Interior Design Inspiration: Want a Barn Door? Don’t Forget This!
Get inspired for your own space with these must-know barn door tips.
Barn doors are all the rage these days, and why not? They allow you to add some texture, personality, and creativity to any space, plus the added bonus of not having a swinging door opening into your space! As fun as barn doors are, there are a few things you might be overlooking when picking out the perfect one. First and foremost - you need wall space! This might seem obvious, but in all the excitement of picking out or designing the perfect barn door, people often forget that the door doesn’t just cover the opening - it has to slide beyond the opening. It requires you to have TWICE the space needed for a ‘normal’ door. So, if you have a 32” opening, you also need about 32” - 34” of vacant wall space for the barn door to slide over. That means no artwork, furniture, or plugged-in light fixtures - nothing but empty, open wall space.
Other quick tips to keep in mind when planning for your barn door:
Barn doors are slightly taller than your standard interior door, because they’re mounted above the opening, so keep in mind, if you’re designing/building your own, you’ll need to make it taller than the opening.
Barn door tracks need to be mounted to framing or studs for structural support, so make sure there’s something behind that sheetrock before you install the track and hang your new door.
Barn doors need a bottom guide in addition to the top track so the door doesn’t swing away from the wall; usually this is a small ‘pin’ in the floor that guides the door along the bottom and is never exposed.
So, now you’re a barn door expert! Where will you put one? Did you learn something new that you didn’t know about barn doors? Tell me what helped you the most!
Inspired to make some changes to your own interior space? I’d love to help, let’s talk about your dream project today.