How to cover the slats on small loved doors?

Carol Snyman
by Carol Snyman
I no longer like the old slatted doors and would like to “cover” the slats for a cleaner look.
  9 answers
  • Joy30150932 Joy30150932 on Jun 15, 2018

    It looks like you have a small edge to either nail or glue on the sides, bottom and top frame so you could place a solid board with a veneer on top or just a plain board which has been painted. You can either make the surface even or you can place a thicker board to raise the center.

  • Amanda Amanda on Jun 15, 2018

    Hi Carol. I would remove them and then cut new pieces of wood to replace the slats. Good Luck!

  • Emily Emily on Jun 15, 2018

    I have the same problem Carol. These doors are a pain to clean and I have thought long and hard about it. I have decided that short of replacing them all, doing anything just to the louvered part would be tacky. And also my husband would be doing it, and we have lots of more necessary work to do. Since it looks like you only have the two short doors it may be less work. But once you remove the louvers, remember they will be gone forever!

  • Carol Snyman Carol Snyman on Jun 15, 2018

    Hello Emily, thanks for answering. I have 4 small doors on the lower part of a large bookshelf. I was not thinking of removing the louvers, just maybe some thin wood and then trim to hide the join. Then I want to paint it a mid grey colour. I was just hoping to see if somebody else had tried it and see what it looked like.

  • Jackie Jackie on Jun 30, 2018

    B IU☺


  • Johanne V.Lusch Johanne V.Lusch on Jun 30, 2018

    thin curtain rods at top & bottom. Use material to cover the area (solid contrasting colour to brighten up room or a design to add interest) be sewing a small pocket at each end of the length of material to slide onto each rod & cover slats. Easily removed in future if selling or design changes

  • Carol Thomas Carol Thomas on Jun 30, 2018

    How do you feel about shiplap? I think these turned out really well!

    https://www.hometalk.com/diy/bedroom/closets/bye-bye-fold-doors-shiplap-inspired-closet-door-makeover-30653732?r=2

  • Rob32328534 Rob32328534 on Jul 01, 2018

    Hi Carolyn, just an idea-- you may want to get thin sheets of plywood cut to just a quarter inch larger around than the dimensions of the slat portion and then attach it over the slats creating a raised panel look. You could then caulk around the edges smoothing it out and then paint them.