Arched Pantry Door

I can’t wait to show you the transformation of this arched pantry door!

We built our farmhouse 4 years ago. The previous 2 years were spent designing, planning and purchasing one of a kind and vintage pieces to make our home unique. Lots of the doors in our home are antique, including our front and back doors and several doors that we had made into sliding barn doors.

I knew I wanted something really different for my pantry but wasn’t sure what. I considered a screen door, but was afraid I wouldn’t like being able to see inside the pantry through the screen.

Several months before the interior doors were framed in, I saw this arched door standing outside behind a friend’s vintage shop. It immediately caught my eye. Since most of the doors for the house had already been purchased, I didn’t really think I had a place for it.

For several weeks, I thought about that door. Every time I was at her shop, I would drive around behind to see if it was still there. It kind of hurt my heart that it was in the weather, and would eventually rot and fall apart.

After weeks of continuing to look for a pantry door and not finding anything I liked better, and since I couldn’t get the arched door out of my mind, I called and asked if I could buy it. She named her price and I went ASAP and picked it up.

As you can see, the paint was in pretty bad shape and most of it peeling off. The door had to be stripped, but I hate using paint stripper because of the strong odor and horrible chemicals. I read about using a heat tool and decided it was worth a try.

I used this Wagner heat tool to remove the paint, and wore a mask and gloves in case of old lead paint. Ya’ll this heat tool is life changing for stripping paint!! It heats up in seconds and you hold the tool close to the area you want to strip and the paint will begin to bubble up. You slowly move a paint scraper along and it peels the paint right off.

You definitely need to practice caution as this heat tool is super hot and will cause a severe burn. I had one to prove it!

I kept a garbage bag close by, and as I peeled a strip off, I could just toss it in the garbage and it saved a lot of time with clean up in the end.

Luckily, the frame was still around the door and in decent shape, so we didn’t have to have a new arched frame built. But let’s face it, it’s an old door and no telling how long it had been in the elements outside. I’m pretty sure the contractor was cursing me as he tried to install that arched door.

This is the door once it was installed and my one regret is that I didn’t leave the door unfinished. I decided to have it painted white like the trim and cabinets. There is just something about the character of the door when it was raw and natural. After it was painted, it definitely took away some of that character.

I found an amazing black porcelain door knob and backplate that I think finished it off perfectly, and I do love the door. I’m so glad I decided to go back and rescue it!

I hope this gives you inspiration to bring new life to something old and weathered. What I typically find is if I see something that really speaks to me, I should buy it. Those usually turn out to be the best treasures and have the most meaning.

blessings,
michele

If you enjoyed this makeover post you might like:
https://vintagehomedesigns.com/vintage-stool-makeover/ and
https://vintagehomedesigns.com/drop-leaf-table-makeover/