Have you been to a salvage yard or junk store lately?
They really like their stuff.
I mean really really like it.
I’ve seen stacks of windows and doors and architectural pieces left out in the rain and worn and tired and rusted with giant holes in them that look like they are destined for a life of gloom and misery…..
…..with a price tag higher than the Hope diamond.
I think they charge extra for chippy and rickety.
That’s why you need to pack your bags and move to Kentucky.
Around here they don’t charge for rickety….
….they tie it up with a bow and deliver it to your house for free.
Like these old doors.
I have stacks of them. Left over from other people’s remodels and my remodels and old junk piles. They are a dime a dozen around here.
The challenge isn’t getting an old door, it’s figuring out what to do with them.
So we used a little imagination and a saw and a few doors from our door pile and made a folding screen.
First we cut the doors in half length wise with a saw.
Each of the panels in the screen is half a door.
We used two doors for this project. I’ve seen a screen made from whole doors before, but I was worried it might be too heavy and that I should save some of those doors for future projects.
We alternated the panels and attached the doors together with three sets of hinges.
One at the top, the middle and the bottom.
We used a total of 9 hinges for the project.
To add a little function to the folding screen, I made some simple hooks from spoons.
To make the hooks, simply flatten the spoon with a rubber mallet and bend the end over a dowel rod.
Next, I glued them onto the doors with Elmer’s ProBond Advanced.
I also added shelving to the doors as well.
Each shelf is set of two brackets I bought from a home improvement store.
We just added a piece of wood for the top stained to match and gardening supplies.
That’s it.
I left the doors just as I found them.
Extra chippy with cracks and a few dents and scrapes.
I thought I could leave them out in the rain for a couple years….
….and then sell the screen and put my children through college. 🙂
PS I still have stacks of doors. Any project ideas would be greatly appreciated. 🙂
This project was designed in a collaboration with Elmer’s ProBond Advanced.
All opinions on salvage yard and junk and glue are completely my own.
Please see my disclosure page for more information.
These are beautiful! Let the old chippy door hunt commence!! ;)
Karrianne, I picture, you asked for idea, splitting doors 1/2 and turning on their side making a hall way bench with padded seat and using off white material with single blue stripe on it...then be able to open for storage...of course using the white doors would look really nice! Just a thought...have a great day! Karen
Did you ever get the free time to make a storage bench out of some doors....like I said on previous post.....no one does it better than you!
Your "screen" door is amazing, but other than the pun I really love all the doodads you put on them! The clock/scale/whatever, the whisk broom, the green little hoe - just too cute!
Very cute! I hear you on the prices...here in Boise prices are up there in the shops because they are trying to make a living off repurposed goods, but I can still find a ton of bargains around for my diy needs. I couldn't believe what I saw on my recent trip to Seattle, good grief. I also spent a day in Port Townsend on the peninsula...now those places were crazy expensive because you have to take a ferry to get there quickly...vintage postcards were going for $5 and $10 each in one store!
love that sign. where did you get it?
Yes, it is crazy expensive here in Seattle! But I found some old tall shutters at a salvage yard and did almost the same thing. I used one whole yellow chippy wood shutter for the middle then took apart an old chippy blue one and put the two blue's on each side of the yellow. It turned out really cute. Im going to use it as a backdrop for a dessert table for single mom's at my church. Love your blog....
Love the use of your old doors as a screen and extra 'walls' to hang items from. I was thinking some doors would be neat mounted on the wall in a garage or mud room, stenciled with the words "coats" , "hats", "keys", etc....with additional hangers ~ or mount one in the laundry room with clothes pins attached- you can hang up single socks until the mate shows up!!! If you have a pool, you could make a portable " towel hanger" on wheels ! Love your style and your stories.
I wish you would give me ideas of how to decorate my new bookcases with pretties and some books. They are Ballards three bookcases together and very large. I need help. Didn't know I needed help till I started putting things in and they don't look right. I have a lot of things to put in and all very different and colorful. Love your site and your ideas.
Kar...boy did you hit the nail on the head. Salvaged anything is incredibly high priced here in Boston. Love, love what you did with these doors! : )
You are so right! I used to buy doors here in California for about $10 each. No longer! There's a shop nearby that sells doors for up to $200?! Absolutely nuts. But I got to tell you, your door divider is supreme! I am packing my bags now. :-)
I JUST posted my post about going junking this weekend on my blog!!! But you are right!!!!! Some people think their stuff should either be sold for a million dollars or put in a museum!!! It's sometimes VERY annoying because I have been doing this since I was a little girl with my momma and now the things we used to get for free cost an arm and leg at these stores now;-) I am making a coffee table with a door I have laying around on my farm!!!! I haven't decided if I will use the real fancy one yet or not... but epoxy is my best friend!!!! It will fill in all the cracks and make it COMPLETELY flat! Plus it preserves all the chippy, cracky lead-based paint my daughter would probably eat if it weren't covered;-) Thanks for this GREAT idea!!! I will do this in my Chicken coop- turned potting shed this summer with all the other doors I have laying around! Jillynn
By the way... I have a HUGE box of spoons and never knew how to attach them to hang things on!!! This will be what I use in the guest room for towels, and on my door screen!
I want to do a message center out of an old door ,,,, any good ideas for that???
I am looking for old picture frame windows...
Love love love!
I love folding screens...and old doors.....and folding screens made from old doors. :-) Another awesome farmhouse project. Also love that Farmer's Market sign. Did you make it? All the best to you, Susie
I like very nice indeed
very nice indeed....and I think you have been shopping in my neck of the woods....prices are ridiculous.
I have a love for all things made from doors. I am actually in the middle of a project where I am turning an old door (donated to me by a friend - bless her!) into a little bench for my front step. From one door, and approximately four cuts, you end up with a smaller version of a church pew. Adorable. I have seen old doors turned sideways to be used as headboards, or even propped against a wall to display artwork and such. I love your screen idea! Especially with the shelving. It's beautiful.