DIY Cheap Bi-Fold Closet Door Makeover

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Looking for an easy and budget-friendly means of upgrading a cheap, bi-fold closet door? In this DIY tutorial, I am sharing how to elevate the look of your boring, builder-grade doors for only $50.

Did I ever mention the fact that I live with two Tasmanian devils?

Not only do they ravage my pantry and create never-ending piles of laundry , but they also have a tendency to destroy anything they place their grimey little hands on.

Case in point? The original closet doors in Tasmanian devil #1’s room.

As a matter of fact, the original doors were mirrored panels straight from 1986.

While I was totally fine with the original closet doors (the mirrored doors actually made the room look bigger to me), in typical Tasmanian fashion, as soon as we notify our realtor that we are finished with prepping our home to sell, one of the glass panels shatters. While I think it was the result of a temper tantrum, I really cannot say for sure.

At any rate, we wanted to address the issue in the easiest, most cost-effective way possible.

*For your shopping convenience, I have included affiliate links. As an Amazon and RewardStyle Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.  *

So… first, we ordered the cheapest bi-fold closet doors we could find (click here for the affiliate link to the doors)….

While I certainly could have moved on and left them as is, the “fixer” in me wanted to fancy them up somehow.

So…I decided to take a visit to my local hardware store and browse for trim pieces and moldings.

When I came across some primed Ply Cap for $6.69 per 8 foot piece at Lowe’s, I thought it would be worth a try.

Lucky for me, the Ply Cap successfully transformed the cheap a$$, builder-grade doors .

Even better? It was super simple and easy on the wallet.

Let me show you how we did it…

How To Upgrade Bi-Fold Closet Doors with Molding:

Materials Needed:

• Ply Cap
• Miter Box
• 18 gauge brad nailer
• cheap bi-fold doors (click here for the ones I used)

(Step 1). First plot out your molding design. To do this, we used a pencil and some painter’s tape.

(Step 2). Once you know the dimensions of your molding design, you can begin cutting the pieces of ply cap with a miter box. Cut molding to desired lengths using 45 degree cuts at the ends. Note: While you could also use a miter saw (instead of a box), you need to make sure the blade is fine toothed. If it is not, the blade will not make clean cuts since the molding is thin.

(Step 3). Using an 18 gauge brad nailer, attach the moldings to the doors.

(Step 4). Repeat steps for each door panel. Tip: For a finished look, you will want to caulk around the molding where needed. While you can also cover the nail heads, I simply painted over them and the holes were camouflaged just fine.

(Step 5). After you have caulked and painted the doors (use a paint specifically designed for door- I like Sherwin Williams’s Emerald line), you can then install the hardware. (Click here for the hardware I used)

While the cheap closet doors we used did come with hardware (wooden knobs to be exact), I wanted to elevate the look of the doors even more with some sleek, modern hardware. (Click here for the affiliate link to the hardware I used).

For $50 in molding materials costs and only $12 for the modern hardware, I believe our little DIY upgrade accomplished what I was going for.

Now we shall see how long it takes for my Tasmanian devils to destroy it.

If you would like to see more solutions for boring bi-fold closet doors, check out these other DIY tutorials below..

More DIY Bi-Fold Closet Door Tutorials:

• Double Pantry Door DIY
• DIY Sliding Barn Door to Replace Bi-fold Closet Doors

Thank you so much for stopping by this week! If you found this post helpful, it would mean the world if you could share it with a friend or on social media…

Now get out there and design some good vibes along with a fabulous life!

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