Creole Cottage 2: The Pocket Door

Creole Cottages often had pocket doors that slipped into the wall instead of swinging out into a room. They are great space savers in small rooms. With the two Adams kits mounted side by side, there was a perfect place for a pocket door between the parlor and bedroom.

There are probably a lot of very elegant and craftsmanlike ways to install a pocket door, but I opted for the quick and simple. This door and some printed hardware were the basic components. The door had to have some extensions added on the top and the side that slid into the wall to keep it from falling out of the opening. I stained the parts of the extensions that might show.


Below are the two walls with doorway openings cut. Notice the die cuts for the window. No need for a window between the two rooms, so those stayed intact. Sometimes, if a die cut piece needs to stay but seems a bit loose, I'll glue a piece of paper over it to hold it in place. The next photo shows the bits of 1/4" foamcore board I used to keep the two walls straight and separated as well as stops that keep the door from disappearing entirely into the wall.




The final construction photo shows the door and trim in place. The "hardware" hasn't been added yet. It slides very smoothly.