Oh, how I love a sliding barn door.  I feel certain every house could find a place for one.  They are great for closing off rooms, creating some privacy or simply adding some architectural interest.

I’ve always admired them in magazines (yes, I still read paper magazines) and on Pinterest or Houzz.  Stacy and I through our business, Stylish Spaces by SK Designs, had the pleasure of providing the paint treatment for some barn doors who were built by a local contractor.

Missing my partner in crime.  Here we are celebrating a fine finish!  This was one of our first barn door projects.  Our job was to creative a unique paint treatment which we achieved with layers of stain, paint and even a gold wax.  This sliding door blocked the view into the kitchen or when open was a beautiful accessory on an otherwise open wall.  Isn’t this gorgeous?

This is another door we didn’t build but had the pleasure of providing the paint treatment for the client.  We kept it simple with stain and a light white wash for a beachy feel.  But… after handling the doors, cross examining the construction and painting them we started to think “why can’t we build these?”.   And so it began.

I build this big old bad boy for our house to slide across the entry to the master bedroom.  No real purpose other than to add some privacy as the master was on the main drag off the living room.  It was a larger than stock size.  I bought a sheet of 4×8 plywood and had it ripped every 6″ at Lowes.  I used all of the wood minus one 6″ plank.  Bought 1×4’s to create the X pattern and 1×4 for a chunky border.  The construction was surprisingly easy.

I first gave my door a stain under the watchful eye of Greta Girl.

Went with a dark stain then a white wash.  And more white wash.  And finally some gold wax!

And here it stayed….even after we moved.  I decided not to take it down when we listed the house and included it in the sale.  It’s the perfect addition to that spot in the house and I felt it should stay where it was. I also knew I could build another one.

After Stacy and I built doors for our own houses we opened our doors for orders.  We build a pair of identical doors for 2 clients who liked the same design.  Ripped plywood with 1×4’s and the patterns varied.  You can use all 1×4’s vs ripped plywood but that tends to get very heavy.  It’s a preference thing.

Our client shared the door we built once hung.  Love the crisp white with her white molding and we had just completed painting her bathroom cabinetry the same crisp white.  Perfection. It provided some privacy from the mater to the bathroom and less distractions when one was getting ready in the morning and the other was still snoozing.

Here’s the sister door we built after it was hung. This client also wanted a classic crisp white paint treatment and loved her choice for the space.

Once we got settled in Virginia I missed my sliding barn door and was trying to decide where we needed one.  I chose to build one to separate a mudroom off the kitchen.   I didn’t really plan to close it much (if ever) but knew it would add architectural interest and balance an otherwise empty wall space.

I bought a 4×8 sheet of plywood and had it ripped.  I laid it out on our ping pong table and played with various design options.

I ended up going with a 1×10 chunky piece of wood at the top and bottom only. Kept it really simple and clean to keep the focus on the fun tile in the mudroom and the view of the mountains vs creating a visual distraction. I used a gray stain on this door with a white wash to lighten it a bit.

This is how it balances the space and fill the empty wall right of the mudroom.  Love the black metal track with our metal orb light and barstools.  We pretty much never close it.  I love it open!

I think before next winter I’ll build another one to divide our huge basement.  It would help with heating the living area when using the gas fireplace.

If in the Tampa Bay area and you are interested in a custom barn door contact Stacy at https://www.facebook.com/Stylish-Spaces-by-SK-Designs-1547526908839066/.  If you are in the Roanoke/Triad area and want a custom built door shoot me a message here or via https://www.facebook.com/DesperateCraftwife/.

Do I have you thinking about where you could or would put up a door???