Ready to ditch your ugly bi-fold or sliding closet doors? I said goodbye to mine and hello to closet curtains & LOVE my closet’s new look! In this post I’m sharing our closet makeover how-to!
Hands down the most asked questions about our master bedroom have to do with our closet makeover. We replaced our bi-fold closet doors (which I had a mad hatred for!) with a simple rod and closet curtains. I was pretty leery about how this little project would turn out but having curtains instead of doors on our closet has been a game-changer.
It’s not only way better looking than before but also every inch of our closet is now easily accessible which is huge when you’re living in an older house that’s majorly lacking in storage space!
For those of you have been thinking about tackling this project in your own home, I’m sharing the how-to and all of my sources (includes some affiliate links – see my full disclosure statement {here})). Let’s get to it…
Why I Hated My Closet Doors
Wondering what’s so bad about closet doors? In most cases, nothing at all. But our closet doors were bifold doors and when you folded them back to open the closet, the doors took up about ¼ of the closet opening. That made it difficult to see and reach the clothes on those ends.
Also, it drove me nuts that we had to close to the door into our bedroom in order to open the bifold door on the left.
Replacing the bifold doors with full doors wouldn’t solve the issue with the closet doors interfering with our bedroom door. And swapping them out for sliding doors wasn’t the answer either. They’re also a pet peeve of mine since you can only see half of your closet at any one time.
Removing Our Closet Doors
Most closets with bi-fold doors simply have two doors that connect in the middle, in which case you can simply remove both doors and the track they attach to, do a little patch work with wood putty, and be done with it.
Our closet had a center support between the two closet doors that needed to be removed so I called in my contractor to tear that out (after making sure it wasn’t a structural support), add a new header, and patch the hardwood floors. I was already loving how you could access our whole closet!:
As you can see, there was a weird raised portion of hardwoods in the center of our closet that I ended up having them remove and patch too. Once that was done, I removed all of the previous closet hardware and painted all of that yellowed wood a new crisp white (Farrow & Ball’s All White):
New Closet Rods & Wallpaper
Since I had to take everything out of our closet to knock this closet curtain project out, it was the perfect time to pretty our closet up! I added {this} paisley wallpaper) to the back wall of the closet and new closet rods and hardware.
For the closet rods, I used 1 ¼″ cell cast acrylic rods from Curbell Plastics, which is the same source that I used for the acrylic curtain rods in our home office. They offered the convenience of cutting the rods into the exact length pieces that I needed prior to shipping.
Most of the rod hardware that I used was my old closet hardware that I simply spray painted:
I wanted a finish that would last so I lightly sanded the hardware and sprayed it with primer first, followed by several light coats of spray paint. Be sure to use a respirator while spraying (such as {this one}) and read the application instructions on the spray can because they’re a little different than for most painting jobs in that you need to apply a second coat within 1 hour or after 24 hours.
The specific paints I used are {this spray primer} and {this metallic brass spray paint} (not to be confused with their metallic gold finish that is in an identical can).
Update! Rustoleum came out with a primer + paint spray in brass that you can find {here} – it allows you to knock out both steps at once!
I sprayed everything this way – the rod brackets & flanges, the curtain rod and rings, the curtain rod brackets, and even the screws. My trick for painting the screws is to just stick them in some styrofoam before spraying:
The end caps that is used for the two rod pieces that are held up with brackets were {these 1 ½″ brass end caps} but they were actually too small to fit on the rods (the 1 ½″ measurement refers to the outside diameter – the inside diameter unfortunately is smaller than the 1 ¼″ diameter of my rods) so I hot glue gunned them to the ends. It’s worked fine but I’d try to find something that was a better fit if I do a similar closet in the future.
Adding a Curtain Rod For My Closet Curtains
My closet opening was 70″ wide which is too wide for a lot of curtain rods to span without having to add supports. So I ended up buying a 0.5″ copper plumbing pipe from Lowe’s to get the job done. It works well for my 70″ closet opening with very lightweight drapes but you might need to go with a solid rod if your opening is wider or your drapes are heavier.
