Creative bathroom door suggestions?

January 8, 2006 8:20 PM

Creative bathroom door suggestions?

My apartment's only bathroom is in the master bedroom. The bathroom has a small, odd-sized doorway but no door. So far, this hasn't really been a problem but it would be if I had guests, and it has been somewhat strange since I got a cat.

Besides beads, are there any good ideas you could think of to block the view from the bathroom (the toilet is right in line with the door). Is it possible for someone with very little building experience to build a door?

posted by drezdn to Home & Garden (20 answers total)

Personally I'd hang a heavy, thick curtain to both add privacy and to block any, umm, sound and smells.

If you can modify the apartment permanently, any finish carpenter should be able to take an old door (think recycled door), cut it to fit, and hang it for you. You can apply the finish yourself.
posted by nathan_teske at 8:25 PM on January 8, 2006

First, that is a really weird apartment.

Second, how about hanging a roll-up window blind?
posted by Hildago at 8:43 PM on January 8, 2006

How is the opening "odd?" Building a real door involves some serious joinery, but you could build something funky in an afternoon. Do you know how to make a half-lap joint? You could make a wooden frame out of 1x4s to fit, and tack a bright sheet or batik over that.
posted by LarryC at 9:14 PM on January 8, 2006

In case the above is not clear, think of it as building a screen door, then wrapping it with cloth.
posted by LarryC at 9:15 PM on January 8, 2006

The hardest part won't be building a door, it will be hanging it. Mounting 3 sets of hinges so that all 3 hinge pins are exactly plumb and collinear is tricky, especially in an opening that may not have been designed with a hung door in mind.

How about some saloon-style doors? Only two hinges per, so a lot easier to hang. Or, for most of my childhood our bathroom door consisted of a bath towel on one of those spring-loaded shower rods.
posted by misterbrandt at 9:23 PM on January 8, 2006

Response by poster: Hildago: yes, it is a really weird apartment, I think it's part of the reason I got a really cool apartment for really low rent. It even has a window on the outside that doesn't exist inside my apartment.

LarryC: The door seems narrower and shorter than most doors I've seen.
posted by drezdn at 9:27 PM on January 8, 2006

know what would be cool? a pair of those wild-west swinging tavern doors. sure, you can see under them, but if they're tall enough or you mount them low enough they should cover your goods. and wouldn't it be neat?
posted by sergeant sandwich at 9:47 PM on January 8, 2006

Well, it wouldn't be too hard to create a workable door from old house parts -- shutters, or something. And if you line up the hinges on the door first, getting them lined up on the door frame would be easier.

You could also consider a sliding door of some sort, if there's enough wall space on one side (there are four potential positions). There are hanging-door parts at most hardware stores.

Or you could use something like a curtain, or a Japanese screen.
posted by dhartung at 9:53 PM on January 8, 2006

An acquaintance of mine lives in a studio inside a very old, heavily remodeled 1920's era apartment building. Instead of a proper door, she has a sort of plastic accordion-style contraption that pulls out from the side it is bolted to. It magnetically clips open or shut. Offers about as much privacy as a public bathroom door.

I doubt it'd take more than an hour to install such a device.
posted by cmyk at 10:08 PM on January 8, 2006

How about a two-panel bifold door? Plain ones are relatively cheap. A full-service hardware store will probably be able to order and cut one to fit. And setting it up is much, much easier than hanging a conventional door.

My bathroom is probably even weirder than yours, drezdn, and that's what worked for me.
posted by tangerine at 10:24 PM on January 8, 2006

Depending on the space available a good folding screen might be work, and also be useful in other spaces when you don't need it next to the bathroom.
posted by ejaned8 at 10:30 PM on January 8, 2006

I doubt there's enough space, but you could theoretically get two free-standing screens, set them apart from each other and create a baffle entrance -- there's no door but you have to walk around a corner to get inside, and you can't see past the baffle corner.
posted by frogan at 10:55 PM on January 8, 2006

I'm all for the screen idea. I've always wanted a Japanese themed Bedroom. Just use one screen and put it at a 45 degree angle, with the opening away from the door to the main room.

If you don't want screens, and want to go really cheap, you can just use a blanket. I had a room in the basement with no door when I was in High School, and that's what I did. If you want to be a bit more classy, use a wall tapestry. Sometimes called a Wall Scroll. Fairly cheap, lots of designs, and adds decoration. Check ebay, you'll find a bunch.
posted by Phynix at 11:37 PM on January 8, 2006

Beads, baby, beads.
Groovy.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:24 AM on January 9, 2006

A roman shade might be fun, and can be made easily with heavy fabric.
posted by Sara Anne at 10:57 AM on January 9, 2006

A curtain: use rod that's sort of like a shower curtain rod (tension rod) or a wooden dowel-type rod (or one that can be set inside the door jam - might be hard to find in wood) and hang tab curtains from it.
posted by deborah at 11:26 AM on January 9, 2006

A hinged drapery rod could be cool if there's a wall at a 90 degree angle (or next to the opening). You hang a lovely piece of double-sided fabric on the rod (you could even just use a hot-meld adhesive to hem it and make a rod pocket at the top if you can't sew). Swing it over the opening for privacy, when you're alone, swing it the other way for a tapestry-like effect.
posted by Gucky at 1:53 PM on January 9, 2006

OK, I went from roman shade straight to one of those pull-down maps we used to have in school.

Or if you go with the curtain/rod idea, you could hang a white canvas curtain and one of these front to back. We use it as a shower curtain liner, facing in, so we can soap up and find Dubai all at once.
posted by ersatzkat at 5:14 PM on January 9, 2006

Your floorplan sounds like mine. My open bedroom faces the open bathroom. The toilet has its own little closet, but I have a full view of the shower.

I haven't committed the funds yet, but I have drawn up plans for a suspended rolling door panel made of this stuff. (I chose the acid-etch-on-one-side Kabuki.)

When it's open, it will just look artish, and when it is closed, it will allow light to pass through, while preserving someone's naked dignity, be it mine or a guest's.
posted by Sallyfur at 6:25 PM on January 9, 2006

Folding screen--like a shoji or something?
posted by MollyNYC at 12:54 PM on January 27, 2006