Build Your Own Barn Doors
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Do you need to create some privacy in a room? Whether its an office, main bathroom off a bedroom or turning a play space into a bedroom there are many uses for a barn door. You will have the courage to build your own barn doors so it fits your need and your space.
Office Barn Doors
If you work from home because of the pandemic or something you've always done having privacy is a must. Our office is at the front of our house off the entryway. We had a large opening much bigger than the standard french door. Because the office is right off close to the living area of our home being able to pull the barn door closed for privacy is really nice.
The opening to our office was so large any barn doors I liked just wouldn't work. There are so many cute options no matter what your style. Check out some of the ones I loved here, here and here. Since the standard doors wouldn't work we had to build our own.
This project took some time and effort to plan out. Because of the layout of our home we needed to have bypass doors. The first step was finding the hardware. We wanted to install the hardware so we could get a definite measurement for the doors we needed to build. There are a lot of options on Amazon, be sure to find what fits in your space then pick a style you love. This is similar to what we purchased. There were several options that would work so I was able to make decisions based on the style I liked, which was a bit of a surprise.
The hardware was well made but the instructions just didn't work. The translation from the original language to English wasn't clear. We finally used our own brains, brought up the pictures on Amazon and worked with what we had. It took way longer then it should have to get it installed because we were trying to follow the instructions. Once we put the directions aside and followed the pictures on Amazon we were able to get it installed very quickly. We were also bolting into the beam so we wanted to make sure any holes we made were in the right place. You can repair in drywall a lot easier than a vintage wood beam.
Materials to Build your own Barn Doors
The styles are endless. You can follow the process we used to create our barn doors then make adjustments to get the style you are wanting. They can be painted or stained depending on the look you are after. The thing I love about them is they are stylish, fit the look in our home and make a beautiful statement.
We used beautiful tongue and groove blue pine. The wood is so beautiful and makes stunning doors. We were able to find it at Home Depot. Check it out Here. Because it is tongue and groove it fits together for easier building. You will still need to glue, nail and clamp together. These Dewalt clamps are a must as you build your doors. You will also need wood glue. Wood glue plus nails give you a secure build.
Get Creative with Your Style
You can be so creative with your build. What style would fit your home? I was after a modern farmhouse look. A timeless style that will look amazing year after year. You can take the same materials we used and adjust the design to fit your style.
We framed the tongue and groove pine and added two horizontal pieces. These not only made the design beautiful but added to the stability of the large doors. I toyed with the idea of leaving off the horizontal pieces but realized they were needed to keep the doors strong and stable. It would help keep the doors square, no twisting and turning because they are so large.
We built a barn door for our son and daughter in law. It covered the opening to their bathroom. She wanted a chevron pattern which we created with the same tongue and groove pine.
Adding a Handle
Our barn door was handless for a long time. I was worried that having a handle sticking out into the entry would be problematic. After some time I decided it would be ok so I got looking and found a gorgeous handle. It was heavy and large enough to fit the scale of the door.
It is a gorgeous handle and looks so good on the beautiful barn door. You can find the handle here. We decided to place the handle in the middle of the door. Not the normal placement but for a barn door works the best.
Build Your Own Barn Doors
Barn doors serve a great purpose. They make offer privacy and design. Whether they are closed or open the doors are a beautiful addition to our home.
If you build your own barn doors you will be able to get the style you want and the size you need. Not all homes are standard so you may not be able to purchase what you need.
I am working on updating the office. The barn doors are the gateway to the office so I wanted to share how beautiful they are and will be sharing the office updates in a few weeks. You can how the office is looking here. It is a bigger project, paint the walls and update the desk and hutch. I can't wait to share it with you.