Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Making Bi-Folds Not So Ugly

Every bedroom in our home has full double doors on the closets.. except in our master (?). We are blessed with bi-folds.

Yes, bi-folds are pretty terrible. But luckily ours aren't so bad. There aren't slats and they aren't flat, so that makes me a satisfied girl.

Here they are:



[ so the digital camera lives it's life through rose colored glasses apparently... it always makes my pictures PINK. Our carpet is not pink. ]

Not too bad, right? All I need to do is slap on a fresh coat of paint and some awesome hardware.

Check out the current hardware (yikes)


[EWWWW the doors are so gross. PSA- clean your doors and moldings twice a year or they will look like this! Magic Erasers are perfect for this. ]

Here are some options I'm entertaining...

Not a pull, but an actual dummy knob. Very substantial but pricey, too ($45 each):





Now you see it, now you don't (via Restoration Hardware, $6.99 on sale):



Beautiful lines and heft (via Restoration Hardware, $8 on sale):


Cool shape, $9 each:


Another pricey dummy $42/each:




As much as I love the dummy's (hehe), I think they are too expensive. I think I'm leaning toward the third option (pull from RH). Great price.

What do you guys think?

22 comments:

  1. I found a great selection of door knobs at yourhomesupply.com also be sure to check out their cabinet hardware pages. They have a huge selection and great prices. When I ordered from them, they had my order delivered in a couple of days.

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  2. The brass handle for $8 is my favorite. I actually gave a little "oooh" when I saw the image. :-)

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  3. I have dummies on mine. My big box hardware store had a decent selection.

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  4. I was thinking about this, but I think I'll do horizontally :) A thinner pull would work vertically though!

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  5. Hi Bryn! Have you thought of using knobs from Anthropologie? I used some simple knobs on my bifold doors and they were perfect! Also, check out Hobby Lobby. You'll be surprised at what you find!

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  6. sarah, flourish design + styleMarch 27, 2011 at 7:02 PM

    Love the idea, we have those in our house too. I haven't switched out the girls rooms ( yet! ) but I did a glass dummy :) from home depot on our main level. They were around $12 I think. Hardware makes such a difference! x

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  7. I put new pulls on our bi-fold doors. But since our doors are hollow core doors, all the pulls/knobs are loose.
    I'm working on coming up with a way to tighten them.

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  8. I stayed at a B&B that had dummy's on the closet and every tried to turn them so they fell off!

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  9. I love the third option as well! I had no idea dummy doorknobs were so expensive. :(
    Now the question is will you attach the pull vertically or horizontally to the door? My guess would be horizontally, but you're always surprising us!

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  10. theFrugalEcologistMarch 27, 2011 at 7:02 PM

    Thanks for this post! We have a plethora of bifolds and just replaced the metal louvered doors with ones that look like yours. I was just beginning to think about hardware - and was leaning toward dummy knobs. but I love the RH pulls you chose - please post a photo once you decide!

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  11. great idea. I think it's too expensive as well. 3rd option is my fav!

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  12. ooh, thanks for the suggestions. the master bedroom in our new house has pretty much the same doors - but even worse, they don't even fold because they won't stay attached in the track at the top. ugly and non-functional. but new hardware would make me happier...

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  13. I love using hardware to update doors and cabinets....I recently gave my entire kitchen and bathroom and overhaul with antique reproduction knobs and pulls from www.dlawlesshardaware.com. Super inexpensive and they've held up great so far! PS- Love your blog! It's one of my weekly reads!

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  14. I have the exact same closet doors in my bedroom, except mine have wooden knobs painted to match the white on the doors. (pictures of the room here: http://luisadesignblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/my-bedroom.html - though I purposely didn't take pictures of the doors!) I've been trying to decide what hardware to replace them with, and these are some fantastic options. I think I might be a copycat and get those brass Restoration Hardware ones, actually. Thanks for the ideas!

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  15. What about the Mercury Glass Melon knob at Anthro? I also really like the Ripe Melon Pull they have, which comes in several colors!
    http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/catalog/productdetail.jsp?subCategoryId=&id=873168&catId=HOME-HARDWARE-KNOBS&pushId=HOME-HARDWARE-KNOBS&popId=HOME-HARDWARE&sortProperties=&navCount=85&navAction=middle&fromCategoryPage=true&selectedProductSize=&selectedProductSize1=&color=sil&isSubcategory=&isProduct=true&isBigImage=&templateType=D
    http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/catalog/productdetail.jsp?id=073183&catId=HOME-HARDWARE-KNOBS&pushId=HOME-HARDWARE-KNOBS&popId=HOME-HARDWARE&sortProperties=&navCount=85&navAction=middle&fromCategoryPage=true&selectedProductSize=&selectedProductSize1=&color=012&isProduct=true&isBigImage=&templateType=D&subCategoryId=

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  16. I have the same bifolds in my house. When I moved in I could not get them changed fast enough. They had the such dinky gold nobs that looked just horrible. I chose these from Anthropologie and love how it turned out.
    http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/catalog/productdetail.jsp?subCategoryId=HOME-HARDWARE-KNOBS&id=970002&catId=HOME-HARDWARE&pushId=HOME-HARDWARE&popId=HOME&sortProperties=&navCount=25&navAction=top&fromCategoryPage=true&selectedProductSize=&selectedProductSize1=&color=cle&isSubcategory=true&isProduct=true&isBigImage=&templateType=

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  17. I love that ripe melon pull! I think those two are too small for the doors but the melon pull would be great on a piece of furniture. Thanks for the suggestions!

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  18. yep, the RH pulls look glam - good option!

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  19. I love the first one. It's beautiful.

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  20. RE: camera and pink hue - try adjusting your White Balance if you've got a dSLR
    Bifolds are gonna look great...I vote for the eggshell dummy knob, though :(

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  21. Mmmm, I'm voting for the dummy knobs! It's your master, so I think it deserves a splurge. And maybe you could find a good option in one of the lines at Lowe's or Home Depot?

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  22. Stay away from the hanging loop knobs. You will curse your choice every time they bang, and eventually will wear away the paint where they hit.

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THANK YOU for taking the time to share your thoughts. I appreciate each and every comment.

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