How To Make An Arched Door

Creating custom doors for arches is easier than you think.

Just pull a door off the shelf and follow the easy DIY tutorial.

It's no secret that my house is old.

Very, very old.

It's part of its charm and one of the main reasons we fell in love with it.

It has quirky features and architectural details that you just don't find in modern homes.

Like the archway leading into my living room
It's lovely and adds a bit of grandeur to our modest little home, and while I totally adore it, it did make the idea of adding a door quite impossible.

At first anyway.

Our last cottage was super sweet, but essentially one large space, kitchen, dining and living room, all combined. I learned very quickly that open floor plans were not for me.

I liked being separated from the kids' tv choices and they did not want to hear my phone conversations while I cooked.

So I was thrilled with the floor plan of our current home when I first saw it. There were a few tiny rooms where everyone could find a little peace if necessary and one large kitchen area for togetherness, if we desired.

Fabulous.

And that's just how it worked out, until the piano arrived. And the guitars.

And the bass...and ukulele. Oh yes, and the microphones when Kelly and Kat started recording their own music.

My living room, became a music room and in a house with very limited square footage, sound travels everywhere.

We needed doors.

Unfortunately, that archway was a giant impediment.

Custom arched doors for a less than perfect arched doorway, that was created long before building permits and inspectors existed, were way more  money than we were willing to pay.

And off the shelf doors for arches don't exist. So my husband and I put our heads together and came up with a solution that solved our problem for a price we could afford.

Ok, so here's what we did.

How To Create Doors For Arches or Archways

1. Grab Stock Doors

We knew that we wanted glass French doors leading into the living room.

I wanted the room to feel open and accessible to the rest of the house, but the only glass doors at the store were rectangular and we did not need corners.


 So we thought about trimming them, but there wasn't enough wood to create an arch if we trimmed the top of the door.


 But there was plenty of wood to do that at the bottom.

2. Flip The Doors Upside Down

So our solution was to buy two interior wooden French doors and turn them upside down and trim the corners to create an arch.

A simple flip and we were set to go.

We called the manufacturer to make sure that the door was solid and not hollow ~ because that wouldn't work. When we got confirmation, we got busy.

3. Create A Template

To ensure the arch was perfect, my husband used a large piece of cardboard and created a template of the doorway.

He simply held the cardboard up to the arch and traced the arc with a pencil onto it.

4. Cut

He traced it on the doors and cut the wood with his saw.

He cut. Not me.

He's the big DIY doer around here, folks. I'm just the creative dreamer.

The closest I get to a power tool is my sewing machine and even there I have mixed results.

5. Add A Stop Moulding


Once the doors had been cut to the proper size and shape, he prepared the arch by adding a PVC stop moulding.


 The PVC is very flexible, so it bent around the arch with ease. He nailed it into place and filled the nail holes with wood putty.


6. Add Hinges

Then he added hinges and hung the doors.

Our doors open into the room, so they are mounted on that side of the arch.


I picked out some pretty knobs and that was that.

Well, almost that...


Our beautiful arched doors sat unpainted for about a year. Or two.

I lost count, but it was way too long.

The archway had been painted white decades ago, so the doors needed to match. Eventually he took them down and painted them on sawhorses in the garage.


It was neither a quick nor easy job, so I handed that one over to him as well.

And look ma, no tape.  Is this guy talented or what?


In the end, we got a fabulous set of custom wood arched French doors for our living room just by flipping two stock doors upside down.

Amazing.

And I think they look that way, too.

Now, when I want to listen to music, I just open the doors and let the sound drift through the house.

And when I don't.

Well. You know.


 Are you a creative DIYer?