Barn Door Ideas
Sliding barn doors can create a stylish, modern farmhouse feel in your home. But that’s not where their appeal ends, oh no! Barn doors are also incredibly practical. Barn doors are a great way to save space in all kinds of rooms from kitchens and living rooms to bedrooms and bathrooms.
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This article will help you to choose the best barn door for your home, decide whether to buy a barn door or make it yourself and show you how to install your new barn door on a track. By the end of this guide, you’ll be a barn door expert, ready to take on your next DIY challenge with gusto.
Barn Door Top Picks:
Best Overall: Paneled Wood Painted K Series Diy Barn Door with Installation Hardware Kit
“Transform any dooryway to a stylish transition between spaces. Knotty pine and rustic steel hardware create style and functionality.”
Best for Kids Rooms: Paneled Manufactured Wood Finish Room Barn Door without Installation Hardware Kit
“Traditional meets are contemporary with the Paneled Manufactured Wood Room Dividers Barn Door which requires no priming, painting or staining. Barn doors are also an excellent space-saving solution versus a tradition swing door while adding character and a unique charm to any room.”
Best Driftwood: Driftwood or Reclaimed barn door. Custom Sliding Barn Door, Modern, Reclaimed, Chevron pattern
“All custom made sliding barn doors with a vintage or modern look for your home. These are interior doors that are trendy and give your home a personalized vintage look.”
Best Oversized: Paneled Wood Finish BarnWood Barn Door
“The Mid Rail Plank Barnwood Knotty Alder barn door is made of knotty alder wood that has enhanced distressed markings for an authentic weathered Barnwood look.”
Best Rustic: Country Z Brace Barn Door 42 in.
“The homespun look and feel of antique barn doors is easy to incorporate into your decor with this warm, inviting Country style door in knotty pine.”
Best with Mirror: Reflex Mirrored Barn Door
“A wide pinewood frame highlights the centre, which is built with a large mirror into both sides to make morning routines a little easier. A minimalist masterpiece, all it needs is the addition of your favourite hardware.”
Best Soundproof: Paneled Wood Painted K-Series Barn Door
“Transform your doorway into a side-sliding entry. This is a popular new way to bring innovation into the home and close off the bedroom and side room in a stunningly unique way.”
Best Overall: Paneled Wood Painted K Series Diy Barn Door with Installation Hardware Kit
Save yourself the hassle of finding barn door hardware to go along with it- this Calhome paneled barn door set comes with an installation kit.
Transform any doorway to a stylish transition between spaces in your home, all for a very affordable price.
Best for Kids Rooms: Paneled Manufactured Wood Finish Room Barn Door without Installation Hardware Kit
Best Driftwood: Driftwood or Reclaimed barn door. Custom Sliding Barn Door, Modern, Reclaimed, Chevron pattern
Best Oversized: Paneled Wood Finish BarnWood Barn Door By Barndoorz
Best Rustic: Country Z Brace Barn Door 42 in.
Best with Mirror: Reflex Mirrored Barn Door
Best Soundproof: Paneled Wood Painted K-Series Barn Door
What is a barn door?
Barn doors are sliding doors which hang and slide on a track. Traditionally, this type of door was used for the exterior doors on barns and other farm buildings. Nowadays, sliding barn doors are often used as fashionable and practical interior doors in homes.
Are barn doors a good idea?
There are many reasons why people choose sliding barn doors above other types of doors such as hinged doors, French doors, bi-folding doors or bypass doors. Some of the advantages and disadvantages to having barn doors in your home are…
Benefits of barn doors:
- Create a cozy farmhouse feel
- Take up less space than traditional doors
- Easier to install than other types of doors
- Add value to your home with a sought-after feature
Downsides of barn doors:
- Not suitable for every space as there must be enough adjacent wall
- Don’t close as quietly as traditional doors
- It can be tricky to lock a barn door
- May not stay closed if the track isn’t perfectly level
CHOOSING A BARN DOOR
How to choose a barn door
If you decided that a barn door would be the best style of door to use for your space, then your next steps will be to choose best barn door for your home.
Here’s how to do that in five easy steps…
1. Measure your space
The main purpose of any door is to close a hole in the wall, right? So, it’s vital that you get the right size door for your needs. Measure the door space that the door will fit over, as well as the adjacent wall to make sure there’s enough room for the door to fully open.
You may want a standard-sized single or double barn door, or something custom-made to fit your space. One great thing about barn doors is that they’re meant to overlap the doorway, so an exact fit isn’t needed as it would be with a traditional hinged door.
As well as single and double doors, barn doors come in many shapes and sizes, including corner barn doors or mini barn doors which are perfect for cupboards and storage areas.
2. Consider your budget
The average cost of a barn door is $600, with most people paying around $450 for the door itself and $150 for a tradesperson to install it. If this figure makes you recoil in horror, then you should definitely consider making your own barn door, installing it yourself, or both!
You could also save money by choosing cheaper materials such as plywood for your door or by buying a quality second-hand door.
3. Decide whether to buy a door or make your own
Whilst going online and ordering a barn door to be delivered is certainly the easiest option, it’s going to cost a lot more. Making your own barn door is relatively easy and if you already have the tools that you need, then there’s no reason why you can’t do it in just a few hours.
