after falling in love with this screen door, the hunt was on for something similar. only then did i realize that such ornate screen doors didn’t exist within our budget. oh no! i found beautiful antique doors that were the wrong size, handcrafted doors that were out of our budget and standard ‘farmhouse’ doors that seemed to be everywhere already. i wanted something unique, easy and affordable. so, i embellished my own!

this project came together in just an afternoon and was so much fun to make! here’s what i used:

– standard screen door
– 4 vinyl corner brackets (also available in pine)
– re-screening tool
– knob of your choice (like this one)
– 8 screws and a drill
– caulk
– paint of your choice + a paintbrush
– screen door hanging kit
*optional: new screen wire

first, remove the screen from the door by simply pulling up the old tubing. place the corner brackets where you want them in each corner and attach them using two screws and a drill (the screws will easily drill right through the vinyl). once they’re attached, caulk around the seams to give it a nice finished look  (i skipped this step and wish that i hadn’t!). once the caulk is dry, paint the screen door, front and back and let it dry thoroughly. apply two coats if necessary.

next, you’ll want to re-install the screen using a re-screening tool. i used new screening wire that i purchased at the hardware store, but i think you could also just replace the original screen. the original screen will already be cut to fit exactly, and a new screen will need to be trimmed later. trimming it later is probably preferable so that you don’t have to be so precise in your installation.

attach the new knob of your choice and hang the screen using a screen door hanging kit. i did all of these steps all by myself (the hubs was out of town and i was determined to surprise him!), so if i can do it, i know you can!

the sound of a screen door slamming is such a nostalgic noise to me, it just takes me right back to my childhood! so when installing, i was sure to include the old-style screen door spring. :)