DIY Coral & Glam Bi-Fold Closet Door Makeover Tutorial

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I’m stoked to be partnering with Sherwin-Williams to kick-off National Painting Week (May 22-30). I desperately needed motivation to get this project done, so yay.

I have a love/hate relationship with paint. When it comes to choosing paint colors for my home, I tend to stay pretty safe and neutral. Grays, taupes and whites are my usual go-to’s. This year I’ve chosen to be a little more bold with my color choices—for instance, my Tricorn Black accent wall in my master bedroom. It’s dark, sultry and absolute perfection.

THE BEFORE

In my home office, I’ve lived with an eyesore of a closet for a few years now. In 2012 or so, I took off the bi-fold closet doors and painted them gray (boring!). I ran out of paint at the time, so only the fronts were painted, and they’ve sat in my garage collecting sawdust since then, true story.

I’ve had to work in my pretty office staring at a door-less (messy) closet for far too long, so in honor of Sherwin-Williams’ National Painting Week, I decided to finally get those doors painted and installed.

THE COLOR CHOICE

I am in love with all things coral, so using their ColorSnap Visualizer online, and my handy Sherwin-Williams paint deck, I settled on Dishy Coral after seeing how perfectly it paired with my Alabaster wall color, trim and doors at home. Dishy Coral has a slight pink hue that is bright, bold, cheery and absolutely chic in a satin finish.

THE MAKEOVER

Supplies:

• Sherwin-Williams Multi-Purpose Latex Primer 
• Sherwin-Williams Emerald Paint, Dishy Coral, Satin Finish 
• Purdy paint roller cover for smooth surfaces & paint roller frame 
• Purdy paint brush (1.5”-2”) 
• Tack cloth 
• Medium grit sanding block 
• Fine grit sanding block 
• Wood filler 
• White paintable caulk 
• Nail gun with ¾” nails 
• Door hardware (pulls or knobs) 
• Lattice strips (optional) 
• Bi-fold closet door hanging hardware (if you’re missing any pieces) 

My doors already had paint on them, so I lightly sanded them with a medium grit sanding block and removed dust with a tack cloth.

Next, I primed them using Sherwin-Williams Multi-Purpose Latex Primer and a high quality Purdy roller. While the primer dried, I cut some lattice to make frames for my doors. 

Once the primer was fully dry (about two hours later), I used my nail gun to attach the lattice strips to my doors. Using wood filler and caulk, I patched up any seams and holes and let that set overnight. At this point I also drilled new holes for the gold and acrylic pulls I bought for the doors.

The next morning I used my medium grit sanding block to smooth out all of the caulked seams and wood filler. I used another tack cloth to remove all dust before applying primer to the lattice using a high quality 1.5” Purdy paint brush. 

Once the primer was dry a few hours later, I applied my first coat of Dishy Coral. I chose to use their Emerald paint line in a satin finish because of how easy it is to apply and the great coverage it offers. I waited about an hour between coats and I sanded with a fine grit sanding block to smooth out any tiny drips or imperfections.

It took three coats to get the finish/coverage I wanted, and then I let the doors cure for 24 hours before installing the new hinges and mounting hardware to get the doors back on the track. The final touch was adding the new pulls to the doors and I was done. 

THE AFTER

This project took me a solid weekend’s worth of work, and figuring out the angle for those X-cuts (46.2 degrees, if you’re curious) was treacherous, but in the end I have beautiful, custom bi-fold closet doors in the most gorgeous color with a unique design feature.

These doors are BOLD let me tell you.

I am so happy when I am working away at my desk and don’t have to stare at a messy closet (I did organize the closet before putting the doors back on).

I’m not the only blogger celebrating National Painting Week, so head to NationalPaintingWeek.com to see other fab and creative projects. You can also visit Sherwin-Williams’ Latino site here.

Has my project inspired you to tackle that paint project you’ve been putting off? 

I know we all have those projects, so get out and get to painting.