4. Choose your materials and style
Most barn doors are made of wood, but they are also available in other materials such as metal and glass. If you choose to buy a wooden door, you could buy it already primed and finished, or you could choose an unfinished door and paint it with your choice of paint.
Wooden barn doors can have hollow or solid cores and each have their advantages. Hollow-core doors are lighter and cheaper, whereas solid doors are more robust and do a better job of insulating against heat loss and muffling sounds from the next room.
There are also many different styles, so you can choose something modern, traditional, plain, funky or in whatever style will best complement your home.
5. Select the right hardware
Every barn door requires a track and a roller. You can buy all the bits and pieces you need individually, or you can find barn door hardware kits which include everything you need, right down to the screws.
Just like the door itself, barn door hardware comes in a variety of sizes and styles. You’ll want to match this not only to your door, but also to the other hardware in your home. If all your door handles, light switches and curtain poles are chrome, make sure you choose something matching for your barn door hardware.
What color barn door should I get?
One of the most exciting decisions to make when choosing a barn door is what color to get. If you want your barn door to blend in with its surroundings then you’ll want to choose a neutral tone like white, beige or natural wood. On the other hand, if you want your barn door to be a standout feature of your room, then choose a bright color like red, orange or green.
MAKING A BARN DOOR
If you have the money to buy a ready-made door and neither the time nor the skills to make your own, then you can skip this section and go straight to the installation.
Reasons to make your own barn door:
- Make it any size you need
- Choose any material
- Save money
- Easy to do
- A fun project
How to Build Barn doors
If, like us you’re into simple DIY and love to save money, then you’re definitely going to want to build your own barn door rather than buying a ready-made door from a store.
There are lots of videos available on YouTube which can show you exactly how to build a barn door. We particularly like this one which demonstrates how to build a quality barn door for only $40…
Materials needed:
- Boards
- Trim head screws
- Wood glue
- Wood filler
- Sanding blocks
- Wood stain
- Polyurethane
Tools needed:
- Miter saw
- Drill and impact driver
- Tape measure
- Safety goggles
- Ear defenders
- Mask
The exact method to build your barn door will vary depending on the type of material that you use; whether that be pine boards and battens, plywood or something else.
INSTALLING A BARN DOOR
Once you have your barn door, whether it’s store bought or crafted by your own fair hand, you’ll need to install it. Or, get someone else to install it, but where would be the fun in that?
How to install a barn door
Again, you’ll find lots of videos on YouTube about how to install a hanging barn door once you have the door and the hardware ready. We’ve watched them all and picked out this video which seems to be one of the best there is on the topic…
Materials needed:
- Barn door
- Barn door hardware
- Lumber
- Wood stain or paint
Tools needed:
- Adjustable wrench
- Carpenter squares
- Clamps
- Pencil
- Step ladder
- Wood screws
- Power drill
- Twist drill bits
- Phillips-head screwdriver
- Spirit or laser level
- Tape measure
- Stud finder
Barn doors hardware
To install a barn door yourself, you need to buy the right hardware for your door. The best way to make sure that you have everything you need is to buy a barn door hardware kit.
Barn door hardware kits commonly include:
- Rails
- Rollers
- Door stops
- Rubber blocks
- Anti-jump discs
- Floor guides
- Fixed seats
- Track connectors
- Instruction manual
How to choose barn door hardware
When choosing the best hardware for your barn door, there are several things to think about.
- Design – Choose hardware which matches your room in terms of color and style
- Quality – Read the reviews to make sure that other people were happy with the product
- Size – Most kits are adjustable but will have a range of door widths and thicknesses that they fit
- Door weight capacity – If you have a heavy solid wood or metal door, you should check that the hardware can hold the weight
- Smoothness – Look out for nylon or polyester wheels for doors that open smoothly
- Noise – Invest in hardware with a soft close system, especially if you have children who like to slam doors
Whether you want modern barn door hardware or something in a traditional farmhouse style, you can find it all easily on sites such as Amazon.
TIP: If you have double barn doors, it might make sense to buy two single barn door hardware kits if you can’t find a double one to match your needs.
Who makes the best barn door hardware?
Many different companies manufacture barn door hardware kits. Brands which have the best online reviews for their barn door hardware include:
Each brand has various hardware kits available, so you’ll also want to compare the features to find the best one for your needs.
One important feature that we would recommend you look out for is a soft open and close system. A soft close system slows the door down before it makes contact with the track stop to ensure a smooth and silent stop. Without this, you’ll likely hear a bang every time you open or close the door, which will be super-annoying.
Best soft close barn door hardware
We particularly like the SmartStandard Soft Close Heavy Duty Barn Door Hardware Kit. This is a high-quality product at a reasonable price with great reviews online. It comes in simple black design which would look great with either rustic wooden or modern white sliding barn doors.
This soft close barn door hardware kit includes everything you need to hang your barn door and is suitable for doors that meet the following criteria:
- Door width: 42″ to 48″
- Door panel thickness: 1 3/8″ to 1 3/4″.
- Door weight: Up to 180 lbs.
Best Barn Doors
Sliding barn doors offer a stylish and space-saving alternative to regular hinged doors. You can buy a ready-made barn door or easily make your own by following an online tutorial. To install your barn door, you’ll need to buy a barn door hardware kit. We recommend choosing a high-quality soft-close hardware kit to guarantee that your barn door is as functional as it is beautiful.