The Decoration

Remember way, way back, when I first posted about the awesome, old door that we found on the side of the road?

If not, I don't blame you. It was way back in March, but I'll give you a quick abbreviated rundown to catch you up...


Last March I was lucky enough to spot a "Free Stuff" pile just outside of our neighborhood. And in it, was a solid wood, 8 panel door.

I thought it was perfect.

Will thought I was crazy.

But he knew if he didn't help me load it into the car that I would do whatever it took to get it in there myself. So, reluctantly, he helped me load the door, and it became mine!

You can read all about it, along with my original plan for the door, here:
"Look What I Found"

But before I made any final decisions on how to transform it, I wanted to see what all of you thought about how the door should be used. You all are an opinionated bunch (which is exactly what I was hoping for) and, in the end, you made the decision an easy one for me!

You can read all about that here:
"Your Opinions On The Door"


So what did we end up doing with it?

Well, here she is...

Not only did we cut out the top four panels and replace them with glass, but we turned it into a Dutch Door and I could not be happier with the end result!


The process was a bit tricky. We weren't entirely sure how well the door would hold up to cutting out panels and sawing it in half, but luckily for us, it was in great condition.

The first step was to cut out the panels...

Next, we sawed the door in half to create our Dutch Door...



and added a new doorknob...


Then we added a ledge onto the bottom half of the door. The original door was a few inches shorter than the doors in our house, so we had to fill that gap. Nothing a simple 2x4 couldn't fix...


Originally, we thought we would use plexiglass to create the windows in the top half of the door. But the more we thought about it, the more we felt like it could (and should) be a bit classier, maybe a little more permanent than that. We knew that we could find a piece of glass that not only suited our aesthetic, but one that would make the door that much more unique.

We headed to Tacoma and found the coolest glass shop. Our heads were spinning with all of the ideas that were floating through our heads. They had glass in shades and textures that we never could have imagined. Beautiful!

My only requirements for the glass we chose were that it let every bit of possible light through, and that it would have texture so that the picture we saw in the laundry room would be scattered and diffused. No need for our guests to see "Mt. Laundrius", as the boys so affectionately call it!

We settled on a piece of glass called "Falling Rain". You get the picture - a little streaky and bubbly. But since I would rather think outside of the box than stay inside it, I decided to flip the glass sideways so that the streaks run from side to side, instead of top to bottom. I have to say, the little, old man at the glass shop looked at me like I was crazy, but...ultimately, the customer is always right. Right?

The glass fit perfectly and we held it in place with a bead of silicone...

Will cut strips of wood to frame in and secure the glass on the back side of the door...

The stain that we used for the glass trim is also what we ended up using for the ledge on the bottom half of the door...

We also repositioned a small piece of hardware that was on the door when we first picked it up. I have no idea what it was used for, but it's old and aged and I like it...


I was giddy when it was all said and done!

And 8 months later...I still am!


It lets light into our hallway, which was what I had always wanted. What is the point of having a window in a bright, light-filled laundry room if you never, ever see it anyway?

Now, we see the light!

I definitely owe Will a big, huge Thank You for helping me make this happen!

And, for the record, he loves it too. I knew he would!

:)


Have you found any cool "Free Stuff" lately?




P.S. I am posting this over at:

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First, I have to start by saying that I loved reading all of your comments on my door dilemma.

Second, you all are an opinionated bunch.

:)

And I love you that way.


I will happily agree with every one of you that the door is fabulous just the way it is. There are definitely plenty of other directions that we could go to use this door in a unique way. Another reason why two, three...57 heads are better than one! I won't be making a single cut until I'm absolutely sure that we're using it in the best possible way for us.


Let's get on with how your opinions stacked up...

55 of you weighed in on the question of whether or not we should turn our new FREE STUFF door into a dutch door for our laundry room and cut out some of the panels to let the light pour out from the window in that room.

Almost every single one of you answered with a "yes" and then in the same sentence, also a "no".

Here is the breakdown:

17 of you said - Yes! You should absolutely turn it into a Dutch Door!

6 of you said - No! A Dutch Door is not right for that location.

13 of you said - Light is good! Remove all of the panels and replace them with plexi-glass to get the maximum amount of light.

