Wow-love the transformation! The trim gives the doors a lot of character. I’m saving the how-to instructions! Thanks for sharing…Maria

Now THAT is a super clever idea!!! I was expecting just a layer of paint or some mod-print wallpaper glued on– the moulding addition is a brilliant way to add character to that type of door. One could also use different moulding profiles and configurations. This is a really useful before and after!!

what a great solution, especially considering how many of us suffer with those ugly doors.

Thanks for this!

classy! great idea and i like that you didn’t stencil it or wallpaper it.

the before image was confusing, I thought you had two doors hung simultaneously on one door frame..

I ‘lolled’ hard then I thought about how much fun it would be to make door sized graphics of the rooms behind doors, and lolled at the thought of small children walking into them.

lol

Wow she is so clever to be able to do that!

oh wow! what a simple thing that makes a HUGE difference! beautiful.

Amazing! I totally needed this idea! thanks!

Wow, I’ve been avoiding dealing with our hideous doors because I figured it would be a nightmare, this is brilliant!

Let me tell you, I needed this project. I have exactly the same problem with my doors, and I swear, mine are uglier…. Thank you!

Beautiful! Love that rug, too.

Yikes! Those before photos were frightening. ;)

Perfect, I’ve been dreaming of doing this exact same thing.

this looks fantastic! great work!

Genius! Pure genius!

Ya know– I hate to be the spoiler here, but I’m not nuts about the colonial-looking doors. I prefer the look of a simple, un-adorned wood door. If i do anything in my house, I’ll splurge on some good simple clean hinges, and keep the doors a natural wood color. But, they were well done, and I’m glad you all find them pleasing.

They are fantastic, I need this done for my childs room. Are you for hire?

Brilliant! It really does make a huge difference! Thanks for sharing the DIY know-how.

Great job Amanda! I’m in the sanding stage of doing this to my own horrible hollow cores. I am really curious, where did you find the nice flat trim? I’ve looked at the local big box DIY but can’t find anything suitable.

It looks nice. It’s too bad you can’t fix the weight of the door though. I hate how light they feel.

Thanks for all of the lovely comments! Suzy, the trim is from Home Depot and is called Screen Moulding. Lowe’s has a cute little gathering of moulding profiles here: http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=howTo&p=HomeDecor/MldPrf.html&rn=RightNavFiles/rightNavHowTo

AWESOME! You saved me lots of $$!!! xoxo

Love this!! Great idea to try instead of replacing all the doors in our new house!

The doors look great – both before and after in my opinion.
Word of warning for others: if you live in a modernist or functionalist house, think twice before transforming the original wood doors this way. Even though the doors look great after the transformation they may be a big mismatch with the style of the house, and if you don’t like the style of the house, well, then maybe you should change houses if possible, or try to see the beauty of the style it was built in before changing it too much.
I have seen oodles of destroyed doors that don’t match the house they’re in. It makes the house look sad when it’s so obvious that the owners don’t appreciate it but would rather want something else. When I bought my home I stayed away from houses that were refurbished to something they were not meant to be, and I’m not the only one.
But if they suit the house, go for it, great idea and well executed!
(and yes, I am an architect, so I may be a bit style-hung up…)

great job on these! i have the same problem. (i don’t think those brown hollow doors look good in ANY type of house.)
just wondering if you had any problems with the doors sticking after the layers of primer & paint?
also, can you skimp on the sanding if you use kilz or zinzer primer? and finally why did you paint the doors after you put them back up?

Help! I tried the link and it is saying page not found. I love this idea!

I’m a year-and-a-half late, but I just found this post… the link to the instructions no longer works. Is it possible for you to send the instructions to me or redo the link? Thanks in advance for ANY help – my doors need help!

I’m just finding this too – can you email the link?

Hi..Had the same idea but was going to do it in a more difficult way..Thank you for making things simpler for me..but we can’t download your ‘amanda’s diy instructions for creating your own applied molding door upgrade’ :(

Opp’s sorry gave the wrong email address..

I would LOVE to do this to our crappy hollow-core doors at home. Could you please send the instructions – I can’t download them. Thank you!!

I can’t down the instruction and I have a couple of hollow doors begging for this restyle. Can you email them to me?

Me too, pretty please! I would love these instructions but the won’t download. Thanks o very much!
Phyllisa

me too, I want to do these to our doors, I hate them and I need help on how to do it.
thanks
Chantell

The before and after door trim project looks great. My doors are all like this and I have been thinking about replacements. This is a great, inexpensive transformation. COULD YOU E MAIL YOUR INSTRUCTIONS FOR THIS PROJECT AS I CANNOT LINK TO THEM ON YOUR WEB SITE. THANKS DAVE.

Am I too late to get the directions? I love what you’ve done with the doors. It’s exactly what I was looking to do. Nice and plain. I don’t want to draw attention to the ugly doors, or put a chalkboard on them. The link no longer works, I would appreciate it you emailed me the instructions.
Thanks!!