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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Sonia says
Hi first, I love this. I am working on my daughter’s closet right now. Pulled everything out and refilling holes. Old plaster walls so decided to lose the couple inches in order to have nice walls and maybe smoother, straighter ones, so we are drywalling inside. It’s an old house so our master bedroom’s old closet is part of hers now. My little girl and I are doing the labor and want to glam it up for her. She’s so sweet she wants the easiest makeover so it is not much struggle but she is worth the hassle. I noticed the previous folks had some hodgepodge narrow wall in between the two closets and I believe it was probably for the purpose of hanging rods in both sides of that wall at different heights. Did not look like a supporting wall, I even checked the attic. But they ran a small board on the ceiling which is probably their cheap way of covering the missing plaster and not dealing with it. But in your blog it mentioned a header. I cannot see a header and is it covered by something inside your closet. Is it visible? Can you add a picture. I figured I can clean it up and put a small inexpensive light without the electrical work. So many lights coming on the market that run on batteries instead. Thank you for any help. This looks great. I thought of the built in cubbies on the side as well or possibly top and bottom rods on the side from front to back of closet but she prefers to see her clothes from left to right of the closet. I love that my baby girl has her input considered. Just wish I had the nerve to tackle this project years ago. I over think every project I want to do and so years go by before I do the tiniest project.
Jennifer says
Great idea I have a very shallow hall closet with bifold doors and they have ALWAYS been a pain! I never could open the doors wide enough to see everything and since moving to this house I’ve replaced three sets of bifold doors. I’m definitely going to remove the bifold doors and put up a curtain!
I have a large walk in pantry I built connected to the kitchen. There used to be a regular 36×80” door there. (It used to be a doorway to the garage). It was always a pain so I tried bifold doors but they severely limited the walk through space. I ended up taking the door off, fixing where the hinges and door hardware was and putting up a curtain. Because it was only 36” wide all I ended was a tension rod. I love it! It’s so easy to walk through and open and close the curtain. The curtain also provides a bit of thermal protection.
One great thing about curtains is you can easily put up new designs any time you want for just a few bucks.
Melanie says
Hi there!
Wonderful project! I have the exact same issue and looking forward to do almost the same. Just wondering though where did you purchase the “furniture” inside the wardrobe, please?
Thanks 😊
Teresa says
Hi Kris,
I love your closet makeover and am hoping to do something similar. I have a question, I know you mentioned the shelves on the end were already there, can you tell me how deep your closet is? I would like to add shelving like yours, but thinking my closet might not be deep enough. Thank you:)
Lynn says
Hi, love the closet makeover!!! Could you please share a pic of the closet with clothes in it? I’m thinking of doing the same thing to my closet (that had sliding mirror doors) and would love to see yours in action. Thanks!
Jessica says
I’ve never liked my bifold doors, and one has a defect that makes it hard to open. Thank you for sharing your process! I think switching to curtains will be my solution.
Jenna says
Wow, fantastic job! Thanks for including your tips and tricks, like using foam to spray screws, and glueing end caps on that didn’t fit. Using curtains you already have by simply treating them with Rit is motivating, cost effectively satisfying, and looks sharp! It’s inspiring and even exciting seeing projects that reuse items just sitting around collecting dust by giving them a simple refresh and put back to good use.
Hillary says
My new house had cheap mirrored doors on the laundry/closet combo, which had actually cracked and were taken down when I bought the place. I debated my options, and decided on the curtain idea myself as a way to save space. I love the look and have been very happy with the result.
Stephanie Simon says
I love this closet makeover so much down to every single detail. I can’t get over it! I have been looking at it since you first did it and I think I am going to take the plunge and do the same! Thank you so much for being an inspiration.
Emily says
What kind of sheets would you recommend using? Like more sheer ones or?
Christy says
Where did you get the clear rods?
Lisa B says
I want to know about the closet system inside I LOVE how you made use of the short side by adding shelves there instead of the typical shelves in the middle. Where did you find that closet organizer?
Ingrid Mitchell says
Your issue with the bi-fold doors and the two closets with the divider between them is exactly the issue I have. You have given me inspiration to make the change. Thank-you!!!
Question: Where do you put your shoes? In the cubbies?
Linda O'Chery says
Love your closet idea! Would you tell me what kind of rod you used to hang the curtains, the diameter size of it, and the size and type of brackets used. Thank you!!
Julie says
Beautiful! Love the wallpaper and gold accents.
Lori says
This is brilliant! I love absolutely everything you did to revamp this space.