How an old door has a new purpose

Let’s just ignore the fact that my pictures don’t do justice to how cute this project turned out or that the bathroom and the rest of the house need a good cleaning.  It’s winter, it’s gloomy, and lighting is not the best, and I’ve been busy.  But the point here is that, well… fast forward to October, when I was visiting a little antique shop that had loads of cuteness but my attention was drawn when I spied a beautiful old door propped up behind some other antiques.  I L❤️VE old doors!!!  As I grabbed the shop owner and started negotiating a price, we started to move everything out of the way, so I could size up and envision. How an old door has a new purpose and how it can change a girls life.

That’s where my idea of a Christmas present for my daughter came to play.  See I think…

Don’t feel sorry for my daughter not having a full length mirror, feel sorry for me and the fact that all my tools are in storage!!!  A simple project becomes harder when you don’t have the right tools. Lucky for me, I have an awesome SIL that owns an array of tools.  Well, since I’ve been wanting a reciprocating saw since I was 5 years old… okay!  I didn’t know what that was when I was 5, since 10 then!!!

I thought that would be the right tool for this project (probably cause I’ve just always wanted to use one).  My plan was to cut out the middle section panels so that the glass would just sit in there.  The door was a whole lot older than I figured and I had to roundup help from my husband, a neighbor, and his tools.  Basically, this project became a community project! LOL

The middle panels had been glued so many years that they weren’t prying apart like I wanted, but pulling the back panel off as well.  Something I didn’t want!  So the boys carved out, or chiseled away the center pieces where I began chipping away with the saw.  Some sanding then glueing down the glass in the center.  (Did I mention it was literally freezing outdoors, so I had to bring the door/mirror into the house so the glue would actually take!). It took overnight to make sure the glue had set and that the mirror won’t be going anywhere.  It’s firmly secure!  I painted the mirror border with the same color paint as the original door color.

Since this beautiful chippy door is pretty dated, we decided it needed several coats of a good protective sealant due to paint probably being lead-based.  Overall, I think it turned out pretty cute given the lack of tools.

Don’t know where the old chippy door came from, where it resided before now, although I’d love to know it’s story.  For now, it has found a new home and it has the ability to change a girls life in the best way possible.  Making sure she looks fabulous and walks out in confidence!