One of the best perks about being a flea market vendor is that you get to hang around all day and shop. Plus I have a little extra cash burning a hole in my pocket every time I make a sale. For May’s market, I stumbled on this amazingly beautiful old screen door. Oh, and the best part? It was only $65! I’d been waiting and searching for a good pantry door since we started building, and just hadn’t found the right one. I thought I’d have to build one myself, which would have been in the 60-75 dollar range. So when I saw this, I immediately high-tailed it back to my booth to grab the cash and sent Jacob back to pick it up.
What’s funny to me is that my booth up until then was having a bit of a slow day (we all were, surprisingly) but when Jacob came back and propped that door in the back until it was time to load I was literally blocking people from coming after it! I kept having to tell them, “No, this is MY door I bought around the corner, I’m not losing this one!” My family thought I was a bit nuts to not mark it up and resell for a profit, but I just knew this door was *the one*. And it is. It is the most absolutely perfect door for our kitchen pantry.
If you look closely, you’ll notice that it doesn’t actually sit inside the frame. The door measurements were 3′ wide by 7′ tall, which didn’t quite fit my 31″ x 96″ opening. Not to be deterred, I made it work in our space. I just couldn’t bring myself to cut down six inches of width, so I simply decided it could sit over the frame like a cabinet door. We just used three plain old gate hinges from my dad’s stash.
Blends in, doesn’t it? For the top gap, I made a transom window frame with some scrap cedar 1×2′s and nailed it into place. I also wanted to try out a stained glass look so I whipped up a faux window with some plexiglass and hot glue. I’ll post more on that next.
As the door wasn’t sitting inside the frame, we had to rig up the knob. We removed the back knob and the interior hardware and used putty epoxy to keep the old knob in place. You can see the white rim of putty just barely. To keep the door shut, I again raided my dad’s latch supply and found this old bathroom-style catch. All I did was bend half around the side of the door with a hammer, then screwed it into place. It’s perfect! Very subtle, and simple enough for the adults to do while keeping toddler hands at bay. Now I no longer need to fear looking up to see her dumping an entire bottle of syrup into a bowl on the couch. Yikes.
I am by far and away thrilled with how well the door fits in with the style of our kitchen. It’s the perfect shade of teal that it contrasts well with the red and blends with the gray on the cabinets. Plus it fits the whole vintage theme I have going on with the range, sink, and farmhouse legs on that island. I’m so, so glad I found it, and that I resisted the urge to make a quick buck to resell it! This door belongs here. Just like that little girl enjoying her bowl of midday ice cream at the table. Because who doesn’t need a noon time snack of mint chocolate chip?!
And on that note, here’s where I need some advice. I really really like my dining table. A lot. But does it work the best in this space? Now that I have the teal door, the lighter blue color on the table seems off. Yes, I could repaint it, but I’m worried that the painted cabinets, pantry door, AND a painted table is just too much paint in one place. I’m considering selling it to find a vintage wooden table instead. One that my sister perhaps has in her dining room right now and asked me to build her a new one because she’s tired of it. So, what do you think? Keep the table, or replace with wood? I can’t resurface this one for two reasons: 1) it’s not real wood, it was a white lacquered laminate originally so I can’t strip it and 2) I don’t know how I’d ever get back to the original woven chair backing color. And while I’m still enamored with those cushions, I’m not sure the pattern blends well with the rug. And I think the rug needs to stay, because I like the color/pattern and its outdoor so it has held up well to the food stains that Charlie throws all over it.
So, let’s take a vote on the table! Keep it, or ditch it?
