How to Upcycle an Antique Door – Part 2

In How to Upcycle an Antique Door Part 1, I showed you how I had painted brown on one side. Now I will show you what I did to the other side. I kid you not – this is by far the coolest project I’ve done and you could for sure do this yourself.

Now you’ll see what I did to the other side and the end product.

Here are the two sides…

IN THE RAW

Antique Door Upcycle {Love My DIY Home}

Antique Door Upcycle {Love My DIY Home}

This is the one side that I painted brown that you read about last week.

Antique Door Upcycle {Love My DIY Home}

Antique Door Upcycle {Love My DIY Home}

Now let’s look at side two.

MATERIALS

(Affiliate Links)

Sanding Sponge

Rust-Oleum 2x Painters Touch Spray Paint

American Decor Creme Wax

Hobby Lobby Hardware

1 ” Corner Brackets

Step One – Side Two:

  • Clean and sand, but not so much that you lose the textured layers of old paint.

I used a (afflink) Sanding Sponge, Fine/Medium.

These sanding sponges are easy to use and if you don’t use too much pressure, you can preserve the alligator chippy look of the many layers of paint, yet still get off the loose stuff.

Step Two – Side Two:

Take an old, antique door and turn it into something fabulous! Door Turned Hall tree @ lovemydiyhome.com

Step Three – Side Two:

  • Bring back the antique look.

To bring back the antique look, paint on thinned out dark brown paint over the red, rubbing it off in spots with a rag to create the old world-ish look. This gave it quite a dramatic look compared to the other side of brown on brown.

Take an old, antique door and turn it into something fabulous! Door Turned Hall tree @ lovemydiyhome.com

I could only gawk when I saw the result – absolutely amazing. Have you ever done a project that turned out so well that you couldn’t believe YOU did it?

Red door painted4

Red door painted3

Step Four – Side Two:

You can get this at Menards or on (afflink) Amazon.

Take an old, antique door and turn it into something fabulous! Door Turned Hall tree @ lovemydiyhome.com

Red door painted2

The door is now brown on one side and red on the other.

I did this because I want to be able to flip it over and use the brown side. The plan was to use this door as a hall tree with coat hooks and mirror with a bench.

In order to be able to flip the door to use the brown side rather than red I needed to figure out a way to take off the hardware and use it on the other side without a big ta-doo. My DH, mastermind of all good things, figured it out.

We attached the hardware by drilling through the door and using #8 Bronze Wood Screws and nuts to attach each piece. That way, when I want to use the other side, I’ll just flip it and move the hardware over to that side and attach it the same way.

Take an old, antique door and turn it into something fabulous! Door Turned Hall tree @ lovemydiyhome.com

(afflink) Hobby Lobby had a 50% off sale on hooks, knobs and a really cool antiquey door knob.

Take an old, antique door and turn it into something fabulous! Door Turned Hall tree @ lovemydiyhome.com

Take an old, antique door and turn it into something fabulous! Door Turned Hall tree @ lovemydiyhome.com

I attached a mirror my daughter gave me for a Christmas gift a year ago. I used the (afflink) Hobby Lobby knobs to hang the mirror with the same method I used to hang the coat hooks, by drilling a hole and securing it with an nut and screw.

The door knob has a key hole on the back that made it easy to just hang it on on a screw secured with a nut in the same way as the other pieces, also from (afflink) Hobby Lobby.

Take an old, antique door and turn it into something fabulous! Door Turned Hall tree @ lovemydiyhome.com

Be sure to anchor the door to the wall.

At one time my door was just sitting against the door and a grandson knocked into it and it fell over. Fortunately the wall on the other side caught it before doing any damage. 

We used a (afflink) 1 ” corner bracket to secure it to the wall.

Take an old, antique door and turn it into something fabulous! Door Turned Hall tree @ lovemydiyhome.com

A homemade hall tree is not only less expensive, but it’s a one of a kind that fits your decor because you chose each color and added hardware piece – not to mention that it means so much more to you if you’ve created it yourself.

