• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About
    • Contact
    • Meet Kris
    • FAQs
    • Media
    • Disclosure
    • Privacy Policy
  • Home Tour
    • Master Bathroom
    • Kitchen
    • Kitchen Eat-In Area
    • Family Room
    • Living Room
    • Home Office
    • Laundry Room
    • Master Bedroom
    • Craft Room
    • Dining Room
    • Garage
    • Guest Room
    • Guest Bathroom
    • Patio
    • Powder Room
    • Teen Blue & White Bedroom
    • Teen Boho Chic Bedroom
  • Projects
    • Room Remodels
    • DIY Projects
    • Decorating Tips
    • Cleaning
    • Organizing
  • Subscribe
  • Shop My Favorites
    • Shop My Faves
    • Shop My House

Driven by Decor logo

menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • About
    • Contact
    • Meet Kris
    • FAQs
    • Media
    • Disclosure
    • Privacy Policy
  • Home Tour
    • Master Bathroom
    • Kitchen
    • Kitchen Eat-In Area
    • Family Room
    • Living Room
    • Home Office
    • Laundry Room
    • Master Bedroom
    • Craft Room
    • Dining Room
    • Garage
    • Guest Room
    • Guest Bathroom
    • Patio
    • Powder Room
    • Teen Blue & White Bedroom
    • Teen Boho Chic Bedroom
  • Projects
    • Room Remodels
    • DIY Projects
    • Decorating Tips
    • Cleaning
    • Organizing
  • Subscribe
  • Shop My Favorites
    • Shop My Faves
    • Shop My House
×

Updated: Nov 2, 2022 by Kris Jarrett

3 Closet Door Ideas You Can DIY!

Got old, ugly closet doors? I’m sharing 3 DIY closet door ideas for making them beautiful on a budget! 

When we moved into our Connecticut home, it was a total mixed bag of higher end upgrades like built-in bookcases along with some pretty sad features that screamed low budge. One of those was the closet doors in our bedrooms. While the doors throughout our home are your typical six panel doors, the closet doors in both of our girls’ rooms were flat slabs of wood and the ones in our master bedroom were bifold doors that drove us nuts. Over the years we’ve upgraded all three sets of closet doors in different, unique ways so I thought it would be fun to share all three closet door ideas in one place! They’re all DIY upgrades that made a huge difference without costing a lot of money! (post includes affiliate links – full disclosure statement available {here})

Closet Door Idea #1: Cork Board + Molding

Let’s kick things off with what is definitely one of my favorite closet door ideas of the bunch – the molding + cork board closet doors in my oldest daughter’s bedroom:

The perfect closet door idea for a teen bedroom - add cork boards and molding! Love this tutorial!

Room Sources:  Grasscloth wallpaper  |  Gold quatrefoil pendant  |  Duvet cover  |  Blue fringed pillow covers  |  Similar wood art frames

This is what her bedroom closet doors looked like when we moved in – nothing but flat, yellowed wood slabs and two teeny cabinet knobs as door knobs (those suckers were seriously only an inch wide – so crazy!):

The "before" of the closet doors!

My daughter had been asking for a bulletin board in her room right when I was planning a door makeover so I decided to incorporate the bulletin board into her closet doors! I found some pretty molding with a small inside lip that was perfect for securing two cork sheets. All it took was cutting and adhering four large rectangles of molding with the two on the top securing cork sheets and the two on the bottom holding thin plywood sheets to balance out the design:

Love this idea of adding cork boards to closet doors in a teen room!

After caulking and a fresh coat of white paint on everything plus new larger knobs from Hobby Lobby, these closet doors not only have an upgraded look but the cork boards make them fun and functional too!

Loving this closet door idea for a teen bedroom - cork boards and molding were added to flat closet doors!

You can find the step by step tutorial for this cork board closet door idea {here}.

