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Did you know that you convert bifold doors to french-style doors that swing out? You can do it easily and you won’t even have to replace your doors – which is especially good news if they are a custom height like mine!
One weekend, I felt inspired to updated my bi-fold bedroom closet doors so I added details to the paneling. I was happy with the results…at least, for the moment.
Later, I found an interesting post in Apartment Therapy and realized there was one more thing I just had to do!
I decided to convert the bi-folds to french doors that pivot out so that I could fully utilize all my closet space and be able to reach at the contents of my closet more easily.
What You’ll Need
- 3 inch mending braces (You’ll need 6 of these in total)
- 2 magnetic catches
- Scrap 1×3 wood
How to Convert Bifold Doors to Pivoting French Doors:
Step 1: Remove the door from the track
Remove the door from the inside of the bi-fold track. I just pulled mine out and unscrewed it from the door. The doors should still be attached in the corner so that they have a point to pivot from (because they don’t have hinges attached to a frame like a regular door)
Step 2: Brace the doors
In order to stop the doors from folding, straighten them out and screw the mending braces to the back of the door.
I actually held the door while my husband screwed the braces in. It’s important to keep the door as straight as possible so that the braces screw in correctly.
When they were still bi-fold doors, this didn’t matter…but now I have another painting job to add to my list!
Step 3: Create a catch so the door can close
Once we had all 6 braces screwed to the doors, we had to create a catch so that the door would close properly (otherwise it just swings and never closes).
Depending on how the inside of your closet is, you may need to add a piece of wood so that you can screw the magnetic catch to something the door will hit when it closes.
Step 4: Attach the metal plate to the door
The final step to convert bifold doors to french doors is to attach the metal plate to the door. When the door meets the magnet, it catches and stays closed.
Depending on your closet, you could attach the magnetic catch to the door and the metal plate inside the closet….whatever works best for you!
Step 5: Enjoy your new doors
Now you have a lovely closet door that swings out just like fancy french doors and you can see all your clothes in one glance.
And you have completely transformed the way you use your closet!
The ability to have doors that swing out has meant that I can see everything that’s inside my closet in one glance. It’s such a game changer and has made my small closet so much more functional!
Another great project that can be done to improve the appearance of plain paneled doors, whether they are slabs or bi-folds, is to add some interest to the front. Adding raised panels is a simple DIY projects that really enhances the look of plain, boring doors.
Convert Bifold Doors to French Doors
Don't replace your bifold doors - simply update the hardware so they swing out like french doors!
Materials
- 3 inch mending braces (you'll need 6 of these in total)
- 2 magnetic catches
- Scrap 1x3 wood
Tools
- screwdriver
Instructions
- Remove the door from the inside of the bi-fold track. The doors should still be attached in the corner so that they have a point to pivot from (because they don't have hinges attached to a frame like a regular door).
- Attach the mending braces to the back of the door so they don't fold anymore. It's important to keep the door as straight as possible so that the braces screw in correctly.
- Install a magnetic catch so that the door would close properly (otherwise it just swings and never closes). You may need to add a piece of wood so that you can screw the magnetic catch to something the door will hit when it closes.
- Finally, attach the metal plate to the door. When the door meets the magnet, it catches and stays closed. Depending on your closet, you could attach the magnetic catch to the door and the metal plate inside the closet....whatever works best for you!
Hy, just want to know how you filled the hole where there was the original door handle???
Hi Christiane – we just filled it with some wood putty!
We are currently tying to turn our doors into French doors, however, they are still slightly folding. Would a bigger bracket stop this?
Hi Alyssa, yes I would try bigger brackets or more brackets!
Hi, I love your blog. I am curious how these doors held up without actual hinges. It’s been a few years, are you still using them? Did they hold up okay? I am thinking of doing these two some bifold doors I have, but if they didn’t hold up I will add actual hinges. Thanks for a great creative idea! You have wonderful creative projects
Hi Liz! We moved last year but they were still holding up great. There’s no need for hinges because I didn’t mess with the mechanism that allowed the doors to fold, only braced them to stop the fold. Hope that helps!
Hi Liz. Thanks for asking this question, we were curious of this exact thing. Can I ask, did you try it? How did it work out?.Thanks!!
How were the hinges installed?
I have a 2 panel bifold door that swings to the left. so the top pin in only on the one panel on the left. If I want to make into a set of French doors how would I hold up the second panel once I take off the bracket that connects the two? To me it looks like I would need another pin at the top right and something at the bottom right?
you can actually use just 2 mending plates. place one on the top of each pair of doors. you don’t see them and then you can use the inside of closer door to hold jewelry, scarves, shoe bag etc.