If your sliding doors look dated or a bit shabby, here are some ideas that you can use to update them.
Invest in a few new pieces of sliding door hardware
Purchasing some new hardware for your sliding doors is a fast and easy solution to this issue. With the help of a screwdriver or a drill, you can change the doors' appearance in about 20 minutes or so, just by removing the old handles, tracks and brackets, and fitting new versions of these items.
The sliding door hardware you pick could alter the doors' aesthetic quite a lot. For example, if you currently have a couple of simple chrome handles on your doors that are quite modern, replacing them with some cast-iron, art-nouveau style handles could give these doors a much more vintage, French-country look. On a related note, if the doors are internal ones and have windows, then it's important that the new hardware you buy blends in well with the rooms on either side of them, as it will be visible from both rooms.
It's also vital to check your measurements for the hardware, especially if you're buying antique handles, which may not be the same standardised sizes as modern ones. If you don't and some of the hardware doesn't fit, you may have to make significant changes to the doors to accommodate this hardware or return it and buy something else.
Add stick-on decals to the windows
In addition to adding some new hardware to the doors, you could also add some stick-on decals to their windows. These are available in almost any design you can think of. You can find very subtle-looking ones which simply make the glass look slightly frosted or add a delicate floral pattern to them, or you can get jewel-coloured ones that create a very dramatic and beautiful stained glass effect.
When deciding which decals to use, you should take into consideration the new hardware you've bought as well as how transparent you want the glass to be. For example, if you get the cast-iron hardware described above, you might want to opt for a decal with an art nouveau pattern. Additionally, it's important to keep in mind that a full-sized stained-glass effect decal that covers the entirety of each pane will make it harder to see through these windows. This could be great if you would like more privacy but might not be ideal if you need to be able to keep an eye on the room on the other side of the doors when they're closed (because, for example, your young children play in that room).