Rustic Decor: That New Old Thing
Project: Rustic Sliding Closet Doors
Customer: Maddie & Mitchell
Materials: (14) 1" x 6" x 8', (2) 1" x 6" x 6', #10 1.25" Wood Screws (120 est.), Minwax Espresso Stain, Wipe-On Polyurethane
Price: $300
Total Hours: 10-15
Rustic decor is so in right now. (Can't believe I just said it like that...) It seems the older you can make something - doors, art, etc. - look, the better it will fit in with your household Feng shui. Old is the new New. This may just be a phase, but there sure is a lot of cool stuff out there labeled rustic that really does improve the look of a room if done the right way.
I recently asked my Facebook friends for some woodworking projects to do for some extra money, and ol' FB delivered! I had several people reach out with potential projects, and took on two within a couple days of the post. One was pretty simple - a piece of wood or two that were whitewashed and made to look old. That took a couple of hours, and I used some ingenuity to make a brand new 2' x 4' furniture panel look old and like two glued pieces. And number two - a pair of rustic closet sliding doors, similar to the one below.
I knew I wanted to use new wood for this project, because I simply don't know where to find old pieces in my area and wanted to keep costs manageable for each door. After receiving measurements for the doors, I learned they were about 32.5" wide and 82" tall from the outside edge of the trim. I wanted to initially use 1" x 8" boards, but the math didn't work out in a way that prevented needing to rip the boards longways. Thankfully, 1" x 6" boards, which actually measure to 5.5" wide, were perfect for the job. Six boards equaled 33" which would provide 1/2 inch of needed overlap. I trekked to Lowe's and bought 8 boards total. (7, 1 x 6 x 8' and 1, 1 x 6 x 6.) Getting them home in the Mustang was fun, as is always the case with anything over four feet long. But where there's a will, and folding backseats, there's a way.
Once home, I laid out the boards to decide which ones needed to go where, and began to pre-drill all holes to connect the 33" across boards on top and bottom to the 82" vertical boards. My design was simple, but calculated. I did not want them to be too heavy, after all. After what seemed like a hundred screws (60 in reality), the door was put together, and already looking pretty good. At about 60 pounds, it was substantial, but similar in weight to other doors you'd buy at big box retailers. The hardest part for me was the angled cuts for the diagonal boards, but with the moral support of Lambo (my woodworking partner dog) and a few careful measurements, it turned out fine. After this, I stained the door with Minwax Espresso stain using an old t-shirt and elbow grease. If the doors looked 'fine' before, the espresso stain made it look "fantastic". See below:
After seeing how the first door turned out, I was excited to begin the second. I went back to Lowe's the next day and bought the same wood configuration and put together the second one within a couple days. Since they both turned out looking the same, (the obvious goal, but not always the outcome!) I decided it was time to protect them with some wipe-on polyurethane, which is nice because you don't have to paint it on and it finishes evenly. The goal was not to make these super glossy - this might not look quite as rustic, but it was to make them smooth and protected enough for daily use. Three coats later and I was satisfied with how they looked and felt to the touch. They cured a few more days, and I just presented them to the customer last night. The only regret I have is that we didn't have a closet to install them on ourselves. I am still not quite used to making things for other people, so I do get a bit attached to these projects! I know they went to a good home though. -EB