This is the mirror that was attached with the knobs in both upper corners – btw, see that clock you see in the mirror across the way? I snagged it at (afflink) Hobby Lobby a few years ago for $8 on clearance.

Take an old, antique door and turn it into something fabulous! Door Turned Hall tree @ lovemydiyhome.com

The coat hooks are very sturdy, both in workmanship and how they are hung so they will make a great rack for guest coats.

Take an old, antique door and turn it into something fabulous! Door Turned Hall tree @ lovemydiyhome.com

The door is securely anchored to the wall, but can easily be taken off and flipped, though I don’t think I will get tired of the red any time soon.

So here you go. From this:

Antique Door Upcycle {Love My DIY Home}

To this:

Take an old, antique door and turn it into something fabulous! Door Turned Hall tree {Love My DIY Home}

Take an old, antique door and turn it into something fabulous! Door Turned Hall tree {Love My DIY Home}

For now we have a little antique bench in front, but plan to replace it with a larger, sturdier wooden and even maybe upholstered bench. That too will have to be removable so I can use it on the brown side.

This was not only an EASY project, but fun as well! My 9 year old grandson helped me with it. Sanding, painting and mounting hardware – with a little vision you can do great things and walk away pleased with your project.

Take an old, antique door and turn it into something fabulous! Door Turned Hall tree {Love My DIY Home}

I just came home from a week in Virginia. I was pleasantly surprised to see this new hall tree when I walked through the door. Such a great surprise to see my project right there, greeting me! Do you want that type of satisfaction?

Take an old, antique door and turn it into something fabulous! Door Turned Hall Tree {Love My DIY Home}

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90 thoughts on “How to Upcycle an Antique Door – Part 2”

  1. Oh, how pretty this is. You did a great job and I love the color you used on it. What a nice way to greet your visitors.

    Be a sweetie,

    Shelia 😉

    Reply
    • Sheila, it took me a bit to get brave enough to use the red – especially since I didn't want it to be bright, hence the brown paint over it to tone it down. The entry way is such an important way to greet friends, you are right!

      Reply
    • Thanks, Jennifer. It was fun picking out what I would put on the door. My grandson especially enjoyed the hunt and it helped that Hobby Lobby runs 50% off often! Thanks for coming by.

      Reply
  2. What an amazing job you did! It's way beyond my bravery and skill level, though I did paint the outside of my front door last summer when I painted the porch.

    BTW, I've added your site to my blog's list of CommentLuv enabled blogs. 🙂

    Reply
    • Beth, just grab a can of spray paint and go at it – no skill required and you learn how to do different looks as you go along and get braver after each project. Really, go for it and let me know what you’ve done! Thanks for coming by.

      Reply
    • Oh, Christina! You definitely need to become a DIY’er – it’s so much fun and rewarding. I love coming home to my finished projects, especially this door I just did. It a nice thing to see when you walk in the door. It doesn’t hurt to show it off to friends either!

      Reply
    • SW wife, you might find an old door at a garage sale or auction this spring. People like to get rid of stuff that’s been sitting around during their spring cleaning – I know I need to! Let me know if you find one and what you end up doing with it.
       

      Reply
  3. This is such a great idea! It looks so wonderful in your home. I find it inspiring when folks can transform things that most people would find useless into a real treasure.

    Reply
    • Isn’t that the truth, Laura? One man’s junk is another woman’s treasure. We throw away way too much stuff and turn around and buy new. I think this economy has turned things around a bit. People are becoming so resourceful. Thanks for visiting.

      Reply
  4. Stunning!! I love this!  I so wish I were more creative and could create stuff like this.  My husband and I are planning to build a home in the next couple of years and I will definitely keep this bookmarked for future projects!

    Reply
    • Candi, thanks. Honestly, it doesn’t take a lot of creativity. Just grab a can of spray paint and experiment! Feel free to contact me if you need help.
       

      Reply
  5. Oh my goodness! That is simply beautiful and innovative. I love what you did with the color schemes too. I wouldn't have though about using an old door to put together an entryway bench. Now I wish I had an entryway 🙂 I simply love this. 🙂 

    Reply
    • Keelie, you can put an old door so many places! How about a headboard or on the wall behind your couch with a shelf at the top? I saw in a furniture store here in town a room that the walls were covered in old doors. My newsletter had a link to a building out east that had the outside covered in red doors top to bottom!

