Last time we shared the home office saga, this was the view as we continued the makeover process.
After a lot of planning, building, and painting, the closets and doors were finally starting to come together.
Of course, closets need shelving—and doors. We installed a pair of bifold doors we’ve used before in other rooms and decided to elevate them into true French-style doors for a more elegant look.
How to Convert a Bi-Fold Door to French Doors
Turning a bifold door into a functioning pair of French doors is simple and fast. If you’re doing a similar office or closet upgrade, follow these straightforward steps to get the same polished result.
1. Remove the center hinges that connect the two folding panels so each panel becomes an independent door.
2. Attach four hinges to the edge of each door panel, for a total of eight hinges for the pair. Choose sturdy hinges rated for the door weight and style to ensure smooth operation.
3. Fasten the hinges into the door frame, making sure both doors hang at the same height and swing correctly. Double-check the swing direction before finishing—it’s an easy step to overlook.
The whole conversion took about ten minutes once the hinges were in hand. The result is a more refined, French-door appearance while keeping the practical footprint of the original bifold panels.
How to Build Basic Closet Shelves
With doors installed, we moved on to building simple, durable shelving. This DIY approach uses plywood and 1×2 boards to create clean, practical shelves that blend into the space.
If your closet already has wire shelving, a wood overlay can be used to conceal the wires while providing a solid surface—this is an alternative if you want to avoid removing existing hardware.
Easy DIY Closet Shelves
(Some product links and specifics were referenced during our build process.)
Supplies
- 1×2 boards for shelf supports
- 1/2″ plywood for shelf surfaces
- Stud finder
- Power drill and drill bits
- Tape measure and pencil
- Level
- Wood screws
- Circular saw
Steps
1. Measure and plan the spacing for your shelves. We chose about 24″ between shelves, which works well for storing boxes and seasonal items.
2. Mark level lines on the wall for each shelf and locate studs with a stud finder so the supports can be screwed securely into framing.
3. Rip the plywood to the desired shelf depth using a circular saw. Cut the 1×2 boards to length to create the front, side, and back supports.
4. Fasten the 1×2 supports to the wall at the marked locations using wood screws anchored into studs or solid backing. Ensure each support is level before attaching the shelf surface.
5. Trim the plywood to fit, place it on top of the supports, and secure it with screws. Finish by painting everything to match the closet walls for a cohesive, built-in look—Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace was used here to blend with the existing paint.
For the doors we used a dark paint (Benjamin Moore Wrought Iron) and applied a masking technique to keep the glass and trim crisp and clean.
I’m eager to organize these closets now that the structural work is finished. Behind those newly painted doors the space still needs sorting—typical during a room renovation when other areas of the house get chaotic. For the top shelf, I’m planning to repurpose large PVC pieces to create compartments for seasonal floral stems—an inexpensive way to keep long items tidy.
Office Makeover To-Do List (current status):
Build pair of closetsInstall double French doorsPaint walls & ceilingInstall closet doorsBuild closet shelvingMove air ventPaint doors- Install lighting
- Hang art
- Hang curtains
- Assemble furniture
- Paint cabinets
- Decorate & style
If you’re looking for more closet makeover inspiration or ideas for styling built-in shelves, browsing past projects and closet reveals can provide helpful guides and creative options for organizing and finishing a space like this.
