I by no means thought I’d be a barn door individual once more after our farmhouse adorning days a decade in the past. However right here we’re, and I’m formally consuming my phrases.
We had ONE final mission to complete in our pals’ French nation bed room makeover, and it was changing the country sliding barn door.
Don’t get me unsuitable. I nonetheless suppose rustic barn doorways have their place. (We even shared a DIY sliding barn door tutorial about 10 years in the past in our outdated farmhouse fashion home throughout Joanna Gaines’s Fixer Higher days.) However the chunky industrial metallic observe above the doorway simply wasn’t working with the elegant, conventional fashion we have been creating on this bed room.
I needed one thing that seemed extra like an exquisite, customized inside door with out the trouble of tearing open a wall to put in a pocket door.
So I went down a rabbit gap in search of options, and lo and behold…
Sliding barn doorways with hidden {hardware} EXIST!
Am I the final individual on earth to find out about these?!
As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. full disclosure
A Barn Door Various That Appears to be like Like a Pocket Door
The great thing about a sliding door with hidden {hardware} is that you simply get the space-saving advantages of a barn door with out seeing that large metallic observe above the doorway.
The {hardware} is hid, so the door seems to glide alongside the wall with a a lot cleaner, extra streamlined look.
And in contrast to a pocket door, which requires opening up the wall to create an area for the door to slip inside, this different mounts on the skin of the wall.
No main demolition obligatory. Signal me up!
We determined to make use of this straightforward, flat slab barn door different with a hidden sliding observe and customise it to appear to be a conventional paneled door that blends in with the bed room partitions.
As a result of why purchase a flowery door when you may make a inexpensive primary one look fancy as a substitute?
How you can Make a Conventional Sliding Barn Door with Hidden {Hardware}
Tip: You should buy ready-made conventional fashion sliding barn doorways, however you need to use our DIY technique for those who desire a personalized look.
Supplies
Step 1: Take away the Previous Barn Door and {Hardware}
First, we eliminated the present rustic barn door and its uncovered metallic observe.
This instantly made the doorway really feel much less farmhouse and extra in line with the standard particulars we’d been including all through the bed room.
Step 2: Set up the Hidden Sliding Door {Hardware}
Following the producer’s directions, we fitted the brand new slab door with hid sliding {hardware}. (Truthful warning: our door’s directions have been somewhat complicated however it was completely figure-out-able.)
Right here’s the place we hit somewhat snag.
As a result of the door wants sufficient clearance to slip easily alongside the wall, we found that the present doorway trim was getting in the way in which.
We ended up eradicating the trim across the doorway opening, patching it with spackle, and leaving the wall behind the sliding door freed from image body molding.
Not precisely what we’d deliberate, however generally DIY requires somewhat improvising. (Okay, a LOT of improvising.)
Tip: Earlier than ordering a hidden barn door equipment, rigorously measure your doorway, wall clearance, baseboards, and any current molding. Each {hardware} system has totally different clearance necessities, so verify the producer’s specs earlier than making modifications.
Step 3: Add Image Body Molding to the Door
That is the place our primary slab door began wanting like one thing far more costly.
We reduce image body molding with mitered corners and hooked up it on to the door to create the looks of conventional recessed-style panels, identical to we did putting in our DIY image body molding on partitions.
We selected finger-joint molding that matched the image body molding we’d already put in on the bed room partitions so the whole lot would really feel cohesive.
I’ve at all times beloved utilizing ornamental particulars to present plain doorways extra character. We did one thing related with our DIY antique-style mirrored bi-fold doorways and after we turned bi-fold doorways into French doorways.
Just a little trim could make a BIG distinction.
Step 4: Fill, Caulk, and Paint
After attaching the molding, we stuffed the nail holes with wooden filler, caulked the seams, and sanded the dried wooden filler easy.
Then we painted the door and molding to match the partitions in Behr Mourning Dove.
Matching the door to the wall shade made the entire set up really feel intentional and built-in as a substitute of like an afterthought.
And because the bed room already has so many lovely architectural particulars, I really like that the door doesn’t compete with them.
Step 5: Add Conventional Door {Hardware}
For the final touch, we skipped fashionable barn door pulls and put in a crystal and brass dummy door knob.
It’s such a small element, however it offers the door that antique-inspired character I really like.
If you happen to’ve ever needed to replace current {hardware} with out changing the whole lot, we even have somewhat trick for rapidly altering the colour of door hinges.
One factor to bear in mind: A dummy knob is ornamental and doesn’t function a latch. On the wall-facing aspect, we put in a flush door pull. Ensure the knob and any {hardware} on the wall-facing aspect have sufficient clearance for the door to slip. For privateness, you’ll be able to add this barn door lock.
The Completed Conventional Barn Door
I completely LOVE how this turned out!
The hidden {hardware} offers us the clear look I needed, whereas the added molding and crystal knob make the door really feel prefer it belongs in an outdated, charming French nation residence however with a contemporary twist.
With out the cumbersome industrial observe, it blends proper in with the remainder of the room’s conventional architectural particulars.
And we bought the look with out the foremost building mess of putting in a pocket door.
Would I exploit this kind of sliding door once more? In a heartbeat.
In reality, now I’m wandering round our personal home making an attempt to determine the place we may set up one. Robert ought to in all probability be involved. Ha!
Apparently I’m formally Crew Barn Door once more. Didn’t see THAT coming!
If you happen to’re in search of a barn door different that works with conventional, transitional, or French nation adorning types, a sliding door with hidden {hardware} may be precisely what you want.
Conventional Model Barn Door Options
Listed below are just a few extra conventional fashion barn door options I’ve rounded up for those who desire a ready-made possibility:
And for those who haven’t seen the remainder of this bed room transformation but, you should definitely take a look at our French nation bed room makeover reveal to see how all the particulars got here collectively!
Extra DIY Door Improve Concepts
