DIY Network

Decorative Door Panels Dress up hollow-core doors with these easy panels. From "B. Original" episode DBOR-504

Pretty panels transform your plain portals.

Hollow-core doors are the vanilla ice cream of interior décor: They're plain and basic, but a few simple toppings can turn them into something special.

Michele Beschen has the perfect "topping" for your hollow-core doors: sophisticated decorative panels made with shelf liner and trim molding. B. Original with her easy techniques, and turn a boring door into something yummy.

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Decorative Door Panels

Materials:

tape measure
pencil
shelf liner
sharp craft or utility knife
spray adhesive
wood trim
miter saw
air nailer
3/4" nails
safety glasses
scrap foam board or wood for templates

	Bold shapes make this door dramatic.
	Figure A
	Figure B
	Figure C

• Remove the door from its frame and lay it flat – it will be much easier to work with. To do this, remove the pins from the hinges and separate the two halves of the hinges.

• Determine where to add decorative panels to the door. Michele Beschen installed three diamond-shaped panels, centered on the door.

• Cut a template of the panel shape out of cardboard, foam or some other rigid material. Michele Beschen’s panel template was a 16-1/2" by 16-1/2" square.

• Measure the width and height of the door and mark the center points of each side.

• Line up the template corners with the center points of the sides to position it at the exact center of the door (figure A). Trace the template onto the door.

• Trace the template for the other two diamond shapes on the door. These need to be centered horizontally and spaced evenly between the center diamond and the ends of the door.

• Create a template for the panel texture; Michele Beschen's was 16" by 16" for this project.

• Use this template and a sharp craft or utility knife to cut the texture material to size. Michele Beschen used shelf liner; burlap, fabric or wallpaper also work well.

• Apply a coat of spray adhesive to the traced shapes on the door and to one side of the pieces of shelf liner.

• Center the shelf liner inside the traced shape and press into place, smoothing out any wrinkles or bubbles (figure B).

• Cut molding to finish off the panels. Michele Beschen used a dentil molding, cut in 16-1/2" lengths with mitered corners. Be aware of the pattern on whatever trim you use: You may want to line up the cuts so the pattern finishes nicely in the corners. If you plan to stain the molding, do so before attaching it to the door.

  Safety Alert: Wear eye protection and use caution if you use a power saw to cut or miter the molding.

• Line up the molding the template marks on the door. Nail in place; Michele Beschen used an air nailer with 3/4"nails (figure C).

  Safety Alert: Wear eye protection and use extreme caution when working with an air nailer.

• Fill in the nail holes with wood putty and paint the trim, if desired.

• Hang the door and see how easy it is to turn a plain hollow-core door into something much more exciting!