Hey there!! Hope you had an AMAZING holiday!! We enjoyed ours greatly and now I’m ready to move into the New Year. I’ve had a few lingering projects that I’ve mentioned here and there, I wanted to get those wrapped up and posted for y’all here on the blog. One of those was the sliding door in my laundry/craft room. I haven’t shown much of the laundry side of the room but I’m hoping to fix that over the next week. Here’s a refresher of what the craft room opposite the laundry looks like.
The entrance to this room is right off of our kitchen. It had a couple of louvered doors on it that we really didn’t like. They looked bad but they also made the door opening super narrow so that every time I tried to carry a laundry basket out I’d bang it into the doors. Not cool. No form. No function.
So, we took this gnarly looking door off the front of our house. Joel and I had the harebrained idea to strip it all the way down to the original wood. The problem was, this door was original to our 1954 house and had been painted a gazillion times. We used 4 different chemical products on it to get down to the wood. It. took. F.O.R.E.V.E.R. And actually, if I can get personal for just a minute, I was having a hard time in my life during the process. I was battling depression, which was very new territory for me. Stripping this door became a mission and a symbol of fighting through it all. It took months to finish stripping the layers of paint off this door. My husband, Joel, helped a ton and would encourage me, if I didn’t do anything else that day to work on stripping just a few layers off the door. It became a thing and now this door holds a very special place in my heart. It represents a hard time that I fought through and came out better on the other side. With that said, I don’t have many in process pictures. *womp,womp*
How pretty is that wood?!?! And can we talk about how I hung it once I got it lookin’ all fine?
DIY Sliding Door – What You’ll Need
Desired length of plumbing conduit
2 floor flanges
First I pre-drilled holes into the top of my would-be sliding door. (I didn’t want to split my wood after all of the hard work I put into stripping the paint off of it!) Then I screwed the eye hooks into the top of the door. You will definitely need a partner in crime for this project. Four hands will certainly be better than two.
Next, pre-drill and attach your two casters onto the bottom of the door. Stand your door up and slide your long plumbing conduit through the eye hooks on top of your door. Hold your door and conduit in place to get a feel for where you want it to hang. Keep in mind, most of the weight of the door is being supported by the casters on the floor. The eye hooks and pipe are just a guide for the door to slide on.
Mark where your flanges will go. Luckily for me, I had a space where I could hang my pipe from wall to wall. If you aren’t that lucky you can buy a curved joint to add to your pipe to hang it on the wall above your door opening.
Put your sliding door to the side and screw one floor flange into place. Bring your door and pipe back over and screw one end into the flange. Get your other flange and screw onto the opposite end of the pipe. Have your helper hold the door in place while the other flange is attached to the wall and you’re done!!
Kristi says
December 28, 2015 at 10:50 amIt’s absolutely perfect Leigh Anne! LOOOOOOOVE it!
Sarah @ Little Red Brick House says
December 29, 2015 at 11:00 amIt looks so amazing, Leigh Anne! I love that you kept it natural because that wood is gorgeous! The story behind it is so inspiring and makes this project all the more special. Love projects like that! Awesome job, friend.
Katie says
December 31, 2015 at 10:44 amYour door looks awesome and your craft room does too! Oh my gosh what an inspiring space to work in!
Leigh Anne says
January 1, 2016 at 9:52 pmThanks Katie, I’m loving it!!
Dalene says
January 1, 2016 at 12:31 amHow easily does it slide?
Leigh Anne says
January 1, 2016 at 9:52 pmIt slides easily!
Shay says
October 1, 2018 at 11:17 amCan you lock the sliding door? Is it easy to open/close from the “other” side? Is there a handle or hole to use as a “pull?”
Leigh Anne says
October 1, 2018 at 11:32 amThere’s a hole from a knob that used to be in it. We never put a pull there, just used the hole. It doesn’t lock but we didn’t need it to either.
Shay says
October 1, 2018 at 12:42 pmCool! Thanks for the reply/answer . . . ‘Twas a good job.
Geraldine Pugh says
January 1, 2016 at 5:31 pmI love the ideas!
Leigh Anne says
January 1, 2016 at 9:52 pmThanks!!
deonnawade says
January 3, 2016 at 6:06 pmLOVE this!!!!
Leigh Anne says
January 3, 2016 at 6:09 pmThanks Deonna!!
Bre @ Average But Inspired says
January 7, 2016 at 9:21 pmWhat a labor of love! It’s beautiful!
Leigh Anne says
January 8, 2016 at 2:19 pmThank you Bre!!
Lori Nicolson says
January 7, 2016 at 11:50 pmThe door is amazing! Thank you for sharing your personal challenge along the way. It touched home. Your work space is stunning…
Leigh Anne says
January 8, 2016 at 2:20 pmThanks for stopping by Lori. And thanks for the compliment!!
Ashley ~ 3 Little Greenwoods says
January 8, 2016 at 9:28 pmFighting your way out of depression is no joke. I love that this beautiful door represents you victory! Thanks so much for sharing your struggle and such an awesome tutorial!
{{BIG hugs}}
~ Ashley
Meredith says
January 11, 2016 at 12:17 pmI love so many things about this post! First of all, I love the design and it looks great. (And I’m salivating over your craft space!) But I also really love the story that goes behind it. What a beautiful outcome from a tough time, and I can really relate! Thanks for sharing.
Leigh Anne says
January 13, 2016 at 6:26 amThank you Meridith! Happy to share and know that others can relate 🙂
Kim R says
January 15, 2016 at 6:00 pmJust gorgeous! Congrats on a beautiful addition to a great space!!
Kimm at Reinvented & Roadkill Rescue says
January 20, 2016 at 9:08 pmSo so gorgeous. And now that I know the wonderful story of the process, It’s even more beautiful. That’s what makes blogging so special, doesn’t it? Everything means more when we know the story and the struggles behind the pretty pictures. I hope that you are feeling stronger. Have a blessed day!
Yum Yucky says
May 3, 2016 at 1:43 pmI totally going to do this. The basement door is off of our kitchen, and it’s doorless right now. Ugh! This is the perfect solution. I’m new to your blog and loving it.
Angela says
September 28, 2016 at 11:04 amAmazing, genius, liberating from any impediments to diy.
I really do not know how to thank you for this, it seems like the miracle solution.
Grateful
Angela
Antoinette says
October 8, 2016 at 2:55 pmCool, it is perfect for
mine shed and hall , form a Dutch mother thanks for the idee