Modern Slat-Style Closet Door Upgrade
Step-by-step guide made from Our Home In Making's YouTube video.
This project details how to upgrade standard builder-grade closet doors by covering them with a thin plywood sheet and adding vertical wood strips to create a modern, slatted look. The doors are painted a dark gray and finished with custom-made gold handles for a stylish contrast.
- Difficulty: intermediate
Safety
- Be extremely careful when using a nail gun to assemble the small pieces for the door handles, as there is very little room to work.
Must know before you build
- Cut plywood slightly smaller than door edges; leave gap for hinges and closing to prevent binding.
- Use a scrap wood spacer to ensure perfectly even gaps between vertical decorative strips.
- Achieve a smooth, professional finish using a paint roller, avoiding brush marks on large surfaces.
- Apply iron-on veneer edge banding with a clothing iron for clean, finished plywood edges.
- Exercise extreme caution when nail-gunning small handle pieces; work area is very tight.
- Sand hinge grooves into the new plywood layer to maintain proper door swing and closure.
Tools
- Nail gun (Brad nailer)
- Sander (Random orbital sander)
- Drill/Driver (Cordless drill)
- Paint roller
- Iron (Clothing iron)
- Miter saw (RYOBI) (optional)
Materials
- Plywood sheet (1, 0.25-inch)
- Square wood strips (3/4-inch)
- Edge Banding (Iron-on veneer)
- Primer
- Paint (Dark Gray)
- Wood glue
- Gold spray paint
Step by step
Step 1: Prep Doors & Plywood
Unscrew and remove the existing closet doors from their hinges, then cut the plywood sheets to the correct size to cover them.
- Remove Existing Doors & Hardware. Using a drill, unscrew the hinges to remove the old closet doors from the frame. If your doors have magnetic catches, remove and save those as well.
- Tip: You can do this project with the doors still hanging, but taking them down allows you to work on a flat, stable surface.
- Cut Plywood Sheets. Cut your 0.25-inch plywood sheets to match the dimensions of your doors. The sheets for the back side of the doors should be cut slightly smaller to allow clearance for closing.
Step 2: Prime and Paint Plywood
Apply a coat of primer to the plywood sheets, followed by two coats of dark gray paint using a roller for a smooth finish.
- Prime the Plywood. Using a paint roller, apply a single, even coat of primer to the 'good' side of your plywood sheets. You don't need to prime both sides.
- Paint the Plywood. Once the primer is dry, use a roller to apply your final paint color. Apply two coats for full, even coverage, allowing for drying time between coats.
Step 3: Fabricate and Paint Handles
Construct custom door handles by cutting, gluing, and nailing together pieces of wood trim, then spray paint them gold.
Step 4: Attach Plywood and Handles
Attach the finished handles to the plywood sheets from behind, then secure the entire plywood assembly onto the face of the original doors using a nail gun.
- Attach Handles to Plywood. Position the finished handles on the painted plywood sheets. From the back side of the plywood, drive nails through into the handle posts to secure them without visible nail holes on the front.
- Nail Plywood to Doors. Align the plywood sheet (with handle attached) onto the face of the original door. Use a nail gun to attach the plywood sheet securely around its perimeter and through the center.
Step 5: Re-attach Magnets
Drill pilot holes and screw the magnetic door catches back onto the newly surfaced doors.
- Reinstall Magnetic Catches. Drill a small pilot hole through the new plywood layer where the original magnet was located. Then, screw the magnetic catch back into place.
Step 6: Add Decorative Strips
Measure, cut, and nail the decorative wood strips onto the door face in a vertical pattern, using a spacer for even placement.
- Layout & Cut Strips. Arrange the 3/4-inch wood strips on the door face to create your desired vertical pattern. Use a ruler and pencil to mark the lengths needed for your design, then cut the strips to size.
- Nail Strips to Door Face. Use a nail gun to attach the cut wood strips to the door. Use a small scrap piece of the same wood as a spacer between strips to ensure consistent, even gaps.
Step 7: Finish the Edges
Use a sander to clear space along the door edges for the hinges, then apply iron-on edge banding to cover the raw plywood edges for a finished look.
- Sand Hinge Grooves. Using a power sander with coarse-grit sandpaper (like 40-grit), carefully sand down the new plywood layer in the areas where the door hinges will sit. This creates a recess so the hinges can be reinstalled flush with the door edge.