How to Make Your Own Decorative Glass Front Door

3 Materials
$300
8 Hours
Advanced
Instead of buying a new fiberglass door, we ordered a decorative glass window to transform it. I have to say, the thought of ordering a new door, knocking out the old frame and installing a new door and frame was more work than we wanted to do together. So that is another reason we decided to fix up the old door. Plus the cost of cutting out the door and adding decorative glass was a lot less.
I am happy with the result. My intention was to add more natural light to the area. Adding the decorative glass window and painting the door white tied the entry together nicely.
Here's a look at our plain 6-panel fiberglass door.
We picked out a Tuscan style decorative glass window that was a special order: Mastercraft 22" x 36" Decorative Glass for Exterior Door TU-106. Cost: $327.25 at Menards. They often have 11% discount days so our cost was $291.25. It is actually a replacement window for doors that already have a window. However, this glass window kit comes with all the directions and list of tools you need to install the window. Since we had never done this before I was a little nervous. If something went wrong, then what? Nevermind that, we hauled off and just did it.
Measured, marked and taped off the area to be cut. Before cutting the door we scribed a line for a nice clean cut. Fiberglass will splinter, so adding masking tape is a smart precautionary measure.
Next step we did was drilled holes in opposite corners to start the cut with a jigsaw. It's very important to use a dust mask when doing jobs like this, especially fiberglass.
Here is the door all cut and ready for a decorative glass window.
We recommend installing the door before inserting a glass window. It was at this point that we precisely followed the directions for installation of a window replacement that came with the special order decorative glass window.
It was actually easier to install than we thought.
Removed the door hardware and taped off the window area to paint the door white.
A nice close up of the Tuscan style decorative glass insert. It is hard to take a photo of the door and window because of all the light.
New door hardware dressed up our entrance beautifully and is a quick and easy home improvement to do yourself. There are so many choices for door hardware it is hard to decide. I second guessed myself and thought perhaps I should have picked the color black, but the silver color and style look elegant. I could not be happier.


Never in my dreams did I think the door would turn out as beautiful as it did. We love how easy it was to transform it into something brand new. It feels good to finish this project. If you liked this, see a few more photos on the blog at Housekaboodle link below. Thank you so much, Sue
Sue @ Housekaboodle
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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  • Itsmemic Itsmemic on Mar 03, 2018

    what a fantastic job you did !! Loos SO pro !! Maybe habitat for humanity has glass like that less expensive? But for real....door..a good one..is very expensive. And yours looks awesome !

  • Linda Puryear Linda Puryear on Mar 04, 2018

    Why not paint the door while it is off the hinges and just touch up after installation of the glass? Or did I miss something?

  • Elisabeth Elisabeth on Mar 24, 2020

    très belle réalisation! Where have you bought the glass? Do you know where i could find an engraved-glass-style sticker, do you know what i mean? (Please excuse my English.).. Thank you!

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