2 of you said - Replace only the top 2 individual panels with plexi.

4 of you said - Replace only the top 4 individual panels with plexi.

5 of you said - Cut out the interior from the top 4 panels and replace it with one big sheet of plexi making one large window.

3 of you said - Don't touch it! The door is great just as it is.

4 of you said - Use it for a different project - not as a traditional door at all.



A few of my favorite comments:


"Well I love the look and function of a dutch door, you can just throw the dirty laundry through the open top half!! Couldn't you add a strip of wood trim on the bottom edge and attempt to get it to match the finish...somehow?...to fix the height issue? Whatever you decide to do I know it will be wonderful. I love the mix of old and new here."

Janell from Isabella & Max Rooms


Yes, Janell, we're on the same page! Just toss the laundry through the top half into the hamper! And I'm with you, the mix of old and new is the best part in my opinion.



"I love the dutch door idea. Leave the top 1/2 open during the day, close it for company. If your piles of laundry are higher than the bottom 1/2 of the door, you may want to get in there and do a load but otherwise - I love it. Plus, you can just pitch the clothes thru the top without having to open a door. I think it's brilliant and would be fabulous. Give it a try!"

Terri from Chocolates For Breakfast


This one made me laugh out loud! Very true, Terri - if the piles were higher than the bottom half of the door, we wouldn't even be able to open the door! That would be a problem. My "mountains" of laundry aren't that bad, but they certainly aren't very pretty to look at!


And this one from Nicole who said:

"I think a dutch door would be fine. To minimize the gap between the door and the floor you could put in a little ledge at the split of the door that would make up the difference. Like this: Weather Shield Dutch Door"


LOVE that ledge!

Thanks for the link, Nicole!



Several of you asked which way the door would swing and I'm assuming that's because of the way this picture looks:


The hinges are sitting on the outside of the door frame only because the existing laundry room door is still in place. The best we could do to see how it would look is to open the laundry room door and simply prop the new door into place. So no worries - it would swing into the laundry room, just like the current door does now. When the top half is open it will be inside the laundry room. We wouldn't do it if the only option caused it to block off access to the kitchen or become hazardous to little foreheads.

The issue of paint came up, and honestly, I have no idea if it is painted with lead paint or not. When we first picked it up off the side of the road I had every intention to repaint it. But once we propped it into place, I saw how perfect the existing color is in our home. I would simply put polyurethane over the top to give it a good seal and ensure that the possibility of paint coming off wasn't an option.

In my quest to find the "right answer" (not actually believing that there is such a thing), I came across one photo in particular that helped solidify my own personal opinion. A $6000 kitchen remodel (I know! Awesome, right? You have to see the "before" picture) found on This Old House, that incorporated, among plenty of other things that I love, a dutch door. This home is similar to our layout in that the dutch door sits in a spot where it is flanked by an open doorway and is right off the kitchen...

I love it!

What I also found, is that there are no hard and fast rules about where a dutch door should or should not be used. Originally the purpose of a Dutch Door was to keep farm animals out of the house while still allowing fresh air to circulate into the home. These days Dutch Doors are making an appearance on the inside of homes, as much as they used to appear on the outside. I found this write up from Jeld-wen. Here's just a bit of what they had to say on the subject:

"The Dutch door is also finding new uses inside the home in rooms ranging from family areas to utility rooms. According to JELD-WEN, the reason Dutch doors are moving inside has as much to do with style as functionality.

For example, using a Dutch door for the laundry room allows homeowners the option of leaving the top of the door open to promote better ventilation or easily closing it to help block noise when appliances are running.

Maximizing light and a sense of spaciousness are very important to builders and homeowners. Dutch doors are great because they provide desirable configuration options that allow for some privacy and visual separation without completely blocking off rooms,” said Mesiel. “It’s a great idea from a classic style whose time has definitely come again.”

I suppose the bottom line for me is that, in our home, the way that we use the space and where it is located, makes for a great spot for a Dutch Door. And because it is right off of the kitchen (the heart of our home) it will be a unique feature that offers a whole lot of character to a space that is closed off, dark and architecturally, a bit uninspiring.

