The #barndoor trend: I don't know about you, but I am totally in to it. Actually, come to think of it, I might really be a farmhouse gal at heart. I secretly love that we have corn growing in our neighborhood and horse farms down the street from where we live, no matter how much I complain that it takes me 25 minutes to drive to Nordstrom. Thank goodness for online shopping. But I digress... back to the barn door trend. These farmhouse chic accents are popping up everywhere, and people are using them in all sorts of different places in their homes. I have seen them as bathroom doors, pantry doors, and even as a designer's alternative to window treatments.
Ever since I first discovered this adorable little design feature, I have been wanting to "Miss Lizzy," a barn door somewhere. Anywhere. I was desperately searching for somewhere in my house that one might fit. Unfortunately, there wasn't much to work with... until I realized that my answer was a lot easier than trying to find somewhere in my house to fit a barn door. All I had to do was build a barn.
So build a barn I did. Well, by I, I really mean that I recruited my husband to build a barn (SAINT, remember?) And as much as I would love to have a back yard barn (I mean, can you even imagine all the themed parties I could throw in that bad boy?!), we really don't have the space for that sort of thing. So, we did the next best thing. We built our kids a playhouse under the stairs and painted the outside like a barn. AND... yup, you guessed it- we put a barn door on the playhouse.
The Project
Said barn door. As you may know by now, I'm all about easy DIY projects that don't take ages to complete (oh, hey, picture plaques). And this project was no different. Surprisingly easy, if I do say so myself. But again, I didn't really do much. I believe that my husband's exact words were, "I can easily do that." Now, I will let you decide if he said it because he could, in fact, easily do that, or if he just didn't want me to go order a pre-made barn door. Something tells me it might be the latter but he swears that it wasn't that hard.
The Details
Supplies:
4x8 sheet of plywood (he used 1/2inch sheet)
table saw (optimal but he just used a circular saw)
Pine 1x4s- we used 7 or 8 and cut them down
1 inch drywall screws
Wood Stain- we used the color ebony
Satin polyurethane
Barn Door Hardware
Barn Door Track Kit
1. Cut Plywood: According to my husband, you start with the sheet of plywood and cut that to your desired size using a table saw. If you don't have a table saw, a big hardware store like Home Depot or Menard's will do this step for you before you leave the store. As I mentioned above, we used a 1/2 inch sheet, but the pro said he would go with 3/4 inch if he did it again (to prevent future warping).
2. Attach 1x4s: Once the plywood is cut to size, you then attach the pine 1x4s to the plywood with the drywall screws. This step is just for aesthetics, but it is the step that makes the barn door look like an actual barn door. He then measured and cut more 1x4s to make the borders.
3. Cut out Mini-door (optional): As an added bonus (and this detail was all his idea), he used his circular saw to cut out a smaller door for the kids to go through when the main door is latched shut. Super cute!
4. Stain/Poly: Throw on some stain (we did 2 coats) and poly. This step is kind of optional as well. If you like the more natural wood look, then go ahead and leave it bare!
5. Add Hardware: You then want to add your handle (this is the one we used for the big door). We opted for a small slide bolt for the closure of the mini door, and also put the mini door on cute little hinges. Once that is all put together, stained and poly-ed, let your door sit for a day or so to give the stain and poly some time to dry.
6. Door Track Kit: The last piece of the puzzle is the door track. Now, there are all sorts of fancy options for this. We opted for the cheapest option (hello, kids playhouse in an unfinished basement), but you can obviously choose something a little heavier or more detailed if you wish. We have never had any problems with ours though, and it does the job. These track kits should all come with detailed instructions on how to attach to the door and wall, and it was also a pretty easy task.
And there you go- barn door in my house- check! Easy as milking a cow on a Sunday morning (I actually have no idea how easy this is but I'm going with the farm theme here). I love it. I love it so much that I am still trying to find somewhere else to put one - watch out, Guest Room, I'm coming for ya! So if you love the barn door trend like myself but don't want to spend the money on one, DIY is totally an option!
In case you are anxious to see what's behind the door of the farmhouse playhouse, I will be doing a post on that one as well, so stay tuned!
Thank you! We (and the kids) love it too!
I LOVE this! What a great way to use the space under the stairs too!