Patio Door Makeovers - Change the Look to Expensive

This post is about making your existing patio doors look more expensive. Either by painting, replacing the door handles or adding green to give it a landscaped effect. No, you can’t turn a folding patio door into a swinging patio door, without replacing the whole unit, but at least you can update the look.
There is a lot more on the blog including videos on how to remove different types of door handles and switching out a sliding door for a swinging door.
Just paint your doors white, add new black door handles and wood moldings to create this look. Its clean and classic.
While most people are painting their doors, these ones are stripped back for a distressed French look. You can add frosted decals to glass and chalk paint to create the glass look if your glass lacks character.
If doing nothing is the only option you have, at an absolute minimum make sure your patio door is surrounded by something beautiful. All this potted lavender is the main feature of this patio door. It's a great investment that you can move around too. This is the no DIY solution!
These patio doors have a canopy you can make. The canopy look is timeless, and perfect if you need to keep the sun out. Make sure your fabric is waterproof!
These patio doors have a fancier canopy. This would look great over a bed too! Navy with a white border is a timeless look that will improve any patio.
Age your door knobs if you don't want to replace them. Just use a metallic oil rub to go from shiny to aged in minutes.
Adding shutters is a great way to makeover your patio doors. They are a privacy winner and perfect if you don't like curtains.
Changing the handles and some white paint to the doors and frame is all that was needed to make these patio doors look great again.
From white to black! Black trim looks good with almost any color scheme so painting your doors black is a great option.
Christine - Pearl + Creek
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
Go
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
  2 questions
  • Cherryl Redmond Cherryl Redmond on Jan 30, 2016
    where did you find shutter doors and were they inexpensive? I was thinking of doing a similar look and even thought of hanging them on a track similar to barn doors. the only ones I could find were quite expensive
  • Becca Stephens Becca Stephens on Jul 11, 2018

    I would also like to know where the big shutters were purchased. I had shutters custom made for a sliding glass door but they were very expensive. We have a lake house that has 2 sliding glass doors in the living room. Would love to figure out how to do that there but on a budget.

Comments
Join the conversation
2 of 7 comments
  • P P on Apr 15, 2023

    one might be able to finesse louvered closet doors to look more like shutters shown & those are inexpensive - may even find at Habitat for Humanity Re-Store or other building salvage sites.

  • Great idea..

Next