Closet Door Idea #2: Creating a Pattern With Molding

My second DIY closet door makeover was in my youngest daughter’s bedroom. You might remember that I made over her bedroom to get rid of the green walls she had grown tired of and decorate it in a boho chic style (you can see her boho chic room makeover {here} if you missed it):

Love the blue accent wall (Behr Marquee's Blueprint paint color) in this boho chic bedroom!

Room Sources: Gold quatrefoil pendant  |  Upholstered headboard (DIY)  |  Moroccan leather poufs  |  Woven lidded laundry basket  |  Small acrylic lamp  |  Chest of drawers  |  Hanging swing chair (similar)  |  White linen quilt

One thing I didn’t need to touch during that recent makeover was her bedroom closet doors since I had already glammed them up a few years back:

One of the closet door ideas I love most in this post - add molding in a geometric design to a flat door!

They were in a pretty sad state when we moved in. Just like in my other daughter’s bedroom, her closet doors were plain, flat wood slabs with those same teeny cabinet knobs and rusted hinges:

The "before" of our flat closet doors before dressing them up with molding

I decided to dress them up by adding inexpensive molding in a stylish geometric pattern. I drew out my idea on paper and figured out the sizes of molding I’d need to make my idea come to life. After a couple of hours of sawing with a miter box (this was before I bought a miter saw that would have made it go a lot faster!), I taped everything onto the door in the final pattern to make sure I had the spacing correct, and then glued each piece on:

Such a great closet makeover done by adding moulding to a flat door!

After finishing the doors off by caulking, painting, and adding a pair of spray painted IKEA pulls (they’re no longer available but {these pulls} in the 12″ size would give you the same look), my daughter’s room got the glam upgrade we were looking for:

I'm so going to do this to our flat closet doors! Love this flat panel door makeover!

My step by step tutorial for upgrading these flat closet doors with molding can be found {here}. I included the measurements for all of the pieces needed to recreate this exact molding design but the design possibilities using this same closet door idea but with different molding patterns are endless!

Closet Door Idea #3: Swapping Doors for Drapes

Our master bedroom was the last of the three bedrooms to get a closet makeover (more details and sources for this space can be found {here}):

Home remodel: Master bedroom after remodeling!

Master Bedroom Sources: Upholstered Bed  |  Gray nightstands  |  Camp stools |  White USB table lamps  |  Semi flushmount light (available {here} and {here})  |  Gray & white patterned linen duvet – no longer available  |  Gray & white dragon/floral pillows  |  Quilt in king (color is Flagstone) |  Drapes (mine are single-width blackout lined)  |  Diamond jute rug

Our old closet drove me CRAZY. It was one continuous space behind the two pairs of bifold doors but between the center divider and the space taken up by the bifold doors, less than half of the closet was easily accessible:

The "before" of our closet with twin bifold closet doors

My solution was to remove the bifold doors, tear down the center partition and add new molding framing the top (the storage cubbies to the left were already there – love them!):

Love seeing the transformation of this closet! So many closet door ideas to steal in this post!

It ended up being my favorite of our closet door ideas! I replaced the doors with inexpensive Ikea drapes hung by a rod and rings that I spray painted gold. And I prettied up the inside too with a beautiful wallpaper and acrylic rods. I was honestly not so sure whether I was doing the right thing when I decided to remove the doors but I absolutely LOVE it. It’s made every inch of our closet accessible and I love the look of it too!

One of my favorite closet door ideas in this post! Removing the bifold doors and replacing them with drapes!

You can find all the details about how I replaced my doors with closet curtains – see more in {this post}.

And what about our fourth bedroom that we use as a guest room?

Home remodel: Guest room after remodeling!

