Barn Doors

August 4, 2011

Old Barn Doors are not just for barns anymore…nor are they always old. I personally love using old and unusual doors in a lot of my projects. First of all it’s “green” to re-use, and, it adds character in a home; only, of course, if it is appropriate for my client!

Currently I’m working on a project on the coast, here in Sonoma County, out in Bodega Bay. It’s a mid 70′s home where we are keeping the 3/4″ thick redwood paneling on the walls and using salvage wood for the floors, plus re-cycling a lot of cabinet doors and drawer fronts. We will be using barn doors for the kitchen pantry and for a wide doorway to the master bath to capture the bathroom view of the ocean in the master bedroom. AND, we placed a modern soaking tub in front of said window to take full advantage of the view as well! Oh yea…

While we will be making these two barn doors from re-claimed lumber from the walls we are took down to open the floor plan (rather then buying old barn doors) the look will be old and rustic. There are lots of alternatives for the hardware from rustic barn door hardware, to modern slick versions which can look great with old or new doors.

There are many options to traditional barn doors that can serve the same purpose as well, such as:

• Old doors imported from India or Indonesia, or, of course Italy or France.
  

  Image courtesy of Architectural Digest

• Old painted doors that work as a piece of art.
• Modern Doors out of glass, new wood or steel.
• Hallowed tin covered doors work well too, as they are light and easy to hang and move.
• Glass doors to open up your home to the outdoors.
  

  Image courtesy of Delight by Design

• Use Barn Door track for other ideas, such as to slide a decorated panel over a TV screen, or…
• Hang a mirror over a window in a bathroom. When done with the mirror, slide it aside for the view!