Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Drab To Fab Pantry Door



I had recently been thinking about what to do with my pantry door. I felt like it needed something. Using the word "Pantry" in vinyl letters came to mind but I've been using a lot of words around here and thought it was time for something else.


Here is the door I am talking about. It was a flat front, plain, wood door and we had already added trim and painted it white. But it still needed something....




The basement door on the other side of the room already had a chalkboard on it so I didn't want to do that.....



Then I saw Linda's post about doors and the wheels started turning. I have seen those doors before in Country Home but forgot all about them! http://www.countryhome.com/
http://restyledhome.blogspot.com/2009/03/no-ordinary-door.html

I love the look and started looking for damask wallpaper online. Hmmmmmm....$30-$100 a roll for wallpaper and I only needed a small piece. I'm too cheap...errr....frugal and thrifty for that. Then I remembered I had a stencil sitting around here and leftover paint in the basement. So off we go! Here it is with a coat of the wall color on it.


This particular stencil I used is two pieces. You do the first part and then overlap the second one on top after the first has dried. I tried to think about how a wallpaper repeat would look and attempted to space it properly. Please don't show up at my door with a measuring tape and a level. I don't want to know how uneven it really is!
If you are stenciling on cured paint, you can use stencil adhesive and painters tape to hold it in place. Since I'm really impatient and wanted to do this all the same day, I didn't use much so as not to mess up the freshly painted surface.




My old stool came in handy when I was stenciling the top of the door. That way I didn't have to let go of the stencil when I reloaded on paint.



At this point my stencil was looking a bit funny. Look at this one eyed alien. Do you see his arms and legs? "Take me to your leader!!!"




Don't be afraid to change your stencil if it isn't exactly what you want. I decided to block off the flower dots with painters tape. Again, be sure to tape both sides so the sticky side doesn't pull your paint off.




Here is the first layer all done. At this point my arms were tired and I was thinking it looked fine without the second stencil. Then I realized I would have to live with all the little aliens staring at me with their one eye so I continued on.


A few hours later and here it is all done!






I'm really pleased with the look and best of all, it was free! The whole thing took me about 5 hours. Some tips for this project:

~ Wash your hands frequently. There were a couple times I put my paint smeared fingers where the stencil wasn't going and had to quick wash it off.

~ Don't worry about the edges too much. It wasn't easy to bend the stencil into the corners so I did the best I could. If you look closely, the pattern doesn't go exactly to where it meets the trim but that's okay!

~ Start in the middle and work your way out.

~ And of course, have fun with it! I put on some music and even let my 3 year old help. Some of the paint is a little smudgy but when it comes to home projects, I'm okay with "good enough."

Now that door handle is glaring at me. I may have to use the money I saved on wallpaper on some new, pretty doorknobs. :)

48 comments:

jen said...

Oh my word!! I love it!! The main floor of our home has all hollow core doors. Blahhhh!! We had planned on installing real wood six panels, but with the economy the way it is...things are tight. I may try this. Fabulous!!

Jen

Dawn said...

Michelle, that is beautiful!!!! I absolutely love it! Forgive me if I copy this idea. Hee, hee, hee!!!

~Dawn
www.lifeateventuallycottage.blogspot.com

Admin said...

These are some great ideas, thank you.

Anonymous said...

This looks fantastic! I love it and what a difference it made! You're truly great! Woo Hooness!
Be a sweetie,
Shelia ;)

Lisa said...

OOOOOOOOOOOHH. SO BEAUTIFUL AND PERFECT FOR THAT DOOR.

