Wooden Screen Doors

Wooden screen doors take the mind to places that no other things in everyday life can.  The magical squeaking of the hinges, and slamming wood against the frame, deliver thoughts of easy warm summer days.  Even if one didn’t have a screen door as a child, there have been enough tales on television with them, to yield imaginative fantasies of wraparound porches and simple lives.

Recently I had  conundrum.  Jude kept sneaking into my laundry room, and getting into my little screws and nails.  It wouldn’t be so bad…but they kept winding up in my washing machine.  Now, I realize that spanking him might be the first thought that comes to mind…and we tried that.  The problem with this theory is, even if he got a spanking, he kept doing it.  By the time I caught him, I had a washer full of screws.  My heater is in the laundry room (long story), and it needs the ventilation that NO doors provide.  I had doors, but we kept them open for this reason.  My solution? A screen door.  It was perfect: A barricade for Jude, while providing the ventilation needed for the heater.  Problem:  I HATED seeing into my laundry room.  This is how I solved the problem.

I cut a piece of 1/4″ luan to screw to the inside of the door.  This will get calked and painted into place.  I opted for chalkboard paint to dress it up.  Y’all know how much I love my chalkboard paint!!

I opted to go with a dark color, mostly because I kinda wanted it to still have that screen door charm.  But, chalkboard paint didn’t seem like quite enough to me.  It needed more.

I took these simple brackets from Home Depot, and disassembled them.  The bracket portion of them were too wide…and I didn’t like it anyway.

By simply prying them apart…I got what I was looking for.

Painted them up, and strategically placed them on my wooden screen door.

The spindle in the middle is a gallery rail for the top of cabinets.

It just had to be cut to length and painted.

Then I also had the lower additions lying around my shed.

I nailed and glued the pieces into position like I liked (after playing a while of course!), and here’s what I’ve got!

Now…..what do you think of my gingerbread screen door?  What visions come to your mind when you hear a wooden screen door squeak and slam?

Love Y’all!