About five weekends ago I did a little foyer makeover but there was something missing—enter our new DIY salvaged door:
I couldn’t help but share a little preview on my instagram while staining it on Saturday…
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Materials list
- 2×8′ sheets of maple wood veneer
- Cabinet grade plywood (ripped down to 4″ strips)
- Contact cement
- Wood stain
Plain door Before
There’s not a lot of sources for real vintage doors around here, and the ones I do find are either not the right size or style, or would need too many mods to fit, or they’re just too expensive.
The existing door was one of those cheap-o hollow core synthetic wood deals… and it was pretty beat up. You can really see the fake wood grain texture here…
If you have one of those old school plain wood doors it would be ideal for this project, assuming you could sand down the stain a bit. Because mine wasn’t real wood, unfortunately I couldn’t strip & sand the paint off. That meant I had to face my worst nightmare again… wood veneer.
Cut veneer with a sharp utility knife
If you saw my post about my first attempt at this, you’ll understand why I hate it so much. Although to be fair, it’s the contact cement I hate—not the veneer.
Fortunately, I only needed veneer in the centers of the door so there was minimal cutting involved. I just trimmed the length with a sharp utility knife (it didn’t have to be exact at all since the edges would be covered by wood).
Apply contact cement liberally
This time I used a LOT of contact cement. Two solid coats.
Attach the veneer sheet
And I waited 20 minutes before applying the veneer.
And it worked.
I thought I was going to have to veneer the inside edge, but I started sanding and realized this piece was actually real wood (score!) So I just stripped & sanded the paint off.
After veneering both sides, I brought the door inside of the house to adjust to the climate. On my last attempt, my table had sat in the garage for 2 days and after I brought it inside it was ruined, so the temperature shift definitely had something to do with it. I thought if I brought it inside right away, it would have a chance.
Keep in a climate controlled area while drying
That evening around midnight, I checked on it and was horrified to see that it had started bubbling! Not as bad as my console table, but still… I was so bummed. I smoothed it down as best as I could and called it a night, expecting to see the bubbles come back by morning. But surprisingly… I woke up and it was completely smooth.
Not sure what happened there, but I didn’t want to take any more chances so I decided to finish this project inside…
Back in the garage, I had plywood strips cut to 4″. I bought a sheet of cabinet grade plywood at Lowe’s ($30) and had them cut it for me. I would have done it myself, but the sheet was too big to fit in my car so I let them do it.
Let me tell you… those workers don’t care about your project as much as you do, so they’re just going to run your board through the cutter as fast as they can and you’re going to end up with a lot of crooked pieces.
I only needed about 7-8 boards, so I set aside the straightest ones to use for this project.
Use an arbor bit to cut a door handle opening
I started with one of the vertical pieces that ran along the outside edge where the door handle would be. After cutting the length to size, I traced inside the door hole and used an arbor around the same size to cut it out:
Attach longest plywood strips
Then I lined it back up on the door and used 1″ finishing nails every several inches to attach my piece:
And the first piece was on!
Up went the next one…
Attach horizontal plywood strips
Then I measured and cut my horizontal strips. I went with 6 which appears to be standard for old doors.
Then I flipped it over and repeated the process:
Stain door
And finally, it was time for stain.
I used a blend of Minwax’s Dark Walnut combined with touches of Rustoleum’s Driftwood and Weathered Gray. There was no real method to this… I just dipped my sponge in and spread it around however I thought looked best. I intended for it to look weathered so I wasn’t aiming for perfection.
Tip: use wood conditioner first for more even coverage!
Lightly sand to age wood
Then I took some 60 grit sandpaper and roughed it up until I was happy with the results.
Adjust and reinstall door casing trim
Before rehanging it, we had to deal with this door casing. Because I made the door wider, these inside pieces of trim had to be pushed back so the door would latch properly.
We removed the strips…
It was pretty rough looking under there, so I sanded everything down while Brad removed the old nails.
Before putting them back on, the door went back on the hinges…
Then I stepped inside the closet with my air compressor and flashlight, shut the door, lined the casing strips back up and nailed them in.
Finished result
A bit of caulk & paint later, and this project is done!
And here’s the new light in action:
I love the way it warms up the space.
One day I’ll give the inside of this closet a makeover…
Here’s the view from the entrance to the kitchen:
And reflecting in from the mirror…
Looking for more DIY door makeovers? Try these tutorials!
