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DIY Screen Door For The Pantry

Way back in February, when I organized my pantry, I mentioned that I was looking for an old screen door to replace our current pantry door. I looked for an old screen door for a while, then a new one…but then realized that finding one in the size I needed was a pipe dream. Our pantry door is so narrow (24 inches) that screen doors in that size pretty much don’t exist. Which is okay, because new screen doors cost about $150 – $200, and the one we built cost us a whopping $18.

Here is the previous pantry door…it’s a plain jane, cheap as they come, builders grade door. That’s not the worst part though, the worst part is that it opened the wrong dang way. It makes no sense and has driven me nuts from day one.

make your own pantry door

 Your going to have to forgive me for this tutorial, it isn’t as thorough as most. My husband and his brother Taylor built it while I was inside painting the plank walls and I missed some golden photo opportunities. So I’m not going to get too specific, which is okay because everyone’s measurements and door designs will be a little different anyway.

So here’s how it went down.

I’ve been planning this screen door for a while, so naturally when I told Adam it was screen door time he thought I had a solid plan in place. In reality all I had was pretty pictures of screen doors floating around in my head, and I was sure he would take care of the details, since he’s a dude and does most of the building around here. When we got to Home Depot we quickly realized that no one had a plan and ended up just grabbing some 1X4’s and heading home.

Adam and Taylor cut everything to size and we started fiddling around with the design …while Elijah gave himself the important task of measuring everything in sight. Also, he seems to have lost his pants somewhere along the way.

how to make a door

Originally I had thought we would make the screen door be mostly screen, but Adam pointed out that it wouldn’t be sturdy enough, especially made out of cheesy 1×4’s. His solution was to mount the entire flimsy 1X4 door to a piece of 3/4 inch plywood that we had lying around AND make the bottom half be solid. What they did was cut the plywood down to door size and cut a window out with a jigsaw. This means the entire back of the door is a solid piece of plywood. (This is where extra pictures would have come in handy…)

DIY pantry door

After deciding on a design for the front they just screwed the plywood and front pieces together.

DIY door

Here is what it looked like all put together.

(Also notice – different day, different clothes….still no pants. That’s how we roll.)

make your own pantry door

Here is when I decided I was really glad our new door has a solid bottom half. My kids think the pantry is the best toy box ever, so the bottom section is hard to keep organized. That’s okay though, cause no one can see it. Nice one Babe.

A little boy that is standing in front of a refrigerator

For the hardware we used this screen door kit that was about $8 at Home Depot. It had the handle, hinges, screws, a spring so it will close on its own, and a lock. A lock!

screen door hardware

Adam readjusted some stuff to fit the new door, sanded and painted the door frame, then painted the door and re-hung it. To make things easy (and keep from having to chisel out new insets for the hinges) he just slapped those suckers on the front. Works for me! Remember the motto… “Farmhouse baby!”. Everything is acceptable if you just call it “farmhouse”.

So here is the new door! Let me just preface this picture by saying that I’m freakin in love with it.  Like big puffy heart, make out with it in front of my locker, doodle “Mrs. Ashley Screen-Door” all over  my notebook kinda love. I love how it looks with the plank walls, I love how tall dark and handsome it is, I love that you can finally see all my beautiful organization. I love that it looks like it should be outside and I love that it opens towards my kitchen.

DIY pantry door
Make your own rustic pantry door
farmhouse pantry door DIY

Here is the backside, we used a staple gun to attach the screen and then added some trim. I might end up adding some more small baskets to the back of the door, it’s begging to be given a purpose. Also, I added a bead of hot glue to the door jamb to keep if from being too noisy when it shuts, and it actually works really well.

pantry screen door

Just for fun, here is a little collage of how far the pantry has come. It started out plain and pink, then got messy and pink, then I painted and stenciled it, organized everything, we added the plank walls and now we added the new door and can officially call this space finished!

pantry makeover

I’m so happy to have this project finished, I knew it would have a big impact on the space and make it feel …whats the word…homey? Custom? Awesome? Let’s go with awesome. Next I’m moving about three inches to the right and working on a ginormo feature wall for the space between the door and the curtain. Everything is finally starting to come together and I’m excited!

Update: The dining room is finished (for now), here is a shot of the whole thing…

Dining Room Ideas

To read more about the projects in the dining room click on the links below…

                  Organized PantryFarmhouse TablePlanked WallsPainted WallsPantry Door, ChalkboardPlate WallWindowsCommand Center, Yellow Table

The dining room and our kitchen are the same room, and the kitchen has received a complete remodel as well.

$1600 Kitchen Remodel from Domestic Imperfection

Shop the Look

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84 Comments

  1. I’ve been on the lookout for a screen door like this too for my mudroom! They sure are expensive though. I never even thought of building one! I could probably even do it myself!

    1. Your pantry looks awesome! I love the screen door. I , too, had to put a lock on my pantry when my kids were little:)

  2. Hi Ashley,
    I very like your blog! I read it anytime you write something! You have great idea for your house!
    Elijah is so funny and intelligent! He makes my day everytime i see him ! :P And his brother so adorable!
    Sorry for my english.. i’m from Québec so my principale langage is french! But i’m better for read than write! ;)
    Bizou! (xo)
    Jessica

  3. That door is the cherry on top of an awesomesauce sundae! I love it. I keep making my husband take down unnecessary doors in our rental; maybe I can convince him I can build us a door like yours for the pantry – I’m so jonesing to paint in there ;)

    Thanks for sharing!

