Buy or DIY? Antique Door Hall Tree

If you're like me, I just hate clutter by the front door - shoes, jackets, bags. The list is endless, especially in my household of all boys (even my dog)! We also live in a 1926 home with no hall closet. Because of these reasons, I've been on the hunt for the perfect hall tree. Everything I found, however, didn't have much character, so that's when I set out to make my own.

As you probably do, I set out to find ideas on Pinterest. There, I found some ideas that use old doors and instantly fell in love. The only problem? I didn't have an old door. Fate had my back though. Just a few weeks after getting this idea, we were invited over to the home of some friends of ours. The cool thing about this story is that these friends of ours just happen to be the former owners of our 1926 home! The story of our relationship through the purchase of our home is an amazing one, and one that I will blog about in the future. Until then, all you need to know is that we love them and our house dearly.

That said, we ended up going over for a visit to their new home in the same city. As I rang the doorbell I just happened to notice these two old wood and glass doors (and very dusty, I might add) just sitting on their porch. After visiting for a while, I "happened" to ask what they were going to use them for. They laughed and then asked me we wanted them. Without hesitation, I screamed '"yes"! So, the reason they laughed? They came from our house! Apparently they got the doors from a friend many years ago, but couldn't find a use for them in their (our) old house, so they just sat in the garage, collecting dust. They hoped to use them in their new place, but they ended up being too tall. So... back to our garage they went, full circle, dust and all - even a few spiders. Eek!

I knew exactly what I wanted to do with them. You guessed it - a hall tree. The only problem was that the glass was so large and didn't lend itself to putting shelves in front of it. After some thought, I decided to turn it into a mirror (you know how obsessed I am with mirrors right now. I also added a bench, coat hooks and a place for a shoe basket. Ok, enough banter. Drum roll please, here's the finished product and how to get it done yourself!

Step 1: Find A Door

If you don't happen to have one hanging around in your garage, check places like Craigslist, Offer Up, Let Go or Facebook Marketplace. You might also try architectural salvage stores in your area. Here in Seattle, my favorites are Ballard Reuse, Second Use and Earthwise Salvage. Habitat for Humanity also have salvage stores through out the country called ReStore.

Step 2 - Prep

Because this will be a heavily used piece, I decided to use straight up latex rather than chalk paint and wax. If you don't know this, when you top coat chalk paint with wax, you need to re-apply the wax every 6 months. So, to start, since the piece was bare wood, I sanded off the clear top coat with my Ryobi orbital sander and 100 grit sand paper. I then re-sanded it with 220 grit to make it nice and smooth. Once sanded, I painted it with Kilz primer so that any stain left in the wood wouldn't seep through the paint and so that the paint would have superior adhesion.

Meanwhile, I pulled together three sizes of pallet wood; 2"x4"s, 4"x4"'s and the 1.2"x5.5" top planks, cut them to size and sanded them really well to get rid of splinters and rough edges.

Step 3 - Assembly

For the bench I made two boxes with the 2"x4"s - one a little larger than the other - one for the top and bottom of the bench. I then used the 4"x4''s to make two posts in the front, between the two boxes. Then screw it all together. Finally I attached both boxes to the door with wood screws.

Once the bench is attached to the door, I added the pallet wood to the bench seat and the bottom where the shoe basket goes. I then added two corbels on either side of the bench. I just got these at home depot for about $8 bucks each. You can also find them here on Amazon. After priming them, I screwed them in from the back of the door and glued them with wood glue on both sides. I didn't attach them with the hardware included because I was able to screw them in from the back which made it sturdier.

On the top of the door, I added a small wood applique. You can choose from many here from Amazon or Home Depot. I attached it with wood glue and clamped it down while drying.

Because the door didn't with any hardward, I picked up an antique door knob and plate from Earthwise Salvage, but you can get some off of ebay just as easily.

Step 4: Paint & Stain

You can paint it any color combination you want, but I choose to do basic black and off-white. First, I painted the door in flat black paint and then lightly distressed it using my sander. Its much faster than using a sanding pad. Next I stained the raw pallet wood in Minwax Dark Walnut. Personally I prefer to use oil based stained rather than water based ones because I get a deeper, richer color. Yes, It takes a bit longer to dry, but it's worth it. I just wipe it on and the off with recycled stain rags. You can also use and old lint free t-shirt or stain brush. next, because I wanted to create a "chippy paint" look, I took and old candle (a small votive will work) and scraped on the wax in random places on the bench (but especially around the edges) where I wanted the paint to "chip off". Once done, I then painted the entire bench a creamy white. After it dried, I took an 80 grit sanding block and sanded the areas where I had previously waxed. This took off the white paint and left the stain peeking through in a "chippy" looking way. And... Voila, I was done painting! I should note that because I used latex, no top coat was necessary. Latex paint wares really well all by itself.

Step 5: The Mirror

Now for the most fun part of this project - making the mirror! So, to do this part you'll need some vinegar in a spray bottle, some Rusetoleum mutli-surface satin black spray paint and Krylon's Looking Glass spray paint and Silver Foil paint. I prefer to use the multi-surface spray paint because it sprays at an angle which creates a more even coverage and it adheres better than the basic stuff.

a) So first, clean the glass on both sides with vinegar rather than glass cleaner because glass cleaner can leave a residue which will keep the paint from sticking.

b) Once clean and dry, flip the door on its front so that the BACK of the door is facing up and horizontal to the ground. You do don't want your vinegar or paint to run down hill and leave a streak on the glass.

c) Next, lightly squirt some vinegar from the bottle in random places on the glass, leaving some to bead up on the glass. Do not over spray and do not wipe it off. Just leave it on there. This will create antique looking bubbles on the glass. If you don't like this look, just skip this step.

d) Ok now, once the vinegar is sitting on the glass, after reading the instructions, take the Looking Glass spray paint, and spray evenly on the glass. I usually do a pattern of left to right and then top to bottom for the next coat to ensure even coverage. Keep doing this until you use the whole can. Depending on the size of your surface area, you may even want to buy a second can. (you can watch my video tutorial on this if you'd like to see it done in person)

e) Once dry spray the Krylon Silver Foil spray paint on top of the Looking Glass Paint. This will provide a solid background for the mirror. Next Spray the black spray paint on top of that. Some black color will pop through the other side where the vinegar bubbles were, leaving the look of an aged mirror.

f) Once it has dried, you can flip the door over and look at your beautiful self in the mirror that you just created. Smile! You just created your own mirror. Woo hoo!

Step 6 - ENJOY!!

If you decide to do this project, pretty please show me your results! I would really love to see them. You can share them on my facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/reviveheartandhome/ While you're there, "Like it" and tell me a bit about yourself. Also, please feel free to ask me any questions about this project below or on my page.

Thanks for reading my post and God Bless!

Heidi

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P.S.S. Wait! I almost forgot to fulfull the title of this blog post by offering this hall tree for sale (hence, Buy or DIY?). So, if you'd rather not go to the trouble of making your own, you can purchase one from my shop.

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