There has been one thing about this house that has bothered me since we moved in over a year ago. Like, bothered me to my core. It’s something that shouldn’t bother someone this much, but it has bothered me & I finally fixed it! Well, one of my antique finds fixed it. I shouldn’t take all the credit. So, here is the corner of the living room that the problem was…
Want to know what is behind those massive bi-fold antique doors that I found while out junkin’? Well, here you go…
The antique bi-fold doors fit right in the corner & perfectly covered the vent on the wall…
hidden, but still functional…
Yup. A vent on the wall. For some reason this vent on the wall was the bane of my existence. I feel like I have seen vents on walls in many homes, but for some reason this one stuck out so much & for a year I was looking for something to cover the vent, but still leave it open to do whatever vents need to do.. venty things. An 8ft bi-fold door is apparently all I needed to cover this vent so I didn’t have to look at it anymore. That got me thinking, bi-fold doors or standing screens can cover up so many different things. So, I knew I had to come on here & share with you guys about my discovery because who knows, this could help one of you who needs to cover up a pesky vent or something like it on your walls. & since my bi-fold doors are a one of kind find, I gathered a TON of room divider options you can buy on line at the bottom of this post for those of you who are looking! You could always make your own bi-fold doors as well by simply hinging two old doors together. There are so many options!
I’m seriously so happy that the vent is now covered. I haven’t finished styling this wall at all & I’ve been playing around with some things as you can see in some of the photos. The vintage posters on the door were from my store [The Found Cottage] & I was having some fun with them, but I’m not sure they are right for the space. This whole room is going through a lot of changes, but the bi-fold door is a good start. What do you think of the change addition? Be sure to check out the room divider screen options I found below & let me know what you think of this in the comments below, on facebook, & on instagram. Thank you so much for stopping by my blog! xx
Shop some room divider screens below by clicking the photos…
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Hello Liz,
Well, that is a pretty solution….but, what you are looking at is a return air grill. I seriously don’t want to be a Debbie Downer, but it is a bit worrisome. This returns either the warm air to be reheated or the cool air to be recooled to your hvac system. In order for it to work properly and not overtax your heating/cooling system, you really need clear air flow – several inches worth. You could be increasing your electric/gas bill by not allowing enough air flow, not acheiving the temeperature you want or you could wear out your equipment more quickly. If you could properly angle the screen/doorst so it is starting at the edge and fully angling it away from your vent, you could do both the things you want to do- screen the unsightliness of the grill – believe me, I detest them too as an architectural designer and wife of an hvac contractor -and have proper functionality of the hvac system.
Also, I hope you either tested the doors and they came back free of lead paint or clear coated those doors, very well, prior to installing them or you have the possibility of sucking in and spreading lead paint particles throughout your house via the heating system…
Melinda, I began to think the same exact thing you’ve posted here.
Liz – although those doors are SO beautiful, they are unfortunately restricting the necessary airflow to the system. And the (potentially) thousands of dollars in repairs or replacement of an overworked system is something most people aren’t prepared for – especially when the heat of summer reaches it peak. Here in the desert of Southern California, we take our air conditioning pretty seriously! Haha (I’m the daughter of a HVAC contractor, engaged to an HVAC contractor as well, and I had worked in the industry since I was old enough to answer phones.)