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POLL: Barn Doors - Yes or No?

10 years ago
Barn doors seem to be all the rage. How do you feel about them? Do you love them or will you take a pass?

VOTE and tell us about it in the comments!

Master Bath · More Info
No, Thanks.
Other - Tell us below!

Comments (214)

  • 10 years ago
    I like the look of them, but they don't seem really practical - there's always a gap and cannot be locked. I think I prefer the old fashioned pocket door.
  • PRO
    10 years ago
    Modern Barn Door hardware is a great way to add a little wow factor to almost any opening. Check out German made barn door hardware for an awesome price.

    http://www.stainlessdoorhardware.com/modern-barn-door-hardware/
  • 10 years ago
    I like them to but they are very trending and overdone.
  • 10 years ago
    I actually would love to have one of this if I run into renovation in future.
  • 10 years ago

    My family and I are hoping to move into our new house in the next two weeks. The home is on a dairy farm in rural Chester County PA, so we believe the rustic wood elements are appropriate.

    We have not painted yet, obviously.

    The doors were made from wood floors in the springhouse of my wife's family farm. My wife and I, along with her father and brother disassembled the springhouse by hand several years ago and stored all of the boards and beams for future reclamation. The farm was established in 1763 and this springhouse, which had a living/working quarters upstairs was built shortly thereafter, before 1800.

    One of the beams, the one used for the mantle, is American chestnut which was all but eliminated from existence because of blight in the early 1900's -so it is very special to us.

    The hangers and tracks are from an old carriage house in Philadelphia which was carefully disassembled so that the parts could be re-purposed and given new life as has been accomplished here.

  • PRO
    10 years ago

    Love barn doors. Great piece of history that doesn't take up much room. Can function as practical or decorative.


  • 10 years ago

    Love em but WAY too over used. A trend that has reached it's half life.

  • 10 years ago
    I love them, husband hates them. This is one where I compromised. He gives in on lots of stuff too!
  • PRO
    10 years ago

    Our clients have been raving about our barn doors, they are great for creating a WOW factor!




    Barn Doors · More Info


    Barn Doors · More Info


    Barn Doors · More Info




  • 10 years ago

    We are in the process of building a rustic theme barn style home (80% complete) and have received many positive comments on our custom barn doors

  • PRO
    9 years ago


    Latitude Barn Door by Dogberry Collections · More Info

    Lowest price. Highest quality. Best value.


    Many of our barn door products are available right here on Houzz. Email us at customerservice@dogberrycollections.com with any questions

  • 9 years ago
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  • PRO
    9 years ago

    So many nice things about a barn door. It saves space. It's easy to install. It's charming and it's on trend!

  • PRO
    9 years ago

    Absolutely love barn doors! The hardware & door materials are endless. Plus they become almost artwork on the walls of the interior space!

  • 9 years ago

    I love mine, we used them to make my small house wheelchair accessible.

  • 9 years ago

    I would love to have one in the basement to close off an old coal shoot room.

  • PRO
    9 years ago

    My time...used to feed that coal furnace, take the clinkers out for driveway aggregate, and later, on Natty Gas conversion, the coalroom (Paint it Black) became my bedroom escape "UP through the chute"...We lived in an old BARN!!!!!!

  • 8 years ago

    I am using the idea of a barn door instead of a traditional hinged door to separate the master bedroom from the new master bath. I hate the idea of open bathrooms and to save space a barn door was the perfect alternative. Our new bathroom is a cross over of modern and traditional and will be white and light grey. So we want the door to be white and the hardware to be stainless steel, and maybe kind of funky. Or a little shabby chic. And that's been popular forever! So who really knows how long this will be around. But if you love the look there are a lot of ways to change them to coincide with new trends. Our contractor pouted when I told him I loved pocket doors, so this was the best alternative. A happy contractor is worth their weight in gold!

