Wondering how to cover a closet without doors? I have the perfect affordable solution for an oversized or undersized closet opening without doors.
This is a vintage picture of Whitney’s room circa 2018.
It’s actually a picture of her doorless closet.
The closet doesn’t have a door because she lost part of her closet to the bathroom renovation of 2018. You can see the before and after of the bathroom here.
It’s a challenging space because it’s too small for a folding door and too big for a standard door. So for several months it just looked like this.
Then? We originally fixed the closet door solution with a barn door. It seemed like a brilliant solution at the time. The door slid back and forth between the closet and the bathroom and was amazing and beautiful and extra barn-like.
But now?
It’s 2023.
And Whitney requested an update. She wanted something new. Something different. Something a little less barn-like.
At first, I was worried I couldn’t fix it. Good thing she has a mother who is a little creative when it comes to challenging door dilemmas in a hundred-year-old home. So we took down the barn door and redid the closet.
And now it looks like this.
How To Cover a Closet Without Doors
Yep.
I covered it with a curtain.
And not just any curtain. I did my curtain research and found a white curtain that’s also a blackout curtain. So it’s super thick and really heavy and insulated and it’s 30% off right now (for as long as they have the coupon) for a set of 2.
They come in TONS of different colors and I ordered the curtains in 96″ long to hang above the edge of the closet opening.
You can see the curtains here.
One quick tip when you are hanging curtains like this.
Always, always, ALWAYS hang them higher (and at least 4-5 inches) outside of your closet or window.
This way the closet or window always looks bigger than it is.
You can use this tip to fix off-center windows or windows that are smaller or just plain awkward windows. Do not let your window (or in this case the closet) define your decor.
Think bigger and faux out your closets and windows.
To hang the curtains?
I used my go-to gold curtain rods that according to Amazon I have purchased 17 times for a variety of projects.
And my go-to curtain rings (such an amazing deal with a set of 40 for under $14).
You just clip the curtain rings onto the curtains like this.
Do NOT skimp on the curtain rings. The more that you use, the more elevated the curtain looks. These curtain rings slide perfectly on the rod for easy closing and opening.
You can see the curtain rods here.
You can see the curtain rings here.
Here’s a close-up of the curtain so you can see how thick it is.
If you choose this as a solution, I would definitely choose a thicker curtain so it completely disguises the closet. There’s a reason why we close off the closet and you want to be able to close the closet door even if it’s curtains.
One tip. Make sure you steam out these curtains if you order them. When I unpacked them they were wrinkled and the wrinkles didn’t come out even after they hung up for a couple of days. Once I used a steamer on the wrinkles, they came right out.
You can see the steamer I use on the regular here.
In awesome news, once the wrinkles came out, the curtains didn’t ever re-wrinkle.
From this to this.
The curtains are the perfect solution for an awkward opening like this and they are so much prettier than a closet door.
Here’s a peek behind the closet curtains.
Now the outside (and the inside) look a little better than in 2018.
I think 2023 is going to be an amazing year.
disclosure: affiliate links are used in this post.
K, I would love to see a post on using the steamer. I have one now but have never used it. I'm feeling intimidated by a small device.
I splurged on a full size stand steamer and it has been life changing! I use it all the time while the small one always sat in the closet.
We had to use curtains for doors in our house (because we finished the trim ourselves.) The first door that went up was the bathroom door!!!Lol
Hi. I have another couple of tips I use with inexpensive curtains to elevate them: (1) I use drapery pins on the back of them, and attach rings to the pins - I guess you could clip to the pins if you wanted and you wouldn't see the clip part, and (2) I open up the hems and add weights to the hems so that the corners don't flair and the drapes hang straight down when they're open.
Love this!
Susan, that’s a Great Tip..thanks for sha.
I love this solution. Did you know that curtains that hang in the interior of your house, usually in a doorway have a special name? They are called portieres. Remember Gone with the Wind and the green portieres that Scarlett made into a dress.
I think curtains are a more practical solution as opposed to barn doors. If it can be pulled off in an area, pocket doors are my favorite--a little more private, and they don't take up floor or wall space. That being said, I would have opted for curtains here ,too!
Great idea and pretty too, thanks.
Great idea! Thanks for the link to the curtains. I am redoing a bedroom and will be needing white room darkening curtains. I will definitely give these a try, as well as the steamer you recommend.
I'm happy you could please your daughter. I like barn doors though. I dont have any so maybe I shouldnt have an opinion. It looks good.
There ya go, KA! Perfect solution for this particular dilemma. Well done - looks great.
I did this in my daughter's bedroom when she was young. Her bifold closet door kept falling off the track and we were afraid she would get seriously hurt because the doors were so heavy. I did not do a good job with them. They were sheer panels from Ikea and looked awful. After she grew up and moved out, we replaced the door. Now, we have a large hall closet on our 2nd floor that used to be our laundry room. One water leak years ago and it got moved to the basement. Now it is my cleaning closet. Houses all my vacuums, brooms, and cleaning supplies. The bifold doors were damaged so we removed them and have not replaced them yet. I may do this instead. We have a small upstairs hallway with 4 bedroom doors and a bathroom door. I don't need more doors. I need something different. White drapes would soften the area and be easier to install and maintain. Thanks for the idea!
Pretty solution and cost effective!
This is maybe a stupid question but why did you put the books In the closet?
Great idea! I found that pressure rods are great with curtains for apartments! They hold up well and they don't damage the door frame or walls.