Scavenger Chic

Installing a Vintage Pantry Door

• By Joan
• March 17, 2019
• 8 Comments

I dragged hubby to the salvage yard a few months ago.  We were on the hunt for an old door to take the place of our perfectly fine pantry door.  This is probably just 1/5th of all the doors they had that day and out of all those doors, just one was perfect for our project.  It was a little short, a little wide, but absolutely perfect.

Why change out a perfectly good door for an old peeling, scraggly door?  Character of course!

I would love to show you how to fit an old door into an existing opening but I am not an expert so I will refer you back to Youtube and a This Old House video. Now this guy is an expert…How to fit a Salvaged Door into an Existing Opening.

You can see at the bottom of my door that I did have to add a couple of inches to my door since it was just a little too short.  Don’t let a short door stop you from buying the perfect old door.

Repair any cracks, gaps or holes with wood putty.  This may take a couple layers, sand when dry.

There was a thin piece of molding holding the window in place on 3 of the four sides of the window.  On the fourth side someone had used window glazing to hold the old pane in place but that was cracking and falling out.

I used a screwdriver and hammer to pry the rest of the glazing out.  The blue is painters tape, I was hoping to save the window in case I had an oops with the screwdriver.  

Luckily I had no oopsie moments and the window survived intact.

I did not have the same original  molding that surrounded the window.  I did have a piece of quarter round molding which did a fine job of standing in for the original.  This is the new molding after the final coat of paint.

If you did any trimming of your door, sand your cut edges.

I’m lining my new (old) door up with the original to mark where the hinges will go.

Use a hammer and chisel to notch out the space where the hinge will go.  Make evenly spaced notches the length of the hinge.

Use the chisel again to knock out all those chiseled areas.

Whether you have new or old windows clean up any messy paint job with a razor blade.

Install the door and clean the glass.

I didn’t want my window so clean that I could see straight thru to all my junk. Rustoleum Frosted Glass to the rescue.

I bought 3 inch adhesive letters to spell out PANTRY.  Printed out PANTRY on the computer  in block letters the same width and arc as I wanted it to look on my door.

Centered and taped the printout to the back of the glass.

I used the printout as a guide for my 3 inch adhesive letters.  The letters were stuck on the front of the glass. I didn’t worry that the printout and the adhesive letters weren’t exactly the same, I just centered the letters on the printout version. 

Use the spray Frosted Glass to cover the window and lettering.  Let dry and reapply.  Remove the adhesive letters when finished.

Paint the door the color of your choice.  This is black chalk paint.

Sand all those beautiful old door edges.  You’re using an old door, might as well show it off a bit.

After removing the hardware I had a few random holes in the door.  One got covered with the new doorknob, one was only about a half inch in diameter and then there was this thing.

I thought I might just leave the holes for a little character but after painting it was a little too noticeable.

No worries, it’s an easy fix.  Cut a dowel the same thickness of the door and use wood glue to secure.

Fill in any gaps and holes with wood putty, then sand.  Repaint.

Finish off the chalk paint with clear or vintage wax.

A view from the inside of the pantry looking out.  The frosted glass still allows light in but there is no longer a clear view of all my junk.

Pulled back a little, you can just make out the buffet  all the way to the left that I finished last spring.

My door has gone back in time.

I will save the original door in case we ever sell our house.  I know I always like to have options.

Until next time, stay inspired.

Shared at Between Naps on the Porch

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