Why We Added a Door at The Bottom of Our Stairs
When we bought our house, it was listed as a 3 bedroom, 4 bathroom home. The third bedroom, it turned out, was actually just the upstairs loft area. However, when you came up the stairs there was no door. We asked the builders if they could add a door, but they were adamantly against it because that was "not how they designed the house". I'm not sure how you can consider a space a bedroom if there is no door, but that's just me. After living here for a year, we decided to add a door to the bottom of the stairs ourselves.
Why We Added a Door at The Bottom of Our Stairs | The Process
We decided the put the door at the bottom of the stairs instead of at the top because the ceiling is angled and really tall, so it was going to be a lot cheaper and less invasive to do it at the bottom of the stairs, off the hall by the door to our bedroom.We hired a contractor to do the main parts. While I probably could have done it, it would've taken me a really long time so we had them add the drywall, the framing, and the door. Then, I did everything else including all of the finish work and painting. We saved quite a bit of money this way and time-wise for me, it wasn't a big deal so it was worth it.
After the framing was done, I filled in all of the nail and screw holes, caulked around the doorframe, and then sanded everything down. I made sure to tape everything off I didn't want to get paint on like the hinges and the door handle. Then, I used Sherwin-Williams in Pure White for the door and the frame, which is the color of the trim throughout our house. I used Sherwin-Williams First Star for the walls, which is the gray on all of the walls in our house. We used two coats of each and everything looked great at the end.
Adding this door has done a few things. Its given privacy to the room upstairs. We used that space as a guest room previously and now its our son's bedroom/guest bedroom combo. The door gives privacy to whoever staying up there and for our son later. It has also helped with a sound issue. This stairwell is really tall which makes it really loud and echoey. Once we put the door in, we realized it really helped with how the sound reverberated through the rest of our house because it keeps the sound from upstairs in this space. Because the door is right by our bedroom at the end of a hallway, it's not in anybody's way. I really love how this turned out. It definitely adds to the value of the house, it suits our needs more, and as an added bonus it's just one more place for me to decorate into my style.
Why We Added a Door at The Bottom of Our Stairs | Shop
