Kitchen Chronicles XI: How to Make a Hollow Core Door Look Like a Vintage Door
If you’ve ever looked at your hollow core doors and thought, “these things are just…blah,” you are not alone. Hollow core doors are affordable and practical, but let’s be honest—they don’t exactly scream character or charm. Especially if what you really want is something with character—like a stained glass door that feels like it came straight out of an old home.
The good news? You don’t have to replace them to get the look of a vintage door.
In this post, I’m going to show you exactly how I transformed a basic hollow core door into a vintage-inspired pantry door with a faux stained glass window, wood trim, and antique-style details—using mostly materials I already had on hand (I only spent about $20 on wood). No special carpentry skills, no replacing the door, and no hunting down the “perfect” antique that may never fit your space.
If you’ve been searching for ways to upgrade a hollow core door, make it look more expensive, or add glass to a flat interior door, this DIY might be exactly what you’ve been looking for.
This DIY hollow core door makeover is something you can do in a weekend, and I’ll walk you through exactly how we did it step by step.
Boy, am I so excited to share my latest kitchen DIY with you!
Why I Chose to Upgrade a Hollow Core Door Instead of Replacing It
100% honesty here, my husband and I are kind of old house nerds. We love most everything about old homes—it is why we settled on our 1950 cozy cottage from the beginning.
Okay, so that is not 100% true... he wanted to build, and I wanted our home to be old. So while he was moving forward with building plans, I was searching for the perfect older home with loads of charm.
I guess we know who won out, huh?
So, when we began this kitchen remodeling journey, both my husband and I wanted an old door for our pantry. No, we did not want one of those doors that says “Pantry.” We were dreaming of a door like you see in old schools—chicken wire where the glass window is, frosted glass, something that caught your eye.
We thought we could find a vintage or antique door with the exact dimensions and it would fit, and that would be the end of our perfect pantry door dreams.
Guess what?
That did not exactly happen.
Not only do your dimensions need to match up, but you also need to consider the door latch and a whole host of other questions I wasn’t prepared for.
I let the pantry door of my dreams go—for a while anyway. You know I can never let things just drop off permanently. I have to keep reworking it in my mind until I land on the perfect solution.
So, when you cannot find what you want, you make it, right?
Well, that is how this gal took a hollow core door and made it look like a vintage old house door. If you’re also wondering how to make a hollow core door look more expensive, this is such a simple way to do it.
How hard can this be? Right?
By the way, this is part of the Do It Over Designers Blog Hop hosted by Ann with The Apple Street Cottage. She gets us together every other month on the fourth Saturday—you just never know what we will be giving a makeover to. Please visit my friends at the end of this post to see what they have been up to, you won't be disappointed.
Our home has 1950s hollow core doors throughout. Being built post-WWII, things were a little different than those pre-war homes. Who knew I would one day appreciate the fact that they fit perfectly into their existing door frames?
I do not think I would ever want to take on the task of fitting a vintage door into an existing frame. This gal has learned a thing or twelve during this kitchen remodel—I like to think I may be a bit smarter about my DIY ideas now.
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| I started a project with this door, but it wasn't going as planned. That's why you see streaky brown at the top. |
Supplies and Materials for This Hollow Core Door Makeover
- Hollow Core Door with doorknob
- Special Glue for Wood
- Trim of your choice
- Faux Stained Glass (this one has sold out, but here are beautiful stained glass options)
- T-square
- Miter saw
- Stain of your choice, I used Old Masters Early American
- Wax, I used Minwax
- Mail Slot (optional)
- Respirator mask, I use it for all sanding jobs, and sometimes when I stain, depends on how asthma is treating me that day
Step 1: Preparing the Hollow Core Door
I removed the hinges and then realized I forgot about everything hanging on the inside. Talk about an airhead moment around here.
After I removed the cast iron hooks and Bentley’s things, I was able to remove the doorknob next.