HUGS FROM MAINE

http://sophie4me.blogspot.com/

Melissa Miller said...

~~~~WOW~~~~!
Fabulous Michelle! :)

Karla said...

It looks so great! I love it! I think you have more patience than I do - but it was obviously worth it! Thanks for sharing!

~Karla @ It's The Little Things...

Kari said...

That is fantastic! If only I had a pantry door to do this to!

Maisy said...

michelle,
are you kidding me. you are sooo awesome. i'm not kidding. that looks amazing.
you rock girl!!

Susan @ A Southern Daydreamer said...

Michelle, that is beautiful! great job!

Susan

Chris Kauffman said...

That is fab .
I think you are right about the knob though since the doors has that great hinges and all .
Great work

Julie said...

Wow that door looks fabulous what a great idea. and yes a knob is what that needs maybe an old one in white.
have a great week
julie

Sarah said...

I really love it Michelle!! Well done!

I agree about the knob, something pretty and glass might be the way to go, but a change is needed. :)

southerninspiration said...

Nothing like a custom made hand painted door to make a kitchen look special....I LOVE it!!!! You did really well making that choice!

Suzanne

southerninspiration said...

I don't know if this would work with a door knob, but I spray painted my kitchen knobs a hammered bronze and they look great....old shiny gold gone!!

Suzanne

Marty@A Stroll Thru Life said...

Wow, this is just fabulous and looks so wonderful. That is so creative of you and what a fantastic look. Great job. Hugs, Marty

Kathleen Grace said...

Beautiful project! I love it:>)

Paula said...

That's such a cute idea. I've never seen that before!

Jill -Forever and Ever House said...

Oh la la! Tres magnifique!!

aprilfoolwed said...

LOVE it! Seriously, you could get a job as an interior designer. I'd sure pay you to do my house! Great job!

Christina said...

Looks great! I need to find a door to do that to now!

Confessions of a Plate Addict said...

Amazing!!! You are one talented lady!!! Hugs...Debbie

Unknown said...

That is just beautiful, you did a great job, and I don't see any smudges!

Anonymous said...

All I can say is........incredible!!!!!

cherry said...

Awesome job! Just beautiful. cherry

Cindy (Applestone Cottage) said...

Michelle,
You are very talented indeed, and the door looks fabulous. I love how it turned out. Cindy

rosecreekcottage-carol.blogspot.com said...

What a SUPER idea. I love it!!

Linda (Nina's Nest) said...

That is a work of art! Beautiful! I love it! Linda

Anonymous said...

Fantastic job!!! I'm still looking at my door- deciding- undeciding- ok, deciding. well maybe- sometimes it's hard to make a decision!!

blessings
mary

Gypsy aka Tam said...

Oh you did an amazing job and it just looks stunning. I have a ugly steel door from my kitchen to the garage I want to do something with. You just gave me the courage to do so.
Have a wonderful day,
Tam

Anonymous said...

Oh my goodness, that turned out very nice!

trish said...

How pretty! What an amazing transformation! :o)
Sincerely ~ Tricia Anne

Rue said...

Good morning Michelle :)

That turned out really cute!! That might be just the thing I was looking for in our house :)

rue

June Cleaver in Sneakers said...

It's a gloomy, rainy day outside my window. Sometimes that kind of weather leads to spinning my wheels all day and accomplishing nothing. But...you have more than inspired me! The door is amazing!!

I must have one!!!

I'm off to Goodwill to check out their stash of wallpaper. Look out pantry...here I come.

Victoria said...

Wow, the door is beautiful! What a fabulous idea.

niartist said...

Oooo! I love it! What a gorgeous kitchen you have too! I think it's the perfect way to dress up that white door, and you did a great job with the stencil! Way to go!

Anonymous said...

LOVE it!

Anonymous said...

That's so pretty! I wish I had a pantry door to stencil. Maybe next year. I think my husband is going to try his hand at making one. Then I'll have to steal this nifty idea. :)

Elle Jay Bee said...

Oh my goodness...that's brilliant!! I love it all, especially your ingenuity at avoiding buying an expensive wallpaper!!

May I share the completed door photo with my readers, along with a link? This is too good not to share!

Yes, I agree about the knob. I am seeing a pretty glass knob there instead. Gorgeous!!

Linda

English Cottage in Georgia said...

Love the door...so unique!

Tootsie said...

I saw it yesterday...but I am back for a second look....it looks fantastic!

LuLu said...

Absolutely love it.. great job!!!
LuLu

Mary @ Framed and Tagged said...

It looks awesome! How creative you are!

Misti of Studio M Designs said...

I totally love this! What a great idea. If I had a door with the panel like that, I would paint it in a minute!
~Misti

Chris said...

One of the best projects I've seen in a long time! LOVE it. I now wish I had a flat door that I could paint!

Anonymous said...

WOW, your pantry door looks amazing! I know how you felt trying to find the right thing to add that much needed TLC to the door! I too went through the same thing. You can see before and after pics of my pantry door at KeepingupwiththeCampbells.blogspot.com.

Amy {The Red Chair Blog} said...

I love this! It turned out fabulous, and I like your "aliens" :)

Amy

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