When you look at your garage door, you probably don’t feel very inspired. That’s okay! Here at A Plus Garage Doors, we live and breath garage doors, and even we can understand that most homeowners aren’t exactly in love with theirs. The garage door can be an eyesore, or a headache, or just a loud grumbling part of your morning routine that is forgotten the second you close it behind you on your way to work. For some people, however, that isn’t enough. Some people look at their garage door and are inspired… Today’s blog goes out to them!
If your residential garage door needs to be replaced or repaired, you might need to have either part – or all – of the door removed. It is sometimes possible to just replace a couple panels from a door, if the damage is minor, but in many cases you’re better off just getting the whole garage door taken out and having a new garage door installed in its place. If that is the case, typically your garage door installation company will have the old garage door removed and will dispose of it for you – but if you have grander plans for the leftover garage door, you can ask to keep it! The garage door’s distinctive shape and patterning can appeal to a DIY homeowner, and can serve a role in the construction of unique furniture, like the pieces shared in the rest of this blog!
All of these images come from our Pinterest page, from the Door Recycling board. You can follow us there to read more about ways that you can up-cycle your door, and see what others are doing with their leftover garage doors and entry doors. If you have an interest in DIY furniture, this is exactly the post for you!
This first example is starting things off simple, with an old glass-panel entry door converted to a photo mosaic with coat hooks. This wall decoration can be an excellent way to include a door from your home’s past, or just a shabby chic way to dress up a wall and display your family. The best part about this project is how simple it is to DIY. Any homeowner with access to basic tools could create something like this from any residential entry door, a screwdriver, and some craft tape!
Now here’s a simple project that let’s you transform an old residential garage door into a memorable statement piece in your living room! Just sanding the paint off solid wood panels can leave you with some beautiful, simple decorations for your walls. These panels can be quite large, but the timeless appeal of wood grain means that they won’t dominate the space completely.
In a more drastic example of what you can do with garage doors, here’s a greenhouse that uses old glass panels for its walls. Glass and aluminum garage doors are only increasing in popularity, but this recycling idea turns that on its head by utilizing single panels or entire doors to construct a weather-proofed but sunlight-friendly greenhouse!
This is perhaps the most beautiful example on our list – this homeowner constructed a dining room table from old garage door panels and a clear epoxy fill, and even made a detailed guide for the process for www.instructables.com (you can see the whole guide by clicking on that link). This table shows off the beauty of the garage door’s simple panel design, with the clear resin allowing the woodgrain to take center stage. This is the sort of DIY project that might test your skills, but at the end of the day it leaves you with a product totally unique to you, and the joy that it will bring your family every time that it is used is more than worth the time invested.
Here’s another bit of carpentry for a different room in your house. This time, an old garage door has been repurposed in to the frame for a king-sized bed. A residential double-wide garage door is quite a bit larger than you might think, and once the materials are in your bedroom, you can see clearly enough that there’s plenty to frame out the bed. This bed frame is a rustic addition to your bedroom and draws all eyes to your bed!
For a slightly simpler project, consider this outdoor bench! If you spend time outside with your family and have a spare residential garage door panel lying around, why not repurpose it into something that your whole family can get some use out of? This project won’t be too difficult, even if woodworking isn’t your thing, and if the original garage door was well-made then it should be capable of withstanding the elements for many more years to come.
Our last example is another outdoor creation, but this one is a little more complicated than the bench. If you’ve ever tested out your green thumb, you know that planters can actually be very expensive! This has led to a DIY culture around gardening where homeowners make their own planters, and this project is no different! By covering your old residential garage door panels with a fresh coat of outdoor paint, you can spruce them up to the color you’re looking for before mounting them to posts (custom or store-bought) and voila – you have your own customized planters!
We hope that these photos have inspired you to look more favorably at your old garage door! If you’re planning on having your residential garage door repaired or replaced soon, maybe you’ll want to consider holding onto the old door so that you try out some of these DIY projects yourself. If you want more inspiration, check out our pinterest board for all the best recycling ideas and transform your old garage door in to a new creation!