DIY “Antique” Pantry Door

In this post:  Do you love all the antique doors used in Fixer Upper but haven’t had any luck finding one?  Find out how I created my own “antique” door.  It was really quite easy.

Disclosure:  This post is sponsored by Homestead House, but all opinions are my own.

Some people might say I’m obsessive.

I have an idea for something or see something and…I.JUST.CAN’T.LET.IT.GO.

So, when I wanted to replace our bi-fold pantry door with an antique door like Joanna on Fixer Upper, I went on the hunt.

The problem?  In my area, there is a wait list at the local salvage shops for beautiful antique hand-carved wooden doors.  Plus, my pantry needed a 24″ door.  Not a standard size.

I obsessed on…and on…and on…until I finally got what I wanted.  Ready?

It’s even better than an antique because I didn’t have to strip it, sand it, repair it etc…A little cutting, gluing, and staining is more my speed.  Here’s a full length version.

It is so much better than what was there before.  I can’t tell you how many times I cursed that bi-fold door when it would come off the track or get in my way.  Seriously, bi-fold doors should be on the back cover of Glamour magazine as a major “Don’t”.  A home fashion faux pas.

I hardly remember what that kitchen looked like anymore as we have started to make changes to this space I’ll be sharing with you over the coming weeks.  If you don’t want to miss out on any of the transformation, you can subscribe below by clicking on the picture and my posts will be automatically sent to you. 🙂

I shared a bare version of the door a while back and it took me some time to decide on the perfect stain for this project.  This is what it looked like “naked”.

I found the tall baluster pieces at the salvage shop.  I think they are actually supposed to go on a stairway?  Although the shorter ones would be too short.  I bought them all for $1 a piece.  My dad and I put them on his table saw and he ripped them so they were split in half making a flat side and a raised side.  Each stair baluster made two pieces.

I’m not going to lie.  It was a tricky cut.  If you know a master woodworker, you could have him run it through the table saw, but you could easily go to your local custom cabinet maker and see if they would rip them for a small fee.  Always err on the side of caution and leave the hard cuts to the professionals.  I bought several wood pieces from the salvage shop and just started laying things out on the hollow core door.

I tried so many stains on different boards and propped them up on the door to get a read for the right stain.  I finally decided on Cappuccino stain by Homestead House.  It’s an awesome stain that has an oil finish built right in.  It was a dream to work with.  I knew this was going to be tough to stain because so many of the pieces had different natural tones to them.  I was able to feather and blend the stain so easily, I think it really gave the door a lot of vintage character.

I brushed the stain on and let it set up for about a minute before I started to wipe it back.  Because it has the oil finish built in I felt like it had more body and could be manipulated more than the average stain.  I was able to take my brush and add variance to the door to achieve the vintage look I was going for.

The kitchen cabinets will be painted white and I’m really loving the contrast between the darker wood and the white of the door jam.  I added the craftsman frame to the door and I think it gives it more presence in the space.

I’m slowly adding oil-rubbed bronze accents to the house and am so in love with this brand new vintage reproduction knob.  The egg shape is so comfortable to grab.

So, what do you think?  It’s not a vintage door, but I think it has just as much appeal and was way more affordable.  Are you ready to replace your pantry door?

I’ve provided some sources for your convenience (affiliate links used).

• Door-Lowes ($29)
• Extra Trim Pieces-Lowes ($2.98 per piece)
• Wooden Fan and Balusters-Salvage Shop
• Doorknob-Weslock Julienne Knob
• Stain-Homestead House Cappuccino

If you’re not ready to do a door right now, you can save this project for later by pinning it for reference.

Love doors?  Hop on over to some of my friend’s blogs to see what they did with doors.

Emily from Domestic Deadline is also working on some amazing doors!

Check out Lisa’s project from Recreated Designs

Michele from Shelstring

Somewhat Quirky Designs