Guest Room Sources: Mirror over Bed |  Upholstered Wingback Bed (fabric is Zuma White)  |  Quilt (color is flax)  |   White and beige check duvet (similar) | 24″ Embroidered Medallion Pillow covers |  White Bedside USB Lamps |  Round Wood Beaded Tray  |  Clock

Strangely enough, this room has no closet at all. We could have added a built-in closet but based on the design of the room, there isn’t a good place for one that wouldn’t make the space look awkward. Instead, I decided to add an armoire for guests to have space for hanging their clothes. Right at the time that I was looking to buy one, a neighbor of mine was getting rid of this dated TV cabinet that had two sets of doors and a TV shelf inside (I actually saw it sitting in their open garage one day when I was walking Hope so texted them to ask what they were doing with it! #furniturestalker):

TV armoire before transformation

I modified the interior by removing the TV shelf and adding a bar for hanging clothes, removed the four knobs and patched the bottom pair of knob holes, and added brackets inside to make the top and bottom doors move as one piece. I painted the armoire with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and was originally thinking I’d leave the center cane areas as-is:

Such a great idea for an old TV cabinet! Loving the "after"!

But in the end, I decided to paint the whole thing. I added some new rope pulls and some accessories to the top including a vintage olive bucket and a handled basket I found at the Country Living Fair. I ended up loving it more than anything that I could have bought new and the only costs were a quart of paint and new pulls:

Such a great idea if you don't have a closet - turn an old TV cabinet into a clothing armoire!

You can find all sorts of tips for using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint {here} and see more details of this space and get sources for our guest room {here}.

If you’re looking for more closet inspiration, I’ve got two other closet spaces to share with you too! We have no coat closet on the first floor so I took the small recessed space across from our washer and dryer and used shallow IKEA PAX units to create a closet space with three floor to ceiling cubbies. There’s not only room for hanging coats but there are also a bunch of drawers (dressed up with {these pulls}) for scarves, gloves, and a few pairs of shoes:

LOVE the built-in look of this open coat closet and drawers with shoe storage - made with IKEA PAX wardrobes!

Hop over to {this post on our coat closet reveal} for all of the details! We added a second closet to our master bedroom too, also using IKEA PAX wardrobes:

Our IKEA PAX master closet and what we used in our 13" deep wardrobes!

You can take a tour of our closet and get my IKEA PAX closet system review {here} for all the details!

I hope you guys took a few closet door ideas away from this post – even if all of your bedroom closet doors are already pretty 🙂 If you love hearing about DIYs like this one that go a long way in upgrading the style of your home, subscribe to Driven by Decor by email (it’s typically only 2 posts per week and you can unsubscribe at any time) for more DIY and decorating inspiration. CLICK {HERE} TO SUBSCRIBE!

I’ll see you back on the blog soon!

  • Pin
  • Share
  • Email

Categories: Closets

✉️FREE EMAIL SERIES ✉️

5 Secrets to Reinventing Your Home on a Budget

Simple tips to instantly transform five rooms in your home!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Karen Bunch says

    March 17, 2019 at 5:28 pm

    The cork boards as part of your daughter’s closet was such a great idea. I think all of the closet door solutions you came up with, including the armoire are great.
    Happy St. Patrick’s Day. I’ve got Irish stew in my slow cooker. That’s about as much celebrating we’re doing this St. Paddy’s Day. 🙂
    Karen

    Reply
    • Kris Jarrett says

      March 24, 2019 at 11:37 pm

      Thank you Karen! I’ve never made Irish stew but what a great idea – I’m going to try to remember to do that on St. Patrick’s Day next year!

      Reply
      • Mom says

        March 02, 2020 at 8:54 am

        Don’t forget ^^^

        Reply
  2. classic casual home says

    March 17, 2019 at 6:03 pm

    There are so many good ideas here…really love the bulletin boards on your daughter’s closet doors.

    Reply
    • Kris Jarrett says

      March 24, 2019 at 11:38 pm

      Thank you so much Mary Ann!!

      Reply
  3. Janet Carlton says

    March 17, 2019 at 6:15 pm

    Wonderful, creative solutions and decor. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    • Kris Jarrett says

      March 24, 2019 at 11:38 pm

      Thank you so much Janet!

      Reply
  4. Janet Carlton says

    March 17, 2019 at 6:16 pm

    Also, love your bedding linens choices. Where do you shop for those?