I found my curtain rings & clips at Lowe’s too. The hardest thing to find was supports for such a small curtain rod but I eventually found {these brackets} and they worked beautifully.
Of course the pipe and brackets were an ugly color so I spray painted them gold just like I had with my other closet hardware.
Choosing Closet Curtains
The closet curtains I used are inexpensive, lightweight AINA linen drapes from IKEA. I actually had a pair of these that I bought for another project and never used. I was all excited about not having to buy new curtains until I realized that they looked quite yellowy against my crisp white walls. I didn’t think that bleaching linen was the best idea so I gave {this Rit laundry treatment} a try and it worked awesomely! You can see the before and after change in color here:
I simply filled up our large basement sink with hot water, added my drapes and the Rit treatment and stirred and soaked them for about ten minutes, after which I threw them in the washer. Super easy and I got the exact shade of white that I wanted. The final step was to simply hem them to the length that I needed (which I did using {this no-sew option}) and then fold little pleats at the top (you can see them in more detail two pics above) and clip the drapes to the cafe rings.
My pair of curtains was wide enough to cover my entire closet opening when I pull them closed:
but my closet curtains have actually stayed open since the day I installed them because who minds looking at all of this prettiness?!
And I’ve found that having the wallpaper in the back of the closet has been great motivation for keeping my wardrobe pared down so I can still see enough of that pretty pattern 🙂
Update: Did I Like Having Closet Curtains?
After using our closet with curtains for several years, I can give a resounding YES to the question of whether I liked my closet curtains. I never had any issues with the curtain rod sagging, loved being able to easily access everything in my closet, and I thought it looked great too. I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat!
I hope I answered all of your questions but if I missed any, just leave me a comment and I’ll get back to you! Be sure to also see my post on closet door ideas that has several ideas for making your closet doors more beautiful and functional without spending a ton of money!
Hope you all have a great week!
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Nancy says
Hi. I recently bought 2 pairs of AINA drapes and had the same thought- they need to be lightened. A quick search on the internet brought me right to your page! Can you provide a few more details on the actual lightening process? You used RIT White Wash, but they also make a RIT Color Remover- how did you choose between those two products? Do you remember how many packages of White Wash you used for how many panels? Only one panel in the sink at a time or two or more together? How much water in the sink? Were you able to observe the lightening process as it was happening so that at 10 minutes you were happy with the result and knew to remove them? Or say, you saw the result at 5 minutes and left them an extra 5 minutes but saw no further lightening- or if you had left them in for 20 or 30 minutes what might you have expected? Any extra details that you can provide would be so helpful- thanks!!
Kris Jarrett says
Hi Nancy,
My store only had the White Wash so I went with it and am not sure what the difference is between it and Color Remover. I did both panels in the sink at the same time with one pack of RIT. I wasn’t able to tell very well how much they were lightening while soaking so just tried ten minutes and do a round two of soaking if it didn’t get them light enought but that ended up being just the right amount of time!
Lisandra says
Really great DIY project. We moved into a house where all the closet doors are missing so I’ve been stuck with a long closet that’s just open in our bedroom. I’m going to try to duplicate what you’ve done here but I’m nervous about purchasing the copper pipe and brackets. Can you share where you purchased the cafe rings and clips? Also, how did you measure or decide how to fold the curtains when clipping/hanging up?
Kris Jarrett says
Hi Lisandra! I bought the cafe rings and clips at Lowe’s but they sell similar ones on Amazon too. And I didn’t do any measuring when folding and clipping the drapes – I just played around with it for 5-10 minutes and figured out the look I liked best and then clipped them all the same way. Good luck with your closet project!
