tuesday tip: curtains as doors

In addition to too many ceiling fans, my house had too many doors when I moved in. First there were the completely offensive hollow-core wood closet doors, which had the honor of being the first thing I ripped out on move-in day. Then there was a door between the kitchen and the living room. I still cannot figure that one out. Then there was the nest of doors in the back of the house, to the pantry, to the upstairs, to my office, and to the bathroom. That's right, four doors in a space of about four feet. Something had to be done.

{my pantry has a softer look and easier entry now}

Some doors got removed completely and the openings left clear. Others spaces still needed to be covered but couldn't handle the clearance required for a door. A curtain was an ideal solution, softening the space, covering what needed concealing, and posing no clearance problems.

{i ditched the closet doors, and instead of replacing them with bifold, i hung curtains instead}

Here are some of my favorite curtain-as-door solutions:

bhg

country living

bhg



west elm

domino

14 comments

René said...

What is with all those doors? We had the same situation at our house when we moved in...doors everywhere. And they really visually closed us in. Love your curtain and I agree, curtains are a great solution and a fun way to add texture/color.

Arlene Grasman said...

Love the warmth a curtain brings. I live in the dessert so doors are more of a need to keep the a/c inside each room, but I get to sneak a couple in every now and then :)

Erica @ Decorica said...

I like the idea of covering the washer and dryer with a curtain. I can't stand seeing appliances...they remind me of work that needs to be done!

Anonymous said...

You should visit my house....talk about crazy doors. The first thing we did was take them down but now they all are replaced by curtains!! Love it love it love it-Beth

Anonymous said...

We moved into an apartment with a door separating the master bedroom from a hallway with closets on either side and a final doorway into a tiny restroom. We can't really do much about the door itself but I've been toying with the idea of adding a hint of curtain to the doorway of the bathroom.

Love your idea and thanks for sharing.

Take care.

Stephanie

Married In Chicago said...

Great post - I love the blue curtains you picked out. I hope it is okay, I used one of your pictures in a post I did on using curtains for closet doors (credited to you, of course). You can read it here: http://illpullout.blogspot.com/2010/12/using-curtains-for-closet-doors.html

ToBFly said...

Love the image from Domino. I recently turned my living room into the bedroom in order to have more space. The problem is that the living room is in the front of the apartment, right by the front door and I desperately need more privacy. I picked up some curtain panels today that I really like, and plan to mimic the way they were used in the pic from Domino. My only concern is length. The doorways are 82" tall and the standard 84" panel works fine when down. But I'm wondering if I should use 96" panels so when the curtain is swagged it doesn't look too short. However, when the curtain is closed it will be too long. Any suggestions?

casey at loft and cottage said...

ToBFly, I like your setup! I would stick with the 84" panels. You don't want the curtains to drag on the ground at all, and if they're short when you swag them, that's okay. The swag will still touch the ground at the end...

DesiG said...

Wow! I am loving your blog! This was the post I first saw and you have given me great ideas! I was looking for curtain ideas for my closet (we took out the door because the room was so small) but I also got the great idea of replacing the pantry door. I would have never thought of that!

My big question is: What hardware and materials did you use?

casey at loft and cottage said...

Thanks, Desi. I've been through several iterations of hardware/materials for these curtained doorways, so I'll share what I'm currently using that works the best! I use two closet rod pole supports, a bamboo rod/pole (because I like the look, though you could use a shower or curtain rod or any pole, really), and that's it. If your curtains don't have a pole pocket header, you can use clip rings to hang them from the pole. Good luck on your project and let me know how it goes!

Anonymous said...

I would love to use curtains instead of a door to my bedroom. My concern is that the bedroom would have the front of the curtain but the back of the curtain would face the hallway. Wouldn't this look strange? Are there two-sided panels so that it could look good on both sides?

casey at loft and cottage said...

Hi Anon, there are no such two-sided panels that I know of, though you could create your own by sewing two panels right side out. I guess how strange a single panel would look depends on the fabric. A solid, like the one in the last picture in the post, wouldn't look bad at all. Good luck!

Blanca::TheCartoonGirl said...

Hi there! Where'd you get the turquoise with brown curtain panels (second picture). I looooove them and want this exact look in my bedroom since I already have white molding around! Please let me know!

casey at loft and cottage said...

Hi Blanca, I'm so sorry I can't remember where I got those turquoise with brown curtain panels. I had them quite a long time ago and don't have them anymore. I suspect they were from Target, where I got a lot of home decor at the time. These are very similar: https://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Sahara-Rod-Pocket-108-inch-Curtain-Panel/4155112/product.html. And these too? https://www.atgstores.com/curtains-drapes/lush-decor-c212-geo-blackout-window-curtain-set-of-2-_12319314.html?ppc=2615&af=2615&cm_mmc=sce_google&s_kwcid=AL!4500!3!104601327203!!!g!61865531738!&gclid=CJjetNiiptECFRlXDQodnasBBg&ef_id=VQiLqgAABGCkigOR:20170103151736:s