- Plain to paneled door upgrade
- The easiest DIY flat panel door upgrade
- DIY rustic barn door
- DIY X-trim sliding door
- Simple closet door X-trim
Kristi says
LOVED your entry makeover and I just adore this door! What a perfect way to add even more character and personality to the space! Super excited to share it with my favorites from the week this Friday!
Jenna Sue says
I actually do—thanks for the reminder! That's a great idea, I'll have to stop in to see if they have those.
Kimberly Smith says
I scored a truck load of Very old doors some 5 panel and several like your kitchen door from Habitat for $ 1.00 each 🙂 One week I got sinks for $5.00 each 🙂 4 deep Stainless steel (deep),2 Corian,and one Antique Farmhouse sink ($3.00). I Love Habitat restore 🙂
Yancey@Ysquaredlife says
The door looks GREAT! Do you have a Habitat for Humanity Restore near you? They always have the old wood hollow core doors that you could sand and stain and add your plywood to, and for probably much less than the veneer. Just a thought.
Anonymous says
I love the look of your new house! Great job on the door.
Jen (House of Ruby Jean) says
Your entry way looks amazing! Great job!
Kat@Home. Made. Interest. says
OMG, I'm so glad you said that about the cutting at Lowes. I had to buy the same cabinet grade plywood for my bookcase project and I had Home Depot cut it for me. I finally had to get a manager because every piece was about an inch shorter at 1″ than the other. Glad it wasn't just me ;). Your door looks great! I love checking in to see how your how remodel is coming along 🙂
Ann Koehler says
Love the door! We remodeled one of our upstairs bathrooms last year and changed out the hollow core builder grade (from 1964) doors to a 5 paneled door that looks just like yours except mine is painted white. I love it. We are now remodeling the master bathroom and bedroom and are changing out the bathroom, bedroom and two metal bi-fold closet doors to 5 paneled doors. Slowly, we will be changing all of the doors in the house to 5 paneled doors. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! I can't wait to see your next project!
Jenna Sue says
Nope, no problems at all! I'm not sure if there's a standard door thickness, but the original door was pretty thin and I think most handles have some leeway so it will fit a variety of doors. And you can always just use longer screws if that's the only problem.
Sarah S says
So beautiful! I absolutely LOVE how this turned out!
Katie {Little House of Four} says
The door looks amazing! I love the color and molding and I'm so glad the veneer worked out for you this time!
Jedi Mama says
I wish I had some of the thoughts that must run through your brain. Because you must lay awake at night in bed and think, “You know… I hate that closet door SO DADGUM MUCH, but if we used contact cement and wood veneers, I think we could make it look fantastic, for cheap dollars.” And then your brain probably goes through the entire process of going from UGLY DOOR to HOLLYWOOD DOOR, right before you fall asleep. MY brain has a few thoughts at night in bed, too. Mostly it's things like, “Crud. I never switched the wet clothes from the washer to the dryer!” I wish we were neighbors, you and me. I'd be knocking on your door constantly and saying things like, “I brought you a hot cup of Starbucks' goodness, and I was wondering if you have any fresh ideas for redecorating the mantle on my fireplace this morning!” As always, I love your little project here. The door looks fantastic. *CLAP, CLAP, CLAP, CLAP, CLAP, CLAP!!!!*
Sandi says
I love that door! I've been thinking about doing something similar. Did you have any problems putting the door knob back on with the increased thickness? That's the only thing stopping me right now.
Anonymous says
I love your idea. It looks so warm. It reminds me of the Craftsman and Bungalow doors my mom grew up in Los Angeles areas. I don't know why they stopped making Craftsman and Bungalow houses and doors anymore. They're so beautiful. I'm a CA native, but I reside in Texas for almost 6 years now. I grew up in houses full of dull and plain interior doors except front doors just like your front doors. You could do the same thing to those bedroom doors if you're up for another cement contact project. 🙂
Roxy says
I'd love to see a DIY on the fireplace mantel, but you definitely deserve a break if you need one 🙂
I love the lamp btw, it looks really great.
Greetings from Germany! 🙂
Valerie says
Looks great! As I was reading through this I was definitely wondering when we'll get to see makeover action on the rest of the house so I love how the post ended. I can't wait!