DIY Sliding {Barn Style} Door

I'm so excited to share this with you!
About a month ago we turned our "formal" unused living room
 into a pool room.   You can read about it here in
A Crazy Idea For A Formal Living Room 
and you can see how we got that baby in here.
Because of that crazy idea we had to make some changes in our den/library.
Twice a month we hold a "home cell" group at our home.  We usually have about 4-5 children that come and we like to have a place where they can play.  (Plus one day... I'll have grandchildren.  Just trying to think ahead...) 
So, we needed to add a door to this room.  We didn't want a swinging door, 
it would just get in the way and we didn't want to pay for a pocket door, 
too much $$.  So, what do I do? Search on Pinterest!  My favorite place!  
That's where the sliding "barn door" idea came from!
WA LA!!

So cool right???
It actually slides behind the bookcase, so it's almost like a pocket door.  
I am in LOVE with it!!
Hubby did A LOT of the work, well... pretty much ALL of the work.  
He's just better at it! 
I painted the door and I had lots of opinions. :D
It was pretty easy to paint, considering the new door already had the plastic covering the window panes. YAY!
Ok, on to the construction...
First, we had to lower the wall to a standard doorway.
Here's what it looked like when we started.
See what I mean?
I really don't remember why we left it so tall when we built the house. I guess we "thought" it was cool??
Anyway...
Hubby got out the 2x4's and framed out that space.
He's not really grumpy... He's just concentrating...
A man on a mission... :D
Easy enough, then add the dry wall.
So far so good.
Next came the messy dusty, messy dusty part!! UGH!
I tried to contain it, but it's virtually impossible!
Mudding and sanding...
That was just the first coat.... I think there were about
 3 more to feather and blend it.
Next, hubby put casing in the doorway.  
We found it easier to just use the primed mdf.

On the inside, we left the extra instead of making it flush with the wall, because we have a chair rail that goes around the room and we didn't want the door to slide against it.
You can see that better in the next picture,
 where we have the door framed out.
Here, you can also see the rail system we used.  We purchased it at Home Depot.  It's a single track rail.  Pretty simple to use.
I'm so happy with the way it turned out!!
Of course, I have some spackling and painting to do, 
but it looks like it's meant to be there! 
Eventually, I'll get to decorating that room....
I just think it's so cool
 how it slides behind the bookcase!
I just love, love, love it!

If you like it PIN it!

35 comments

  1. That is soooooo cool!!! What a great idea Lori! I love the way the door goes behind the bookcase...brilliant!!!

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  2. That looks really nice. I can see why you are so happy with it! You and your husband did a wonderful job!

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    1. Hi Kirby! Thanks! It really has worked out great for us!

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  4. whoah! Impressive! Did you use just a regular door? Did the track come with hardware to turn the regular door into a slider? This is awesome, I pinned it. In my next house (if we get it!) I have a few doors that no matter which way they open, they block or hit something. The barn door will solve that in a jiffy, and look fantastic. Thanks for the tutorial & inspiration!

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  5. Absolutely love the look! You guys did an amazing job.

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    1. Hi Susan! Thanks so much! I'm so pleased with it!!

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    2. Hi Lori, I so want to put a door like this over my bathroom opening. We had a pocket slider, but it kept getting stuck or falling off the track. I saw a similar idea in a DIY magazine, but couldn't find a cheaper way of producing it. So glad I found you blog. Hoping I can get my husband to do this.

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    3. Hi Gail! So glad you found me too! It was pretty simple to install, good luck! :) Thanks so much for stopping by!

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  6. That turned out so pretty! Love it!


    We just got our link party up and running and would love if you came and joined in on the fun. Each week we are giving away free ad space for one week to one random party goer. Our main site gets thousands of hits per day and The Better Half gets thousands per week. Hope to see you there! http://www.oneprojectcloser.com/the-humble-brag-link-party-6/

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    1. Thank you, Jocie! I'll definitely check it out! I appreciate you stopping by with your sweet comment!

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  7. I love this, its really cool! You did a fantastic job!

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  8. Great idea:) I need to have my hubby check this out. I have a place this would work so well.
    Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Hi Evelyn! It actually was pretty easy to do the door. Thanks for stopping by!

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  9. I need to do this for my bedroom!!! Love it - thanks so much for sharing!

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    1. Hi Suzy! It really was easy to install! At least according to my husband.... :) Thanks for stopping by and reading!

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  10. Love it! I have a sliding door in my kitchen, it saves a lot of space from being wasted. Thanks for linking up at friday fun party.

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    1. Hi Hani! It does save so much space! Great minds think alike!!

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  11. I am in love with barn sliding doors! We talked about doing that for our bathroom reno, but decided against it as we needed the bathroom door to hang stuff on as there isn't enough wall space (tiny bathroom).
    Great job!!!!
    Nancy
    http://wildoakdesigns.blogspot.com

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    1. Thank you, Nancy! I'm loving them too! It worked out so perfect for us! Thanks again for stopping by!

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  12. Beautiful! I am wanting to do this with some old barn wood I have to divide the master bedroom from the bathroom. Would you mind sharing what the track system you used was called? Or where in Home Depot you found it..was it specifically for doors or did you improvise it from a different department in the store? Thanks so much.

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    1. Oh! Debbie! I wish I could email you all of the informations! If you do read this please send me your email address.... I purchased it in a Home Depot in PA. It was on an end cap that had all sorts of hardware for closet doors. What was funny is the clerk there didn't even know it was there. We actually found it! We didn't adapt anything. It was made exactly for what we wanted. I think it was about $50.

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  13. Great idea and it looks amazing! I'm all over the shop on Pinterest looking for barn door ideas to place between my kitchen/living area, yours is perfect. New to your blog and really enjoying looking around!

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    1. Hi Sarah! Thanks so much, we LOVE that door! It has worked out so well! Thanks for stopping by! :D

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  14. I love this! We have a walk in pantry that is door-less right now because of where the (built - in) fridge has to go. I'd love info about the track and the door itself. Was the door also from Home Depot? So beautiful! My email is rachelzuber@gmail.com if its easier to respond there. Thanks!!

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    1. Hi Rachel! Thank you so much for reading! I purchased the track at Home Depot. It's Johnson Wall Mount Door Hardware #2610F for $50. The door is a standard 15 light door. I bought it at Lowes, I had a coupon. :) Hope this helps!
      Blessings!

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  15. Thank you for posting this!!! It looks great! We are trying to put up French doors like this as well. I was wondering if the door casing was design preference or needed for the door? And do you have any guides at the bottom on the floor? Does the door ever swing out from the doorway with this rail system? Thanks, Stacey (snance61@gmail.com)

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    1. Hi Stacey! Thanks for stopping by. We actually added the mdf for the door casing, because it was too wide. It needed to be less than 36in. for the door to completely cover it. As for the bottom it came with a guide for each side of the door opening. We have only had the door come off once, and that's because some kids visiting were horsing around and pushing on the door. Otherwise we LOVE it!! :)

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