DIY Network

Bifold Door Room Divider Turn drab closet doors into a modern-art room divider. From "B. Original" episode DBOR-146

Old closet doors never looked so good!

Sometimes the most stylish parts of your décor come from the most humble places. That's true for this project: B. Original host Michele Beschen shows how to turn bifold closet doors into a hip room divider that will give your space a modern flair.

This easy how-to uses hollow-core bifold closet doors. They're cheap to purchase new, and can be virtually free if you find them at a yard sale or thrift shop. You may even have some of your own tucked away in the garage.

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Materials:

bifold closet doors
masking tape
drill
rotar tool
box cutter
eye protection
hole saw
circular saw
metal straight edge
large diameter PVC pipe

Safety Alert: Always wear eye protection when using the saw, drill, rotary tool or hole saw.

	Figure A
	Figure B

Prepare Your Doors

• Decide which side of your doors will be the "front" of the room divider—the side that's the most visible. Some of the techniques in this project may chip the wood slightly, and you'll want these tiny flaws to face toward the back. Use a piece of masking tape or other easy-to-remove method to mark the door's front.

• Cut your doors to size (figure A). Michele Beschen cut about 1½ feet from the height of her doors to get the right dimensions for her room. To cut, lay your doors back-side up and cut with a circular saw. Michele Beschen clamped a straight edge to her work piece to make sure her cut stayed true (figure B).

• Don't throw away the door extra pieces: You can use them to make some fun wall art.
  
  
• Remove the hinges and other hardware from the doors.

	Figure C
	Figure D
	Figure E
	Figure F
	Figure G

Cut Decorative Shapes

• Lay the doors front-side up and determine where you want your shapes to go. Stay away from the edges of the doors—there's more solid material there, making it hard to cut. Also, cutting too close to the door edge reduces its strength.

• Use a hole-saw bit the size of your PVC pipe to cut a perfect circle in your door (figure C). Start cutting from the front, but stop just after the drill bit in the center of the hole saw blade pierces the back of the door. Turn the door over, line up the bit with the small hole, and cut the larger hole from the back. This will keep you from chipping out material as the saw comes through.

• Continue cutting holes throughout the doors until you're happy with the effect. Leave them plain or frame them out with PVC pieces (figure D).

• You also can inlay interesting objects in the door. Select objects that have the same depth as your door or are slightly deeper (so they will protrude a bit). Position your objects and trace them on the door as precisely as possible (figure E).

• For a recessed object, you only want to cut through one side of the door. To do this, use a Dremel or similar rotary tool with a multi-purpose spiral bit to cut around the traced shape (figure F).

• Pry out the cut material and check the fit. If you need to remove a little more material, use a box cutter or similar sharp blade. Sand down the edges until smooth and insert your object (figure G).

• Once all of your shapes are cut and finished out, you can paint your doors and reattach your hardware .

These fun room dividers are great for kids' rooms or dens, but they also dress up for more formal spaces. B. Original and see how they can work in your decor!

RESOURCES :

Dremel Tools
Website: www.dremel.com