      Reply
    • Cami – I would love to see some pictures! Woud your mom like to have them featured? Antique doors upcycled is such the rave right now. Let me know…

      Reply
  6. That door is beautiful!  I had to laugh as I was wondering how you mounted that clock on the mirror and it turned out to be a reflection. 😀  It was definitely worth all that work you put into it!

    Reply
    • LOL, Staci. I thought it was amusing to center it in the mirror! It just goes to show you that we DIY bloggers really manipulate our photos! Thanks for coming by – it WAS a fun project.

      Reply
  7. Wow!  That is amazing.  I do not have a crafty bone in my body.  All decorations in our home are compliments of my husband (who fortunately has very good taste.)  Hope you have a chance to sit back and enjoy your beautiful work now that it's done!  

    Reply
    • Thanks, Jennifer, but I bet you could be crafty if you tried, and it’s so fun I highly recommend it. Try a small project. Spray paint it. Done. Easy peasy.

      Reply
    • Shannon, we bought several of those doors in an auction and have thought about selling them. I think they would sell well – but would be so very hard to let go!
       

      Reply
  8. This is gorgeous! I would love to have the time and money for DIY projects like this. I would also love to be crafty enough to pull this off! But you are amazing and do a wonderful job!

    Reply
    • Thanks, Amy. You should give it a try – squeeze out some time. It’s such a good de-stressor. Just grab a can of spray paint and away you go!

      Reply
    • Angela, you definitely need to go get a door from your parents! It would be a fun project to do with your Dad as well. Have fun and let me know if you finish the project, I'd like to see a picture.

      Reply
  9. Great ideas! This looks gorgeous! My husband and I just spent a bunch of time looking at coat hooks and such for front doors. One that we found was very similar to this (not a door, but the same size and made of hardwood) but way too expensive for it! I'll have to show him this and say "all we need is a door!" 🙂 Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    • Bonnie, it was super easy and quite the conversation piece. I highly recommend it. I’m thinking about doing a headboard out of a door too.

      Reply
    • Barbara, the intent on pubishing these DIY projects is to show you that it’s not about talent – it’s about having fun, experimenting and finding out it’s not as hard as it looks.

      Reply
  10. Very creative and so pretty. I'm redesigning my kitchen and now I'm seriously considering using an old door as a splash back. I can see it now with lots of hooks for hanging pots and pans. Thank you for the inspiration. x

    Reply
    • Cristina, thanks! I love the cracked look too. I was pretty amazed when I saw the results after painting it. Thanks for pinning.

      Reply
    • Phyllis, when I got these doors (I have several) I had no idea what I was going to do with them but I found a place. I bet you could too. I’m thinking about making a headboard for my new king bed in our guest room. I thought about using them to line one wall or a half wall. Send me a photo when you find your perfect spot in your home.

      Reply
  11. I love this. I think I actually like the way it looked before it was painted. We live in a log home, and I love the primitive look, so I loved how it looked in its "raw" state. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  12. I love this project so much!  I just got back from a vintage market with my sister and we were wondering about what kind of wax to finish things off with.  I'm sending her this post right now to tell her "go look at Menards".

    Reply
  13. Wow!  I absolutely love this idea.  My husband and I will be purchasing our first home within the next year or so and this is something I would like to try.  Thank you for sharing this.

    Reply
  14. Well done tutorial.  I used to dabble with faux paint stuff way back when.  This inspires me to try again…if I can just get away from my easel and oil paints!  What would we do without paint?

    Reply
  15. Wow Beautiful.  I bet that would look nice as a headboard too.  I may try your technique on the two doors I have to make a headboard for our bed. Thank you!

    Reply
  16. This is awesome. I’d love to share this with our clients as well once they look for something like this. Hope you can produce more contents like this. Awesome! From your friends in Atlas Door Repair.

    Reply

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