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Home Decorating

New life for an old French door

16 years ago

We had an extra French door from this old house that we installed in place of the hollow core door that was on my office half bath. I hated that cheapo hollow core door, and it made the little 'alcove' outside the half bath feel like a cave. I wasn't entirely sure it was the right thing to do with the French door, but I went with it anyway in spite of my reservations and now I'm so glad I did. It's much brighter in there during the day now. I've got fabric to make a curtain for the inside of the door for privacy when needed, but at other times I can use a holdback to hold the curtain aside and get some light into the alcove from the big window that is inside the half bath. I've been painting the door the same butterscotch color as the rest of the doors in the room, and finishing up on the dark brown trim painting. There was really no other place we could use that extra French door, and I hated to just see it sitting in the garage.

The old hollow core door with a mirror nailed on the front:

The extra French door with its old aquamarine paint job:

With the new butterscotch paint and cleaned up hardware:

This is the halfbath window that will let light through the French door into the alcove:

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Comments (7)

patricianat
16 years ago
It looks great and that was a good idea. I did something similar with the door to my laundry room but I had to buy one at the salvage yard and it was really grungy but we finally got it cleaned up and painted. I much prefer having the door with little curtains that I can pull back than a solid-wood or hollow-core door.
kim2007
Original Author
16 years ago
Thank you, patricia! I had to stop my husband from starting to install it and go sit and think about it for a while before I said we're good to go on it...Like Bill Murray said in the movie 'Groundhog Day:' "SOMETIMES YOU JUST HAVE TO TAKE THE BIG CHANCES."
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I just bought and had installed a whirlpool side by side fridge the only on that would fit in my space. I waited 7.5 months to get it because I needed black , 2 days in the noise is driving me nuts it is the motor I can tell shuts off when either door opens . I locked the ice water dispenser on the door and it stopped but was that a fluke? but the others here want to use that feature. I looked into ways to sound proof the noise and will try that , like putting a rubber matt under it and sound proofing material behind it on the wall as what I have read the motor noise is in the air ( make sense who knows ) , the decibel reading , using a phone app, was 52 - 69 that was holding the phone in different places. I emailed my rep no response and now I know why they are all louder I think, I miss my 24 year old one ( except the way it was too cold inside who wants fresh frozen veggies ha ha ) why does this have to be very upsetting.
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Crableg, I've been trying to think of a way to attach the wheels to the doors in much the same way that wheels are attached to a dolly. I was thinking of fixing them so that one could wheel out each door independently, then. using the original hinges, hinge them together by inserting the pins. Perhaps, just sitting them on the patio in a slight v-shape will be enought to keep them upright, but I'd hate to find out the hard way that I should have secured them in some additional manner. Surely, there is someone out there that has made something similar and can help us out.
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teeda_2006
16 years ago
Looks great, what a difference! It seems so much more appropriate with the style of your home. Good idea!
bungalow_house
16 years ago
Yes, that looks much better! It belongs in your house, even if it's in a different place. The hollow core door definitely did not belong.
skypathway
16 years ago
I think it was a very smart solution. Congratulations on such a clever idea.

Sky
budge1
16 years ago
Wonderful! I even liked it when it was blue. Great idea.
kim2007
Original Author
16 years ago
Thank you, all! Little by little the space is turning around. Soon I'll have to start looking for some small area rugs...

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