Denise says
Amazing job. Just moved into a 30 year old dates home. Our master ensuite has a walk in closet with ugly flimsy bi fold doors. They are going bye bye!! Thanks for the inspiration ☺
Kris Jarrett says
Good luck! I wasn’t sure if I’d like having the curtains but I LOVE it!
Danica Stannard says
Thank you for the inspiration. Our home was built in the early 80’s and has horrible bi-fold his and her closets in our master bedroom. I’m excited to try curtains, and possibly the wall paper too! Your closet looks amazing!
Cath says
Very beautiful! I’m having a big head with my wardrobe now. The space available is too narrow for sliding doors.
I do hope my husband is agreeable to this unconventional method (it is where I’m living)!
Temika says
This looks AMAZING! What size were the curtain rings that you used?
Kris Jarrett says
Thank you so much! They’re cafe curtain rings from Lowe’s that I spray painted – I think they’re 1″ in diameter.
Ela says
Hi,
Will 2” be too big? Which is more aesthetically looking, 1” or 2”? I can’t really envision when you buy stuff from amazon. Lol!
Dana Moss says
Awesome, awesome, awesome! This is the most perfect closet I’ve ever seen!
Kris Jarrett says
You’re so kind – thank you Dana!
Amanda says
Love the closet!! Did you install that closet organizer prior to changing the bifold doors?
Kris Jarrett says
Hi Amanda! Yes, were lucky enough to have that closet organizer in there from the beginning. We didn’t use it much before because it was so hard to get to with the bifold doors there but now I love having it!
Ashley Karpf says
Really creative! I love the idea.
Kris Jarrett says
Thank you Ashley!
Hailey says
Amazing! I love the results! Nice DIY.
Kris Jarrett says
Thanks Hailey!
Garden, Home and Party says
Kris,
This tutorial is great and I like the creativity you used to make things work without having to buy every item brand new. I’m happy to know about the Rit laundry stuff…I have had issue with fabrics that yellow over time and it’s nice to know of a product that is easy to use and provides great results.
xo,
Karen
Kris Jarrett says
Thanks Karen! This is only my second time using Rit but both times it’s done an great job with whitening without harming my fabric!
lisa | Shine Your Light says
That is amazing that all that gold goodness in there is actually the original hardware! I LOVE the pop of gold, it totally glams it up and is such a fun detail! And the rods…..swoony. Love them. Dying the curtains was such a fabulous idea, that is definitely the only prob with the Ainas, that they lean more cream than white. Such a great closet makeover!!!!! You are a design genius!!
Kris Jarrett says
Thanks Lisa! It’s so funny with those AINA drapes because I’ve used them in other settings where they looked much more white. Not sure if that’s because there’s some variation and some pairs are whiter than others or if it’s solely a difference in how they look depending upon the color wall they are hung on.
Becky says
Classy remodel!
Kris Jarrett says
Thank you Becky!
Dianne says
Very lovely! I would agree with having less clothes so you can see the pretty wallpaper!
Kris Jarrett says
Yes, it’s a good motivator to keep my clothes under control!
Lois Black says
Love your idea! Great soluiton. You did a beautiful job!!!
Kris Jarrett says
Thanks Lois!
Mia Beward says
It seems like so much trouble to put up curtains. For me it is easier to just close a door.
Val says
Kris, I can see your point about the access, which is so much easier now but don’t you have problems with dust on the clothes? We used to have a built-in wardrobe without any doors or drapes or anything else, and fighting the dust was a never ending task.
Kris Jarrett says
I haven’t noticed that being an issue yet Val – I always left the bifold doors of our old closet open so I’m thinking there won’t be much of a difference. But if it ends up being an issue I can always start keeping the drapes closed 🙂
Deb says
Not for me. Years ago people who have money to replace a door…..put up a curtain. Flash backs. Sorry
Kasia says
Wow! Amazing makeover and these beauty gold accents:-)
Kris Jarrett says
Thank you so much Kasia!