    Reply
    • Kris Jarrett says

      March 24, 2019 at 11:40 pm

      I get a lot of my bedding from Pottery Barn but also pieces from Serena & Lily, Etsy, and a few other places. If you click the images of the bedding pieces, pillows, etc. under each bedroom pic, it will take you right to the source 🙂

      Reply
  5. Julie says

    March 17, 2019 at 6:45 pm

    OMG TOTALLY LOVE THE CREATIVE TRANSFORMATION! I see these armoires in my favorite resale shop and so cheap and keep telling my hubby the things buyers could do to these in making it their own. If only people look past what they see!! BEEEUTIFUL Kris!!

    Reply
    • Kris Jarrett says

      March 24, 2019 at 11:41 pm

      Thank you so much! They are definitely diamonds in the rough!

      Reply
  6. Gail Storti says

    March 17, 2019 at 9:12 pm

    Hi Kris, WOW, you’ve done a fabulous job working with those flat slab doors and they look amazing with not much work. And I LOVE how you made your closet over with wonderful wallpaper and curtains. Getting rid of the center post sure makes all the difference when it comes to using the closet. Your daughters bedrooms are gorgeous (well, your whole house is gorgeous) and I love the armouir makeover for your guest room. Thank you for sharing sources for things you’ve done, it really helps when I think, gee, I wonder where I can get that!

    Reply
    • Kris Jarrett says

      March 24, 2019 at 11:42 pm

      Thank you so much for the sweet comment Gail – I appreciate it so much!

      Reply
  7. Jean says

    March 17, 2019 at 10:20 pm

    I love your Beautiful Remodel so clean. Really help give me so ideas. Beautiful!!!!!! Jean

    Reply
    • Kris Jarrett says

      March 24, 2019 at 11:42 pm

      Thank you so much Jean!

      Reply
  8. Lis says

    March 18, 2019 at 1:45 pm

    Love the closet!!! Awesome job!

    Reply
    • Kris Jarrett says

      March 24, 2019 at 11:35 pm

      Thank you so much!

      Reply
  9. Ann says

    March 18, 2019 at 4:25 pm

    I took down my annoying closet door like you did… now I can see everything in my closet . I’m so happy.

    Reply
    • Kris Jarrett says

      March 24, 2019 at 11:36 pm

      Doesn’t it make such a huge difference?! Wish I had done it years earlier!

      Reply
  10. Jill says

    July 30, 2020 at 9:31 am

    Great ideas and beautiful rooms. I’ve taken the folding doors off and used curtains, but hadn’t considered removing the partition between the two closets. Putting that on my list. I love the hanging chair in Closet #2 makeover room, but the link is dead. Do you remember where it is from? Love your site.
    Thanks!

    Reply
  11. Jill Paterson says

    July 22, 2021 at 10:53 am

    You are simply amazing. Do you provide consulting services online?

    Reply
  12. Lakesha says

    January 27, 2022 at 11:01 am

    Gosh, everything is so beautiful and well done. I love all of your ideas. I wish I had just a small amount of the vision you have 🙂

    Reply
  13. Wendy H says

    November 02, 2022 at 7:25 am

    Please tell me the brands of the 2 cute dark (navy, black?) floral dresses in your clothes closet, I love them!

    Reply
  14. heather says

    January 06, 2023 at 12:23 am

    Impressive!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

✉️FREE EMAIL SERIES ✉️

5 Secrets to Reinventing Your Home on a Budget

Simple tips to instantly transform five rooms in your home!

Meet Kris

Kris of Driven by Decor

All images on DBD are copyrighted and taken by me unless otherwise noted. If you'd like to use any of my images, please request their use via my Contact page.

I am a participant in several affiliate advertising programs (including the Amazon Associates program) and earn fees from qualifying purchases. For more information, see my full disclosure statement {here}.

To view my privacy policy, go {here}.

Copyright © 2023 · Driven by Decor