This is a great way to repurpose a bifolding door.
I have been doing these kinds of projects ever since I started my t2t stuff. I have had two of these doors for over a year in my “inventory”. It wasn’t until I saw this at the diy site that I knew what to do with them. In fact even after I saw their project, I had it on my “to do” list, but didn’t know I had the doors. A few weeks ago, while cleaning out my garage, I found two doors that I had gotten curb shopping and I had that aha moment! In this first picture, you can see that I spray painted it black. (some of the pictures are of the brown one I also made)
In this photo, you can see the back of the shutter slats. I put wood glue on the bottom, top and on random slats to hold the “backer board”.
I use any scrap piece of luan I can find, even old paneling. I paint one side of the board to match the front of the organizer.
This is my best friend! It is my battery operated nailer. Wood glue and these 18 gauge nails are all you need for this simple project. If you don’t have a nailer, brad nails will be fine. I cut the backer board to fit in between the side rails, and I cut the length so that it will fall below the slats and above the slats. This way I have a place to nail and glue it. I used a wooden tool box and the nailer to weight it down until the glue set up.
This is a closeup of the backer board and the nails.
I measured the top part, isn’t it great that it was solid, and I didn’t have to remove any slats! For the memo part I used a ceiling tile that I got at our Habitat for Humanity Restore for ten cents.
I covered the ceiling tile with the fabric. I first tried to use a staple gun, but the staples didn’t seem to want to hold very well. I then used some awesome “found” tape. It’s sort of like giant electrical tape. It has that sort of stretchiness to it, although it looks more like duct tape. I then used liquid nails for paneling to attach the ceiling tile to the solid part of the shutter.
I don’t have a picture of the back, but I took the time to paint it for a more finished look.
This is the brown one. It’s nice, but I really like the black one better.
gail
Check out other door projects here:
Denise says
February 3, 2015 at 1:07 pmI find your instructions a bit all over the place. I was looking at the chord dresser made with two end tables. Pictures are of stripped pieces off front but you don’t say what you put in the place of the stripped dental woodwork. Also a picture is with one with top completely off then finished is with it in place.
gail@myrepurposedlife.com says
February 3, 2015 at 3:07 pmDenise,
I’m sorry that my directions are confusing to you. I take my readers through my thought process. I started to make it with the bottom nightstand (top off) However sitting it directly on the side of the nightstand (without a top) made a “seam” around the sides that I would need to cover up somehow. So, I trimmed the top of the bottom nightstand so it wouldn’t be so large, and then stacked the top one on the bottom one.
The directions are all there, explaining why I did what I did.
I hope things are a little clearer now.
gail
ps the project you’re talking about is on THIS page: https://www.myrepurposedlife.com/2015/01/cord-clutter-solved-repurposed-nightstands.html
Holly Baker says
February 25, 2013 at 1:16 amI will be buying this nailer. I am soooooo excited to have it! http://www.lowes.com/pd_162053-70-DC608B_0__?productId=3195051&Ntt=battery+operated+nailer&pl=1¤tURL=%3FNtt%3Dbattery%2Boperated%2Bnailer&facetInfo=
Holly Baker says
February 22, 2013 at 9:03 amMy hubby swears that you can’t do projects with a nailer because the nailer would be too powerful. Thank you for posting this. I found the perfect battery-operated nailer that I will be purchasing very soon!
Megandvd@Beauty in the Attempt says
March 15, 2010 at 1:52 amI am so humbled after looking thru your gallery. Oh my!! I am THRILLED that not only have we met..but you live right next door! A local blogger….how divine! Maybe I can plead with you enough to let me tag a long sometime when you go thrifting or even better — when you are working with power tools! 🙂
Cheers~
e
Chari at Happy To Design says
March 15, 2010 at 1:40 amHi Gail…
What a fabulous idea, my friend! I would have never thought to use old louvered bi-fold doors in such a manner! You are so clever and creative!!! I love how both the black and the brown turned out! Love, love, LOVE this great idea! And…your tutorial was really good! Thank you so much for sharing this project with us today for Sunday Favorites!!! This was a great post and definitely deserved a second showing!!!
Warmest wishes,
Chari @Happy To Design
Homemade Quilts by Granny says
March 15, 2010 at 12:15 amWhat a great idea.
Lori E says
March 15, 2010 at 12:15 amI too find stuff buried away that I have forgotten about. It makes it much more rewarding I think, to happen upon something right when you know what to do with it.
Lori E says
March 15, 2010 at 12:15 amI too find stuff buried away that I have forgotten about. It makes it much more rewarding I think, to happen upon something right when you know what to do with it.
Heidi@TheCraftMonkey says
March 14, 2010 at 10:34 pmwhat a fun idea! And with it being a door it has PLENTY of room!
Teri says
March 14, 2010 at 5:22 pmHi, Gail! Thanks for stopping by and commenting on my love for IKEA…even if you do think I’m weird! 😉 LOL
What a great idea this is! I love that blue-and-black fabric! 🙂 It’s such a lovely and simple way to spruce up an otherwise empty corner. How great! 🙂
Jane says
November 23, 2009 at 1:47 pmLove your memo board and mail center! Amazing how those shutters are perfect for holding mail and photos! I love the black one too, then again I love anything painted black! In fact, I’m painting a shelf black for our mudroom right now!
Thanks for linkin’ up to FF!
Jane @ Finding Fabulous
Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions says
November 20, 2009 at 9:30 pmThis is such a neat idea!