I am all about upcycling and recycling, but you will see later—that doorknob finds a new look, sort of anyway.
I got straight to work sanding down the paint. I have been switching my love of white paint for stain these days thanks to our nearly 50-year-old cabinets that I made over.
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| Not off to a great start, this is after 1 hour of sanding |
If you think the paint came off easily, I can assure you it did not. I took photos at one hour, two, and then three hours. At hour three, in 41-degree weather, my sanding disc began kicking off.
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| I am seeing wood, woohoo! |
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| Is this a joke? I thought I would be further by this point. |
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| 2 hour mark, I was a little frustrated by this point |
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| 3 hour mark, and I am still not finished |
Never having this happen before, I gave up after the third time and closed up shop.
I waited for my husband to come home that evening, and that is when he took over. Did the sanding disc kick off on him? Of course not.
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| Husband to the rescue, all sanded down, and sander fixed. |
I am not sure what that sander had against me, but I was ticked it didn’t give him any issues. He mentioned cleaning the Velcro part of the sander, but didn’t think there was enough debris to cause my problem.
He finished the door about an hour later, as you can see, I did get pretty far in my paint removal journey.
If you decide to remove paint from a door, know that it is possible it could take a while—if you are working with an older door, there is also a chance it could have been painted with lead paint, so proceed with caution.
My mother mentioned the paint may have been enamel. It had an odd odor when removed, so I am not entirely sure, but I do know it was a bear to get off.
Step 2: Planning the Faux Stained Glass Window
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| Wood Trim and Faux Stained Glass |
I went online and searched for stained glass doors, and wow—you will find a plethora of inspiration out there.
I fell in love, and ideas began rolling around in my mind. I thought to myself, I can totally make this happen with the hollow core door we already have. No need to purchase something new.
I settled on a simple, single-pane stained glass design with trim around the “glass” and a ledge underneath.
We measured our back door for reference to figure out how large we wanted the window to be. With those measurements in mind, we marked everything out on the door.
I knew I wanted the “glass panel” to sit above the doorknob for a more realistic look—not my full fantasy version where the entire door is stained glass.
Step 3: Adding Trim to Create a “Window”
Once everything was marked, my husband cut the trim using our miter saw.
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| My husband cutting the trim with the miter saw |
We cut the top and bottom pieces at 22 inches (end to mitered end), and the side pieces at 30 inches.
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| Placing trim on door to get an idea where the window will be |
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| One of our mitered edges needed to be fixed (cut again) |
I was impatient, and began staining the trim right away. I get this way when I want to see if an idea will work out as I think it should.
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| Staining the trim before it is attached to the door |
Now, can you believe we put this together without any nails?
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| Window film set on door, checking mitered edges to be sure they line up perfectly |
We used a strong wood adhesive we already had on hand, and it worked like a charm.
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| This glue has been amazing to use for our kitchen remodel, and goes a long way |
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| I am pressing the wood piece down onto the glue so I do not get it on my fingers |
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| Keep the film backing on the vinyl, and face it out, it gives the window a more realistic look |
We centered the stained glass by measuring four inches from the top and sides. My husband will tell you it is slightly off, but I cannot see it. I am also the person who cannot tell if a picture is crooked on the wall, so take that for what it’s worth.
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| We drew lines where we wanted the top and bottom of the window placed on the door |
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| I placed a T-square on the side of the door to be sure my trim was level before gluing down |
Once everything was in place, we added a small amount of glue to the corners and pressed the stained glass vinyl onto the door. Then we placed the trim around it to create the look of a real window using the same adhesive.
Notes:
- When cutting out the faux stained glass, cut from the center so the window has an ever more realistic look. You do not want a full design on one side, and a half design at the end. Reference above, the glass pieces are halved on either side of the window.
- Be sure of placement if you decide to use the wood glue we have been using recently. It dries in about 60 seconds, sometimes less. Once it is "stuck" it is not going anywhere.
