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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Ann says
Curious if you would post a picture of the acrylic rods now. I called Nationwide Plastics to order cell cast rod for my closet & they said it would scratch and look terrible in about 3 months of constant use. I am pretty sad. I so dislike my wooden rod. Thoughts? Photos?
Thanks Ann
Kris Jarrett says
I can’t guarantee yours wouldn’t scratch because it might depend on the hangers, how much you slide things back and forth, etc. but mine aren’t scratched up at all!
Diana says
Beautiful! Thank you so much for the tip on whitening the Aina curtains using Rit! Like you, I was hesitant to bleach them and I can’t wait to try the Rit.
Kris Jarrett says
Good luck – hope it works out well for you!
Layla Digby says
We have a a double door opening to our closet (doors are 24″x66″).. I am having trouble trying to figure out which size curtain panels I need to buy in order to be able to have them cover the entire opening and also tie back to either side to keep it open… most I see are sold as one panel 50″xlength… our entire opening is about 50″, so would i still buy two of them to have the bunched up look?
Kris Jarrett says
Layla I think you could either do that (use two 50″ and bunch them up) if you have thin curtains that wouldn’t take up too much space when pushed back or you could take the 50″ size and hem them on one side to be not so wide. If you don’t like to sew (like me), Stitch Witchery is great to do hemming with just an iron!
Laura says
Love! Thinking of doing something similar to hide my son’s toys in our family room nook. Did you have the copper pipe cut to size?
Kris Jarrett says
I cut it myself with a pipe cutter – it’s a little hand held tool you can get at Home Depot, Lowes, etc. Super simple to use!
Lily says
Would love to get your link on how you did the inside closet renovation
Kris Jarrett says
Hi Lily! The inside cubbies in the closet were actually there when we moved in so unfortunately I don’t have the details on them. I’m sure they were custom made though rather than being put together with store bought items because they’re all wood construction.
Amy Hickman says
Looks beautiful! We are just starting a bedroom/bath remodel and I can’t wait to replace our bi-fold doors!! I was wondering where your closet system is from? I especially love your shelves tucked in the corner.
Kris Jarrett says
They were actually custom made for the closet by a carpenter/contractor I believe – they were there when we moved in but they don’t look to be anything that you can get through a store. They are really nice to have!
wayne says
the door height in those photos are 80″. where do you find curtains to fit that size? normal curtain sizes are 63″, 84″, etc THANX
Kris Jarrett says
The IKEA curtains I used come with hemming tape so you can make them the exact size you need!
Debbie says
I love your closet and those acrylic rods are beautiful. Our master closet and all the closets in our home have those thin cheap wire rods and shelves which I hate. The one in our master collapsed with all clothes ending up in the floor. So my question is do you think these will hold lots of clothing without breaking?
Thanks
Kris Jarrett says
I don’t think that they would ever break if properly supported but if you had longer rods than mine (you’ll notice that mine are divided up so each rod is fairly short) and a lot of heavy clothes, they could definitely bow a bit.
Multeataskr says
Thanks for sharing all your how-tos. I am definitely inspired!
Traci says
I have a similar problem with my husband’s closet but wonder if you matched the drapes on your windows? This question doesn’t seem to be covered or if it is, I’m having a hard time finding the answer! Thanks in advance!
Kris Jarrett says
Hi Traci! I didn’t match the drapes – I have gray drapes on the windows and used white for the closet. You can see the rest of my room, including the drapes on my window in this post: https://www.drivenbydecor.com/one-room-challenge-master-bedroom-reveal/
Kay Thomas says
Hi – I am thinking of replacing current black high gloss wardrobe doors (not my choice, furniture left by previous owner) with curtains by running a curtain pole along the top. I have a double and a single wardrobe side by side.
I am concerned that with the doors removed, dust will get into the wardrobes easily and I will be creating another problem.
Do you find this a problem?
I love what you’ve done – stunning.
Kris Jarrett says
Kay I honestly haven’t found dust to be an issue at all. The reality is that even when we had the bifold doors, we left them open 95% of the time so having the open closet with drapes really isn’t hasn’t been any different.
Pam says
I love your closet!!! I am currently remodeling my bedroom, including my closet. What is the measurements of your whole closet? I am wondering if this design will work for us. The side shelves look like they would be very useful. Thanks!!!
Kris Jarrett says
Thank you! The total width of the inside of the closet is about 8 1/2 feet and the opening itself is about 6′. Hope that helps!
Abi says
I’ve discovered what I’m doing to my own closet! So beautifully simple! Thanks!
Kris Jarrett says
Thank you! Good luck with your project!
Nataliya says
Kris,
How is your painted curtain rod holding up? Don’t the rings scratch it when you open/close it? I tried to spray paint IKEA rod. Even after light sanding and priming, the paint is easy to scratch off with my finger nail :(…. Also, do you think brass colored curtain rods are timeless or they are going to be dated soon?
Thank you!
Kris Jarrett says
Hi Nataliya,
It’s been a year and a half since I did my closet and there are no visible scratches on my rod or rings (it’s possible that there are some at the very top of the rod but that’s not visible so I wouldn’t care). It might have to do with the type of rod you’re painting? As far as the brass, it might be dated at some point but I don’t think it will any time in the near future. Hope that helps!
Jerica Marie Drago says
Hello!
Could you tell me about the organization inside the closet? Did you have the shelves built, or did you buy all of that somewhere? We are also starting on the ground level with the original closet in our new, but old, home. We don’t have any system for organizing in place yet, but this looks like it will do!
Thanks!
Kris Jarrett says
The organization on the left end of our closet was already there when we moved in – I’m pretty sure it was custom made (it’s painted wood). It really helps a lot to have that extra organized space given how small our closet is!
Noelle Miller says
This is absolutely beautiful! I just bought a house and one of the bedrooms has a giant oversized closet with no doors… I have been at a loss of what to do. If you don’t mind, would you be able to provide a total cost for a make-over like this? If not, I completely understand. Beautiful job!
Kris Jarrett says
Hi Noelle! Unfortunately with this being about a year ago now that I did the makeover and the fact that it was done at the same time that I remodeled the rest of the room (so all of the expenses were intermingled), I honestly don’t have a great idea about total cost – if I did I’d be happy to share it!