  • 8 years ago
    Having worked on a dairy farm, I think they are ugly and intrusive in a home.
  • PRO
    8 years ago

    It really depends on the decor..

  • PRO
    8 years ago

    Was always apprehensive about using them due to gaps. Any good solution/ product that takes care of gaps?

  • 8 years ago

    I know this sounds crazy, but I put velcro 'buttons' between the doors and they now stay in place.

  • PRO
    8 years ago

    @Modus Enterprises - depending on the reasoning behind the desire to remove the gaps, a simple garage door type seal would work. It conceals the gap, but is flexible to allow the door to open/close without any noticeable rubbing. Otherwise, the gap shouldn't be much of an issue. The door panel itself should overlap the opening by at least 2" on each side, so any concern about "peeking through" is removed. Covering the gap really should only be needed for weathersealing or reducing light transmittance.

    @lindaart - that is a creative solution! Did you use them to keep 2 doors together in the middle or was that to keep them from swaying in/away from the wall?

  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Post Frame Accessories: Thanks! I used just three little buttons, placed high on the edge between the doors separating my studio from the house. Our two little dogs discovered that with a little nudge, they could rock the doors a bit, get their noses into the resulting crack, and push the doors aside. Devils! The buttons were just enough to stop them.

  • PRO
    8 years ago

    Oh my! that would be troublesome! If you find you need additional holding power, a simple hook & eye latch may be just what you need since it has a low profile and screws into the doors.

  • 8 years ago

    For safety's sake, I find that troublesome - this way, the doors can easily be opened from either side - by a human!

  • 8 years ago

    Late coming to this discussion, but I think barn doors are so ugly, not to mention impractical. Unless you live in a farm house, where they could be very cute, they just seem trendy and painfully hipster.

  • 8 years ago

    We will be installing barn doors to cover under counter washer/dryer area which will be located just outside kitchen when we do remodel next month

  • PRO
    8 years ago

    I love them. Here is a barn door on a walk-in pantry for a kitchen we did last year.

    Shiloh Cabinetry: Modern Country Kitchen - Xenia, OH · More Info

  • PRO
    7 years ago

    Sorry, not a fan. I like the clean look of a regular door or a pocket door. The barn door craze has far too much visible hardware that gets dirty and isn't easy to clean. I think this fad is going to go the way of the shower tile horizontal stripe.

  • PRO
    7 years ago

    This poll was posted over 3 years ago, and barn doors are still going strong! I see them sticking around for quite a bit longer!

  • PRO
    7 years ago

    For very occasional use, especially where a pocket door is difficult to install, I use them. But, as a design accent, I think they are a passing fad, that will look out of date in ten to fifteen years.

  • PRO
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Gerety Building and Restoration writes: "This poll was posted over 3 years ago, and barn doors are still going strong! I see them sticking around for quite a bit longer"

    Trends usually happen in decade-long or so peaks from what I can tell. The "dark floor trend" is nearing it's end and it started in 2006 or so, peaking in about 2011. Now the new trend is light floors and this will last about 10 years, this is coming out of Europe and is very strong there. Super-light-tone flooring was difficult to find in 2011 (or very expensive), now it's available through every distributor.

    Light woods (paneling, flooring, kitchens) were hot in 1973 and lasted until about 1987 or so. Then things went medium and "all things cherry" for a decade or so and then very dark. Espresso furniture tones became hot, IMO, because of the Starbucks coffee craze in the west which spread like wildfire to the east.

    I wonder if it will eventually all blend together and eclecticism will take over?

    What I also wonder is this: If you have space for a barn door, why not simply use a pocket door? Less hardware showing, better fit to the door frame and you still get a wall to use for art if you want it. The barn door precludes having any decor - except the barn door! Not something I'd like to stare at, personally. I have not seen barn-door-as-painting yet, but I bet it's out there in some horrible form somewhere... Cheers!

