7 Creative Ways to Update Interior Doors

Windowed French doors are gorgeous on their own, but colorful insets add interest and provide privacy. Vintage maps, paper with decorative cutouts, frosted-look contact paper, and favorite pages from an old book are great insets to consider. For insets that don't have their own adhesive, a bit of double-stick tape will subtly hold paper in place.

All those crannies can make painting a paneled door seem more intricate than decorating a wedding cake. Reduce the drama with these simple steps:

-- Remove the door from the frame and take off the hardware.

-- Lightly sand the door. If it's being painted for the first time, paint with primer first.

-- Paint the sections in the following order: Paint the panels, paint the vertical stiles, paint the horizontal stiles, and paint the outer frame.

Get the look of a costly paneled door without the expense. Choose molding trim that matches the overall aesthetic you're after -- ornate or simple. Brush a coat of primer onto the trim pieces, then a coat of paint in the desired color. Our trim is a shade lighter than the door itself to make it stand out. Use a miter saw to trim pieces to the desired lengths. To prevent splitting the wood, drill small pilot holes in the trim to accommodate trim nails. Apply wood glue to the back of each trim piece, then apply to the door in your design. When glue is dry, tap trim nails into the predrilled holes to secure the trim. Fill holes with wood putty, then sand and paint.

Ditch your rattly old doorknobs and replace them with hardware that boosts any room's style statement. To simplify installation, buy hardware with the same number and placement of screws as your original. And check that the latching mechanism fits into the door the same way. Otherwise you'll need to drill and patch a bit to finish the job.

Replacing an interior door with a pet door keeps your four-legged friends corralled where they'll be safe but still lets them -- and you -- feel like part of the action. 

To make a door like the one shown, remove an existing solid-core interior door and all its hardware. Saw off the top portion of the door, leaving several inches above the middle hinge. Cut out a section in the middle of the door piece and replace it with pet-proof screening. (You can route out a groove for the screening or layer it on the back of the door and cover the edges with molding.) Cut and attach a shelf for the top of the door. Prime and paint the door (two or three coats will stand up to pet paws best). Reattach the hardware and rehang.

Don't settle for unadorned doors if you're craving more pizzazz. Just grab a paintbrush and create your own eye candy with a stencil. 

New knobs don't have to equal the expense of new hinges. You can repaint hinges to match. After removing hinges and screws from the door, stick the screws in florist's foam so you can spray the tops easily with the metallic spray paint of your choice. Stand hinges on newspaper, and spray both sides. When dry, adjust the angle of each hinge and paint again. Reinstall on your doors, and rehang doors.