DIY Hall Tree From A Schoolhouse Door

I did this DIY Hall Tree for a themed makeover I used to do with a group of bloggers. I was stumped for this particular project, but when I was searching around for ideas, my stash of old doors were the last thing I looked through. I had an old schoolhouse door that I knew would be the perfect candidate for a hall tree!

This door is so yummy to me. Yep, “yummy”. That is my official term for amazing pieces from old schoolhouses. This door came from one of the oldest schools in our area. They got rid of all the original doors in the school because they need to have doors that are up to code with the new rules and regulations for things like intruders. It is so sad that we have to lose all of the beautiful features of old schools because of the times we are in.

This door still had the original “paper clip” on it.

The school took all the original brass handles off the doors to recycle them. UGH!!!

The bottom was not in the best shape either, but I was so happy to bring this door home.

One of the first things that caught my eye about this door were the twelve window panes. As soon as I saw them, I thought about the twelve months in a year and knew this would make some kind of great calendar. When I was thinking about this black project and came across this door, the “hall tree with a calendar plan” came together!

Now, I was set!

To start, we took out the plastic and glass windows (some of the windows were broken so they replaced them with plastic).

Then, Matt cut the bottom portion off the door and around the sides so it was equal on both sides and the hole where the door knob was was no longer there.

He cut thin plywood to fit each window pane and I painted them with black chalkboard paint. Chalkboard paint makes everything better and what better way to incorporate black into my project! 🙂

I sanded the door down pretty well before I painted it. It had such a thick sheen on it that I wanted to rough it up so the paint would adhere better.

I mixed three colors from Country Chic Paint to get a beautiful green color; Backyard Picnic, Cobble Stone and Creme Brulee. This color makes me happy.

I put a few coats of paint on the door and then I used my sander to distress it.

Matt nailed and caulked all the chalkboard pieces on the back of the door and I “seasoned” them before I wrote on them.

Whenever you have a new chalkboard, it is important to season it. All that means is to rub the side of a piece of chalk all over the chalkboard surface and wipe it off with a dry cloth. Now, the chalkboard is ready to be used. If you don’t season it, you may run into the problem of always seeing what you wrote on the chalkboard after you erase it.

I put the paper clip back on the door, along with another old hook I had.

The paper clip is perfect for holding notes, homework or even hats and/or mittens.

The last thing this hall tree needed was a bench.

Matt made the bench from an old board we had in the garage, some trim pieces and some legs I had.

I love it!

I took a gazillion pictures of the finished project so here are a few more beauty shots.

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These monthly challenges get more and more fun every time. This is my third makeover with this creative group of ladies. My first makeover was the DIY Knobs and my second project was the DIY French Country Furniture Makeover.

If you don’t have time to DIY your hall tree, I found some beautiful options online:

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If you liked this Hall Tree post, you will also love these repurposed projects:

Architectural Salvage For The Entry

Repurposed DIY Tiered Stand Tutorial

Wood Vintage Toolbox Turned Craft Storage