Bifold Pantry Door Makeover

The door that was installed on my pantry when we purchased the house swung inward, which made utilizing the pantry difficult. I toyed with the idea of a barn door, however, the pantry is in the mudroom and it would be difficult for the kids to operate. The only other solution was to install double doors that swung outward. Antique farmhouse doors were my dream; however, they are super expensive! I wanted an antique farmhouse door look but within my minimal budget. Follow me on my Bifold Pantry Door Makeover.

Finding The Perfect Bifold Pantry Door Without Breaking the Bank

I spent a lot of time searching the internet for the perfect Bifold Door. Bifold Doors are generally used for closets. They are doors that are connected together by a hinge that accordion open and close. Originally, I wanted a Bifold Door with glass because I really loved the look of an antique glass door. However, I couldn’t find a bifold door with glass that fit my doorframe size and my budget.

The doors in my house are impossibly tall which made finding an affordable bifold door tricky. Randomly, I found the best deal at Amazon. I purchased the 6-Panel Solid Wood 96×30 Bifold Door for $270.

The best part of buying the Bifold Doors from Amazon was the free Prime Shipping. The doors took two weeks to arrive, but the price was worth the wait.

Prepping the Bifold Pantry Doors for Installation

First, I separated the doors by removing the hinges that connected the doors together. I lightly sanded the front and back of both doors. I lightly stained the front and backs of the doors with Weathered Oak Stain by Minwax.

This was the same stain I used for my faux beam in the entryway to the mudroom.

Generally, when you install a new door swinging in a new direction you have to do a lot of prep work on the door for the hinges. The best part of this project is I did NOT have to alter the door to install new hinges!

I purchased Non-Mortise Hinges from Home Depot. Due to the height of the Bifold Door, each door required 4 Non-Mortise Hinges.

Installing The Doors

Installing Non-Mortise Hinge Doors requires two people. First, I attached the hinges to the door. Next, I had my husband hold the first door up to the correct height while I screwed the hinges directly into the existing door jam. Then, we attached the second door the same way as the first.

After the installation of the second door, I realized there was a slight gap between the doors. My husband said the gap was fine; however, I wanted the door to look professional. I purchased a wood Astragal to bridge the gap in the door. The Astragal had to be special ordered from Home Depot so while I waited for that I got to work on the door hardware.

Door Hardware

Keeping with the farmhouse look, I decided to purchase Cremone Bolt hardware for the doors. The hardware was purchased from Amazon because that is where I could find the hardware at the best price. I did not have to alter the door to install the hardware because I decided to use magnetic closure for the doors to make my life easier. The door handles are considered dummy doorhandles and are just used to pull them open and closed.

Installing the Cremone Bolt Hardware required two people. The hardware was slightly too long for my doors. Using the metal blade on my table saw, I cut down the hardware slightly for each door. After getting the hardware in place, I attached magnetic closure locks to the top of the frame and the top of each door.

Installing the Astragal

Once the Astragal arrived, I cut the center part of the Astragal down so it would fit in between the two doors. Using wood glue and a nail gun, I attached the Astragal to the right door.

After the glue dried, I lightly stained the Astragal with the Weathered Oak Minwax Stain.

The Finished Product

All of the hard work that went into this project was well worth it! These new doors provide so much more functionality to our space. I would love to do this project again on our laundry room door!