Step 4: Adding a Decorative Ledge for a Vintage Look
Once everything was in place, we decided a ledge would be the perfect finishing touch.
We took inspiration from a built-in cabinet in our kitchen that has a tapered ledge underneath. We thought adding something similar to the door would help it feel like it had always been here.
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| The ledge is being glued down, we are tapering the edges to mimic an existing ledge in our kitchen |
We used the same adhesive and secured the ledge right under the stained glass window.
Step 5: Staining the Door for an Antique Finish
After everything was glued down, I stained the door. 24 hours later, I waxed the door to protect the door and trim.
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| Staining the door, trim, and ledge |
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| Buffing Minwax with white cloth |
We intentionally placed the stained glass vinyl directly onto the bare, sanded wood first to give the illusion of light coming through. That is why we saved the staining for last.
We used the same stain we’ve been using throughout our kitchen.
This hollow core door makeover completely changed the look of our kitchen.
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| Ahh... look at that window. Oh, and Bentley too - he likes to be included. |
Step 6: Adding Vintage-Inspired Details (Mail Slot + Hardware)
But... I still wondered what else I could do to make this door feel more realistic.
So I went on eBay and searched for mail slots. A few days later, I found a brass one that felt like the perfect addition.
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| The mail slot looks more brass in person |
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| Hmm.. now what to do with that shiny doorknob? |
We attached it directly to the door. It is not functional, but I like to think maybe one day I will slide a little something into it for someone to find.
Then came the doorknob.
I searched Marketplace, Columbus Architectural Salvage, and eBay, but I just wasn’t finding what I wanted within my budget.
So, I started thinking… and remembered I had an old doorknob from a previous project, the paper towel holder.
I asked my husband if we could somehow make it work—and he figured it out by retrofitting the antique knob and using the existing brass knob together. I honestly could not tell you how he did it since this was 100% trial and error. We were not sure it would work, but he has a way of making my upcycling dreams come true.
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| I have had this doorknob for nearly 20 years, so glad it is being used now. |
We reused part of the existing hardware, painted what we needed black, and I used Rub ’n Buff in antique gold to give it a more aged look.
It may not be the doorknob of my dreams, but for free, I will absolutely take it.
Final Reveal: My Hollow Core Door Makeover
The result?
I love our new/old door.
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| I cannot believe we were able to get the look without the huge price tag |
I already had most of the materials on hand and only spent about $20 on wood. Now, if you decide you would also like a mail slot, ours was $17 + shipping, but the door looked awesome without it. I am just a fickle gal with my details.
It checks all the boxes for me:
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Vintage-inspired look
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Stained glass detail
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Wood trim that matches our cabinets
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No need to replace the door
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Budget-friendly and resourceful
Gosh, I am sure there are more—but who cares, look at that door!
Would you have ever thought it was a hollow core door? I never thought I could add a stained glass look to one, but here we are.
Would I Do This Hollow Core Door DIY Again?
I like to think it turned out perfectly—or at least perfectly imperfect, like I tend to do around here. Yes, 1000% I would do this again!
We saved so much money. If you take a look at stain glass doors online, they can go as high as $5500. We would have had to hire someone to install it since we are not sure how to retrofit a door. And if you are spending that much on a door... well, I do not want to be responsible for the installation. No thank you.
If you’re not ready to replace your hollow core doors (who wants to replace things when we can DIY them for less?), this is such an easy way to upgrade what you already have.
Now, hop on over to see what my friends have been up to this month. There are always so many surprises to be found and seen.
Exquisitely Unremarkable
Little Vintage Cottage
Modern on Monticello
Pandora’s Box
Purple Hues & Me
Unique Creations by Anita
Sum of Their Stories
Vintage Style Gal
The Apple Street Cottage
Birdz of a Feather
If you are interested in seeing more of our Kitchen Chronicles, you can find the links below. There have been many recycled and upcycled materials used throughout the remodel.
Ciao,
Cara
