don't have old doors sitting in the garage gathering dust, ask family and friends, peruse thrift stores and yard sales, or post a request in your community Buy Nothing or free-cycle groups. Because this DIY takes advantage of the gaps between the wooden slats, you could also use a louvered room divider or window shutters instead. If you have to buy something, though, it's not going to be cheap. A Kimberly Bay Traditional Louver Bi-Fold Closet Door costs about $104 and a SOFE Short Wooden Indoor Privacy Screen goes for around $90. But it may be worth the hit to your wallet if you commit to regularly switching out whatever you mount inside the photo frames.

You'll also need some interior paint or stain in your favorite hue and finish and some photo frames for the tabletop display. Use photo frames you already have, or measure the closet door before you buy any new ones to make sure that they fit within the width and length. Get a 2 pack of PECULA 5 x 7 Inch Black Picture Frames for about $6.

First, decide what you're going to adorn your door-turned-display board with. Print out your favorite family photos, either at home or via an online service — Mpix is easy to use, but any platform will work. Use this opportunity to make small photos look more expensive too by blowing them up larger or collaging them together. Alternatively, choose some of your kid's artwork or, if you're nifty with a digital or even a real paintbrush, make some artwork yourself. Whatever you pick, make sure it's sized to fit the frames you bought.

Whether you're using just one panel or keeping them together, you'll need to unscrew the hinges to separate the panels from one another and paint them separately. Wipe the doors clean with warm, soapy water and once dry, lightly sand them. You can prime and paint them using a can of interior paint, but be forewarned that the louvers can be challenging to cover completely with a brush. Using self-priming spray paint like Rust-Oleum 2X Ultra Cover or a similar product will save you time and result in a better finish. Aim for two coats applied less than an hour apart. 

Once the paint has cured — a process that takes up to 48 hours — reattach the hinges using your electric drill or a screwdriver if needs be. All that's left to do now is to lean the panel against the wall in your living room, guest room, or wherever you want it to take pride of place, slide the stand that supports the photo frames between each louvre, and adjust the frames so they sit straight.

There's no denying this simple closet door upcycle is a great way to declutter and organize old photos you're not ready to part with, or to brighten up a room with all that adorable kid's artwork. But it gets even better; there are near-endless ways to modify this DIY to better suit your existing interior decor or home display needs. One simple change is to mount the panels to the wall instead of leaning them against it, thereby creating easy, bespoke wall art for your hallway or living room feature wall. If you're really ambitious (and good at sourcing old closet doors), stagger panels of different sizes and colors across a wall to create a rustic statement display.

Prefer a maximalist aesthetic? Get eclectic and replace the matching picture frames with a jumble of any old frames you have lying around and cute ones you've picked up cheap from thrift stores or big box retailers. Alongside swapping out what's inside the frames, you can also switch out the frames themselves from time-to-time to refresh your display. Or, if you find frames too bulky for wall mounting (or just in general), ditch them in favor of clothespins or bare photos or art. 

You could also mix in other decor items with your frames, especially if you chose to use two or more closet door panels together. For example, hang modern farmhouse-style signs with inspirational phrases, antique iron fixtures, wicker baskets, plants in lightweight hook-able hanging planters, or even gift cards from a recent birthday or festive holiday.