  • PRO
    7 years ago

    Design of doors, basically the same, hardware, panels and height vary with design of home as a given. Pocket doors/standard interior doors better on bedroom/bath areas

  • 7 years ago

    It's called a barn door. Leave it in the barn and install a pocket door.

  • 7 years ago

    Loved them at first but they are getting really over done. Not the right choice for most design applications. Pocket doors are better.

  • 7 years ago

    We are very happy with our decision to enclose laundry area with barn doors.

  • PRO
    7 years ago

    Classiest barn doors I've ever seen, mharon!

  • 7 years ago

    I like barn doors if the wall space accommodates. I am no fan of pocket doors. We had one in house we bought separating vanity from toilet & shower. Cursed thing would not stay on its track. When we did major add'n in '83-'84, I had it replaced w/ hinged door. Barn doors weren't popular then, but if they had been, the wall space wouldn't have permitted one. When we reno'd that bath earlier this year, I widened door from 24" to 28", as we're seniors & I wanted access if walking appliances req'd. That wall definitely wouldn't accommodate a 28" pocket door.

  • PRO
    7 years ago

    Barn door are more popular now than ever. Many styles of doors, track, rollers, and attractive pulls. info@nyhardware.com

  • PRO
    7 years ago

    Love them! We even went with nautical-but-nice color scheme for a Mexico beach get-away. (Check out our design blog post on this very subject HERE)


  • PRO
    7 years ago

    Good dry wood and adequate hardware are most important

  • 7 years ago
    I like them, but a bathroom seems a less practical place for them. Like pocket doors, I would want them to be at an opening to a room where I plan to leave them open most of the time, but want to have the option of closing and don’t expect full sound privacy. I also want them in a place of high visibility to warrant the expense. Game rooms, home offices, TV rooms, pantries seem to be a good place for them.
  • 6 years ago

    We went for contemporary, minimalist look. Had to have special hardware because largest one was about 300 lbs. Doors are "solid" clear Douglas Fir, Artisan Hardware with extra runner wheels on top to hold extra weight, and lag-screwed into studs.







  • 6 years ago
    I like them almost anywhere but a bathroom. They don’t generally fit tight against the door frame and don’t give privacy to the person in the bathroom. The only way you can have privacy is to make the door significantly wider than the door opening.
  • 6 years ago

    I was keen on having a barn door between kitchen and befroom, but the kitchen layout changed, and there's no longer room on the wall to slide open. I'm fine with that. I guess I must be over barn doors.

  • 2 years ago

    I think they're hideous and will show up on one of those 'outdated trend' list very soon.

  • 9 months ago

    wow I dislike them too - but I would like to clarify something that most people that uploaded their proud photos seem to miss. Just because you have exposed sliding door heady duty hardware, YOUR DOOR doesn't mean is a Barn door. Barn doors are wood typically with a Diagonal stiffener that will create an "X" when closed.

    I think "Barn doors" belong in barns! or in Huge states with huge spaces. Not in your small TV console; nor in a bathroom! If you want a sliding door, have one, there is much better hardware out-there that will SOLVE your sliding needs. Some EXPOSED Sliding heavy duty hardware may look cool in INDUSTRIAL settings - NOT IN YOUR "TINY" apartment!

    I have a sliding door that is not DOUBLE, it's single, the wall was prep for it, so it flushed against the continuation of the wall. I would not consider that a "BARN DOOR".


    The hardware is too chunky for smaller place! I really hope the trends ends soon - I look a NEW homes in cities and they keep popping up! (Are they that much cheaper?)

  • 9 months ago

    My home WAS a barn in its past life, and the laundry closet’s barn doors were a necessity in that the space was not quite deep enough to accommodate recessed sliders AND the door of my front-loader.
    A neighbor built them for me from 120-year-old, salvaged, 3/4” thick, perfectly patinaed bead board. The closet is in a roomy 10’ x 18’ bathroom’ and they’re one of the best features of the house.