Ideas for Decorative Screened Doors

Stencil an Existing Screen Door

• You can create visual appeal and enhanced privacy by stencilling the screen panels of a door you already have. Stencilling has many advantages. You can create an unlimited number of looks, you needn't take the door off its hinges to do the project, supplies are inexpensive and project completion time is minimal. If you get tired of your stencilled door, you can simply remove and replace the screen panels. You'll get the most dramatic, crisp results if you stencil in whites or light pastels.

Dress up a Screen Door With Molding

• With precut speciality molding, some wood glue and a coping saw, you can enhance a budget door to look like it came from a master craftsman's shop. The key is finding exotic molding and details and creatively applying them to the door. These items are now common in big box hardware stores. One caveat to look for, however, is ensuring that the molding and detail items are solid wood. With appropriate coatings, wood details can be effectively weatherproofed.

Ordinary Door, Classic Italian Finish

• This project will take time. The key to an attractive, rich, deeply colored finish is wet sanding. Start with a bare, clean wood door, spray lightly with clean water until the grain raises and sand until smooth using a damp sanding sponge. Repeat this step until the door feels satiny when dry before applying the stain. Finish the dry, stained door with generously repeated wipe-downs of equal parts turpentine and boiled linseed oil.

Half Screen Doors

• A full screen door isn't always the best choice for a door facing a street. Too much visibility through the door compromises privacy and security, and determined pets and children have been known to stage effective breakouts through screen panels. A half screen door neatly solves these problems and also provides a canvas on which to display decorative effects like tole painting, stencilling, rosemaling or family crests. A really spectacular effort will take time, a place to lay the door flat while working and protection from the elements while the door dries.