DIY Cupboard Door Makeover – A Vintage Cottage Transformation

Breathing New Life into a Vintage Door

See how I gave a cupboard door a charming vintage cottage makeover using budget-friendly materials and a creative DIY twist—perfect for adding character to any space!

Pre-blogging days: Photo of door after I painted it

Are you a fellow home addict like me? I’m always dreaming up new ways to decorate, especially when it means giving something old a fresh purpose. Today I’m sharing a DIY cupboard door makeover that cost me nothing—just some wood beads, antiquing wax, and a little creativity. If you love vintage cottage decor and budget-friendly home projects, you’re in the right place!

Why I’m Always Changing Things Up

I don’t know if there’s a support group for home addicts, but if there is, I probably qualify. I’m always looking at houses online, redecorating rooms, upcycling what we already have, and chasing my next wild idea. It’s a nonstop cycle—and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Throw in my need to reuse or upcycle everything, and you’ve got one very busy gal.

Now, sometimes I share what I’m working on, and other times, I keep my projects to myself. This one? I hesitated. Not because it was a disaster—more like I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. You know those ideas that seem amazing in your head, but once they’re finished you kind of tilt your head and think, “Huh?” Yep. That was me.

The History of the Hallway Cupboard

This little project centers around a tiny hallway cupboard door that’s been through quite the transformation. Our home is basically full of doors, windows, and hallways. In one of those hallways sits a small built-in cabinet with a very plain white door. Over the years, this cabinet has worn many hats.

At first, we used it to store random household items. At one point, I stored a set of vintage dishes inside—until one day those dishes slipped too far back into the dark abyss of the cupboard and came crashing down. It was heartbreaking.

Later, we renovated that area and built in a new cabinet, which shortened the cupboard and made the shelves more accessible. It became a mini pantry for canned goods—but we had cans in about five different places, none of which were convenient or organized. That eventually led to the creation of a full pantry (hallelujah!), and the hallway cabinet got reassigned again—this time as storage for our everyday dishes.

The DIY Cupboard Door Makeover

But you know me. I can’t leave anything alone for too long. My ideas are always evolving. I like our home to reflect our personalities—quirky, vintage, and uniquely us. So I decided to have a little fun with this door.

Now before I go further, I should mention: not everyone was on board. A family member gave me the ol’ “I wouldn’t have done that”. Oops. Too late! What’s done is done, and this door now has a whole new look.

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How to Transform a Cupboard Door

Materials:

• One old painted cupboard door

• Dewalt Orbital Sander and sanding discs

• Clear acrylic sealer

• Half wood beads (I used half-inch rounds)

• Titebond wood glue

• Waverly Antiquing wax (optional, for added depth)

Instructions:

1. Remove the door from the hinges, along with the doorknob and any hardware.

2. Use a sander to lightly distress the edges of the door. Ours was already painted white, and sanding revealed some of that layered scalloped texture that made it look charmingly worn over time.

3. Want to perfect the aged look? Lightly sand around the spot where the doorknob was, and randomly scuff the paint in other areas.

4. Measure about three inches in from the edge of the door to draw a pencil border.

5. Do a dry fit of your half wood rounds along the pencil line to test spacing.

6. Apply wood glue to the backs of each bead and carefully press them along the line. Wipe away any extra glue when you press the bead down.

7. Let the glue dry completely before sealing with a clear acrylic spray.

8. (Optional) After the clear coat dried, I wasn’t loving the blah look of the raw wood beads, so I applied antiquing wax to give them warmth and dimension. I mixed the antiquing wax with water and painted it onto the beads. Wipe back the antiquing wax from the door around the beads.

9. Reattach the hinges and reinstall the door. If you are doing the job right, and of course, I wasn't, I painted the antiquing wax onto the beads while the door was installed.

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A Work in Progress (and That’s Okay)

Now, I’m still not entirely sure if this little door is going to stay as-is. Part of me wonders if she’s meant to be a little more refined. But you know what? That’s okay. Sometimes home takes time to figure out. Just like people.

And yes, I call our cottage a she. She’s a classic English lady at heart—even though she lives in the suburbs. Over the past year, she’s gone through quite a few changes (more on that later), and I always try to stay true to her timeless charm. But this little door? She wanted to stand out.

Lessons Learned Through Decorating Slowly

When we moved in, this door was plain pine, never painted in over sixty years. At the time, I didn’t appreciate the wood tone and quickly slapped on some white paint. If I could go back, I might have left her bare. Funny how your style evolves over the years. What I didn’t like back then is something I now adore.

That’s one thing I’ve learned about decorating: take your time. Don’t rush to fill rooms or make decisions just to get it done. When we first moved in, we had almost no furniture, and people would ask, “What are you doing with this space?” My answer was always, “I don’t know yet.”

Fast forward twelve years, and—guess what? The kitchen still isn’t done. But that’s because we’ve changed, too. The layout we created back then wouldn’t make sense for us now. So I’ve embraced the slow decorating method. And this little door makeover? It fits right into that approach.

The Beauty of a No-Spend DIY

I’ve even tossed around the idea of repainting the door in a moody color and adding antique gold Rub ’n Buff to the wood beads (you know I love that stuff). For now, though, I’m enjoying the way the beaded trim turned out. It gave a boring white door new life.

The best part? This project cost me zero dollars. The beads were already in my craft stash—originally bought for who-knows-what—and I pulled everything else from supplies I had on hand. These no-spend DIYs always challenge me to be more creative, and I usually end up loving them even more than high-dollar projects.

Sure, my husband likes to point out that since I bought the supplies at some point, it wasn’t technically free. But in my world, if it’s already in the basement, it’s free. Right? Men…

Hallways are so difficult to photograph

Would You Try It?

So that’s the story of our quirky little hallway cupboard door. She might still evolve. She might get another coat of paint. But for now, she’s proudly showing off her new beads, and I’m happy I tried something different.

What do you think—would you ever try adding wood beads to a door or piece of furniture? I’d love to hear if this inspires a project in your own home. Until next time, I’ll be down in the basement, scheming my next makeover.

Ciao,

Cara