  4. When I saw your last pic, it hit me. This looks like my Grandma’s back porch…seriously she had a screen door, my dad had made to replace the one the one she had..the screen on the bottom all her grand kids came in hands pushing the bottom screens…I rember a couple of wood caddys screwed to the wall next to the screen door, she had her canning jars in them..she made all of her homemade pickles..so German yummy and her homemade lye soap..hold your nose…she had a farm house table to work on…thanks for a happy memory

  5. Wonderful new look in the farmhouse. Great door! It’s practical, well made, and extrememly pleasing to look at. I love the look. Good job family.

  6. Amazing! I love how you designed the door with the rails in the bottom half. I would not have thought to build a door. I have a pantry project in my future that will need a door…and now I know I can make one. Thanks for the tutorial!

    Have a lovely weekend!
    Deborah

  7. How beautiful! It turned out so nice, who wouldn’t want their pantry to look so nice! I started a screen door last summer that I haven’t been sure how to finish with decorations, now I know how to go about it. Thank you for the tips! ;)

  8. You seriously always amaze me! I am loving the progress of this room and I cannot wait to see what you have in store next. The door is perfect, I love the color that you chose and I seriously can’t believe you made it for $18! Great job, as always.

  9. This is seriously fabulous! I love how it looks, and that you made it so inexpensively and improved the function. This post is definitely going on my Pinterest. :)
    Cheers!

  10. I can see why you are in love! What a beautiful screen door! Great color, design and now it’s so much more convenient- opening the right way. :) it goes so wonderfully with the whole new look and feel your kitchen has transformed to! Awesome is definitely the right word!!! I love seeing all you do!
    Cheers, Ashley! And kuddos to that handy hubby of yours!

  11. Love this post! Love the door, love the pantsless kid, love the talented hubby, love you! Like big puffy heart, make out with it in front of my locker, doodle ”Mrs. Amy Domestic Imperfection” all over my notebook kinda love. (Best line evah!) Keep up the great work girl!

  12. i luv it and i’m ssssssooooooo being a copycat!! oh honeeeyyyy – thanks for doing all the hard stuff we are seriously going to insert our dimensions and go.

  13. I love it! It almost looks like your porch and that would be the back screen door into your house… which is cool looking! Isn’t it nice to have a man in your life who can come up with something out of nothing AND no plan!? LOL!

    Tania

  14. I love the colour of your farmhouse door and the hinges and the trellis designs peaking out from inside and the whole thing!!! Hopefully this new door will keep the little one out of all the goodies ;) I know how hard that can be times three.

    It is nice to see your whole kitchen coming together over time. :)

    Come by and visit if you get a chance!

  15. That is a fabulous screen door, and a great idea! Ugh, I hate living in a rental sometimes. Mentally storing this idea away for later on, when we buy a fixer upper house. I think this would be great on closet doors too!

    Jess

    1. I’ve been there, living in a rental and sooo wanting a fixer upper. You will get there…then you can be like me and have an ever growing stack of discarded doors in your attic, lol.

  16. This is SO AWESOME! I have just devoured your plank walls tutorial and this door is EXACTLY what I need for my small pantry. It was also inspiring because my pantry (which is exactly like yours–small) has shelves that go from front to back, which makes it so I can’t reach or see the stuff at the back. Don’t know why I didn’t think to change out the shelves for narrower ones and then use the new side space like you did. All in all, it’s AMAZING, and I couldn’t be more grateful for your tutorials. The screen door makes the whole project!!!

    Julie

  17. I have to admit, when I first read that you wanted to put in a screen door, I was doubtful… But, oh my gosh, how cute is your door??? I love it! Great job!

  18. I already have pantry envy since I don’t have a real one…but I LOVE your custom screen door! I’d go with awesome, too! It really is. :)
    Kelly

  19. I adore the plank walls and screen door…just like my Gammie’s back porch, table and all. *sigh* What color did you paint the door, please? It’s perfect.

  20. This is great! I knew I was going to have problems finding screen doors for the pantry and laundry “closet” in the kitchen. This will be very helpful when we get to this project. Thanks!

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  22. Oh dear, ignore my previous question. . .I found this post. Absolutely love the character this door adds. Thanks for the inspiration!

  23. when we built our house the plan was for a bathroom by the back door , instead of making it a bathroom as we have 3 , i wanted it made into a pantry .. three sides are shelves from floor to ceiling and i store everything in there on the shelves and of course the floor for boxes with appliances , etc in them .. it is perfect as a pantry . right off the kitchen . i have a regular door on it and an octogen window on the outside wall . it’s light and i can walk into it and keep it organized ..

  24. i know I am late to the party, but you did an excellent job on that screen door and the rest of the room! I am sure by now, your son is wearing pants too! :)

  25. I absolutely adore your decorative screen door project! I’m looking to create something similar for my pantry door. I like your idea to eventually add baskets to the back of the door to add more purpose. Thank you for sharing!

  26. Your screen door is exactly what I need!! Do you by any chance live in the Phoenix Az area? If you do can I hire your husband to make me one? My pantry is small which is fine but during the summer months it is very warm inside it! I have been thinking about this for about a year now. I don’t have little kids but I do have two cats that would be all over a full screened door!! Anyway I will save your post and find someone to make it for me!!

  27. The best project. Enjoyed it all. !!!
    I too have been looking for a 24” vintage screen door. We are building a new house and want it for my pantry door!!
    I’m saving this and have showed my husband already.
    Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! Janie.

  28. Do you all make screen doors for customers.. My pantry door is 24 inches, I would like air to flow through the screen.

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