As far as cutting out the panels to add plexi-glass, so that we can have a light filled hallway even when the door is closed...

ok, I'll admit, I'm struggling with this one. I would love to cut out the top 4 panels and replace them with plexi. Or, like Col, from A Mix Of Scrap, said:

"I would cut out the whole top part (all 4 panels and the middle + in between them) and put plexiglass in that. Tons of light, and you can either leave it as a regular door, OR cut it in half have your Dutch door. Either way, lots o' light :)"

Will and I read this, looked at each other and said "Why didn't we think of that?"

It is definitely do-able. And it would look great. And it would give us tons of light. And, overall, it would be easier than cutting out two, or even four, individual panels.

But I hesitate to do it because I'm afraid that the door will lose too much of it's time worn character if we cut out that much of the door.

As it stands now, that part will just have to remain a "wait and see".

Hopefully we can work on this project over the course of the next week and before long have a "Big Reveal" to show you what became of the FREE STUFF door.


Again, thank you so much for all of your thoughts and opinions!

I'm always open to hear what you have to say, so keep the comments coming.

I love hearing from you!




P.S. Today is the last day to enter our Giveaway from Dimples And Dandelions! Click here if you haven't yet had the chance to enter!

Sitting in someone's front yard in a pile of junk, marked with a

sign, was this...

An old, beat up, run down, solid wood, 8 panel door...

Will thought I was crazy for wanting to take it home with me, but that's to be expected. He thought the same thing when I brought home the ugly, old "Free Stuff" headboard (remember my Headboard Bench?), but look how great that turned out!

It's true that while we were loading the door into the back of the car, I didn't know exactly what I would be doing with it, but come on...you can't pass up a solid wood door.

At least, I can't pass up a solid wood door!

What happened next was something that I couldn't even have hoped for.

I don't ever get this lucky.

See that door way back there?

The one right there...

That's our laundry room door, and while I love that it easily conceals the massive piles of dirty clothes behind it (I'll admit it - laundry is my least favorite chore), what I don't love is that it also blocks off all the light that pours thorough the window that we have in our laundry room...

So, my solution was to search, and patiently wait, for a door with windows on Craigslist, or head to one of my absolute favorite spots, Second Use (a salvage yard) and buy a door that would fit to replace our current laundry room door. Adding a door with windows and flooding the hallway with light throughout the day would make a huge difference in how the space feels. Even Will couldn't deny the benefits. And living in the Pacific Northwest, the more natural light that you can squeeze into the house (especially on a cloudy day), the better!

I almost didn't even bother measuring my new Free Stuff door to see if it would fit the opening, because...really, how often do things happen that perfectly?

I was shocked!

It fits our laundry room!

So we propped it up into place to get a good look at it...

and I LOVE it!

It looks so good!

I love, Love the juxtaposition of the old, worn paint and beat up wood against the crisp white, tailored wainscotting and trim.

So my new plan (since I no longer had to worry about waiting on Craigslist, or driving out to Second Use) was to turn our "new" old door into a Dutch Door.

Finally, I would be able to have a Dutch Door!

Because it is solid wood we can cut it through the middle, and using simple guidelines that I have found online, we should be able to make the change relatively easily...

But,

(are you thinking what I'm thinking?)

a Dutch Door doesn't make for a very good way of concealing all of those mountains of laundry.

So, (light bulb moment) why not just cut out the top two panels and insert plexiglass in them? Then I can frost the plexiglass so that we are unable to actually see the mess behind it. We will get all the benefits of sunlight pouring through while still keeping the door closed when we need to...

Sounds like a good, reasonable plan, right?

It does to me.

But the more that Will and I talked about it, the further he strayed from my turn-the-free-stuff-door-into-our-new-dutch-door-with-windows plan.

So I'm asking your opinion.

What do you think?

What you should know is that the length of the door, after being hung, would come up a bit short. We would hang it at the right height on top, but there would be a gap at the bottom. Not a huge one, but a bit bigger than normal.

I have other ideas rolling around my head just in case this plan doesn't end up happening, but I'm really, really hoping that with your help, we can convince Will that this is a great idea!

(Like how I brought you guys in to this?)

:)

But, I want your honest opinions.

I'm all ears...

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