BLOG/ 8 Tips to Renovate Doors on a Limited Budget!​​

For so many reasons, it’s important to try to extend the life of the things in your home. Replacing the worn items in your home is incredibly expensive, it’s much more economical to try to renovate them.

Doors often take the brunt of the abuse in our homes. Be it from bumping into them with a pointy object, accidentally kicking them while trying to hold the door open or other shenanigans (if you have children or pets, you know what I mean), wooden doors are no strangers to surface damage. Learning how to renovate doors can help save you money and keep something with a lot of life left out of the landfill.

One of the benefits of wooden doors is that they are a pretty straightforward DIY to renovate. As long as they aren’t warped or severely damaged, there are a few simple renovations you can do yourself to bring them back to life without breaking the bank. Check out our 8 tips to renovate doors on a limited budget.

Make a Clean Slate

Whether you are painting the door for the first time or are looking to change its existing color, the first thing you need to do is sand the door. Sanding will help the new paint or stain adhere to the door.

The best way to do this is by sanding off the existing paint or stain.  Use a rough sandpaper like 40 grit to remove the old paint. To get the paint out of any grooves, you may want to use a sanding sponge.

Remember to wear a respirator or n-95 mask when you are sanding to protect your lungs!

Filling Holes

If you discover any scratches in your wooden door while you sand, fill the dents with wood filler. Once the wood filler dries, usually in 24 hours, use a piece of fine sandpaper to make sure the wood filler is flush with the door. As long as the wood filler is even, it shouldn’t be noticeable when you paint over it.

If there is more than just minor damage to your door, check out our guides on how to repair a wooden door.

Painting

Use a clean, damp cloth to remove any sawdust on the surface of the door. If you are painting a door a new color, you will need to prime it first with two or three layers of paint.

Check out our blog on painting doors for complete instructions.

Painting is by far the easiest and latest expensive way to renovate doors!

Replacing Hardware

An easy way to transform the look of your door is by simply changing it’s hardware. Don’t underestimate the personality of your door’s hardware. Changing out a door knob and hinges can completely transform the look (and feel) of your door. To be thrifty, look for hardware at an antique store or a re-store to get a killer deal.

As long as you have a screwdriver, you can easily DIY this project. Take a walk down your local hardware store’s door knob aisle for inspiration! I bet you didn’t know how many options you had. Whatever your style is, somewhere out there, there is a door knob that complements your decor!

Add Panels

It’s important for your doors to match the home’s age and aestethic. If you’d like to add a little dimension to an otherwise flat door, you can add your own panels without replacing the door or breaking the bank. As long as you already have the tools on hand, this DIY can cost less than $30.

This DIY door panel tutorial will walk you through transforming your flat doors into something classic.

Decorative Glass

If your door has glass panels and needs to be refreshed, tthere are several inexpensive things you can do to bring some excitement in.

There are several very convincing peel and stick stained glass products you can buy in a wide variety of colors and patterns.

If you’re crafty, making your own flower petal stained glass can be fun and beautiful!

Bold Prints

Not everyone is a crafty superstar. If you like color but are intimidated by painting, consider using a vinyl sticker on your door! Much like peel and stick wallpaper, this sticker can even be used to spruce up a rental property. The only catch is that the door needs to be flat.

There are so many interesting designs and patterns, you can really transform your door into a design feature for less than $50.00 and with no special tools!

Turn it into a Barn Door

A simple and relatively inexpensive way to renovate your door is to transform it into a barn door!  All you need to do is purchase a Barndoor Hardware Kit and any door can become a sliding barn door.

This will totally transform your room’s profile and feel and it is a straightforward DIY renovation that can even increase your home’s value.

For more tips on how to renovate on a budget, check out our blog post Tips to Renovate your House on a Limited Budget.