If you just got a new front door or interior door installed, hang onto your old one! There are lots of fun DIY projects you can tackle with an old door, some common tools, and a bit of free time. Here are five more way to repurpose your old doors to create something new for your home or garden.
A Unique Screen
If you have several doors to work with, you can put a creative spin on their original purpose. Instead of attaching them to a door frame with hinges, you can attach two, three, or four doors together to create a unique screen for a bedroom or anywhere else you want to hide something. The doors don’t need to be the same style, if they’re roughly the same size they will work as a screen. Get creative with paint jobs and distinctive styles of hinges to add some additional flair to your new screen.
Suspended Shelving
You can suspend an old door from your kitchen ceiling with chains to create a suspended shelve, just make sure to anchor it properly! An old door can make for a rustic pot rack by adding hooks to the bottom. Give your door a fresh coat of paint to liven things up or match your current cabinets. If you’re using a screen door, remove the old screen and replace it with hardware cloth or chicken wire. You can use these areas to store lighter pots and pans or even bulk ingredients.
A Backyard Bench
If your old door is solid wood, it should be strong enough to support the weight of a person or two. You can use two doors to create a handcrafted bench for the backyard. Use one for the seat and the other for the back. Just attach them at a 90-degree angle with wood glue and several screws. If you have a table saw, you can go a step further by cutting sections of the doors to use as end panels or arm rests. Find some interesting legs and secure them underneath and you’ll have some interesting seating for your backyard or porch.
Staying Connected
Is your family always on the run? Need a place to jot down messages, calendar reminders, or weekly menus? Sure, there are apps on your phone for that, but sometimes it’s nice to have something physical to work with. A wonderful use for an old door is to turn it into a message center. Just cover it with chalkboard paint (or only the recessed panels) to create an instant message board for you and your family. Go a step further by adding cork-board or sheet metal to a section for memos and magnets.
A Place to Hang Things Up
Attaching hooks to doors is a common practice. Many people use hooks on doors to hang bags, coats, hats, and more. This doesn’t have to stop once a door has been removed from its frame! You can cover a door with lots of hooks to hang tools on in the garage. Or if you apply a fresh coat of paint and attach some hanging bars, you can use it as a towel rack in your bathroom. Get creative! There are lots of uses for an old door.
