The Ultimate Barn Door Design Guide

A sliding barn door is one of the most versatile upgrades you can make to your home, saving floor space while giving a room a striking focal point. But between the door design, the wood species and finish, the sliding system, and the hardware, there are a lot of choices to make. This guide walks through each decision in order, so you can build a barn door that fits your opening, suits your home's style, and works for your lifestyle. 

The short answer: designing a sliding barn door comes down to four decisions, the door design (modern, traditional, or rustic), the wood species and finish, the sliding system (standard, bi-parting, or bypassing), and the hardware, from the track and hangers down to the floor guide and handle.

Why Barn Doors

Benefits of Sliding Barn Doors

• Space Saving: On average, barn doors save about six square feet of floor space, compared to a regular swinging door. For spaces where a pocket door isn't possible (such as if the wall is a supporting wall, has electrical wiring, or has other limitations), barn doors free up space. In narrow hallways or corners, they allow you to move more freely.
• Eye Catching: These doors add interest to any space because they function like a piece of moving art, always visible. So you can use that to your advantage, creating drama and texture.
• Practical and Easy To Operate: Barn doors can often be more accessible than swinging doors, because their handles don't need to be grasped or twisted to operate. With swinging doors, you'll need to twist a knob or lever handle. Many times, swinging doors don't stay fully open on their own. But a barn door system is much more straightforward to use when it comes to accessibility.
• Versatile: Barn doors come in an array of design styles now, so no matter your home's architecture style, you can find one that suits it. From sleek Mid-Century-Modern to cozy rustic, there's something for everyone.

Sizing

How To Measure For A Barn Door

The most common question we are asked at RealCraft about barn doors is: what size should my barn door be? Since all our doors are made-to-order, this question is even more relevant. But even if you look for barn doors that come in standard sizes, you should know that measuring your door frame for a barn door is very different than a standard swinging door.

Why is this? Simply because a barn door has to cover the opening, rather than fit squarely inside it. So your barn door will always need to be taller and wider than the door opening and any casing that surrounds the opening. If it doesn't overlap the opening, it allows light and much more sound to pass through. We recommend adding at least one inch of overlap on both vertical edges and the top edge of the door. The more overlap you have, the less light and sound will come through the door edges.

Measuring your opening for a barn door is easy, and takes just two steps with a tape measure.

Step One

To determine how wide your door should be, measure the opening from one side to the other.

If your door has molding frames, you'll need to measure the distance between the outside edges of the molding.

Lastly, you need to add at least 2" (two inches) to your total width measurement. This equates to one inch per side of the door opening.

Step Two

To determine the ideal height for your barn door, you will have to measure from the floor to the top of the door opening. If your opening has molding frames, measure from the floor to the outside edge of the frame. Add one inch to your final measurement to find out the ideal height of your door.

Special Size Considerations For Bedroom and Bathroom Barn Doors

If sound-sealing is important for the space, which is usually the case for bedrooms or bathrooms that are not en-suite, then a barn door is not the best choice. You can create better sound sealing by extending the barn door dimensions even further. But it will not be as dampening as a solid wood swinging door. For kitchens, pantries, or closets, sound sealing is less critical, so a standard level of overlap will work just fine. Laundry rooms benefit from a couple extra inches of overlap because of the noise of washers and dryers.

Design

How To Choose Your New Barn Door Design

There are three main design categories when it comes to sliding barn doors: modern, traditional, and rustic. Here's a little about each category.

Modern Barn Door Designs

Modern encompasses a wide range of designs. Clean lines, minimal ornamentation, and real materials are all hallmarks of modern design. When it comes to barn doors, this is a refreshingly different option. After all, most people believe that barn doors have to be rustic-leaning. Just like with any other interior door, though, a barn door can be whatever design style you wish. Pairing a modern barn door with clean, spare hardware brings this door type into the present day.

Many modern barn door designs feature glass panels. But if privacy is a concern, you can opt for our Satin Etched (or frosted) glass, which obscures details while allowing for more natural light. Barn doors with clear glass work well for passages you don't mind displaying, like a custom walk-in closet or a home library. And for utilitarian spots that often end up messy, like butler's pantries, laundry rooms, or linen closets? An all-wood design is likely your best bet.

Traditionally Designed Barn Doors

A traditional barn door features wood panels set in wooden frames. Within this category, there are Shaker designs and Craftsman designs. "A simple thing done well" might be the best way to describe Shaker doors. The variations within this style come from the number of panels and their orientations, whether they are horizontal or vertical.

Craftsman doors are constructed in the same fashion as Shaker doors, but with the addition of glass panels on the upper third of the door face. These doors are some of our most popular designs because of their great versatility. With frosted glass panels, they maintain privacy, and with clear panels, they allow for even more natural light.

Whether you choose Craftsman or Shaker style barn doors, know that both types work well in Traditional, Classic, Craftsman, and Colonial homes.

Rustic Barn Door Designs

Rustic barn door designs are inspired by old-fashioned literal barn doors. These utilitarian sliding doors are most often formed with vertical planks of wood, and fastened together with braces that run diagonally, horizontally, or both. You'll love rustic barn doors if your style leans farmhouse, of course. But a simpler design, like our Horizontal Plank, can work for Scandinavian, minimalist, and modern spaces, too. Desert Southwest, California Ranch, or Mountain Modern homes also take well to plank-style barn doors.

Materials

Wood Species and Finish Overview

The wood species you end up choosing is the most impactful choice you'll make after the door design itself. Wood species vary broadly in terms of color, grain pattern, and other natural features like knots or figuring. Look to your home's architecture or existing decor elements to guide your decision.

Here's a few details about each of the wood species we currently offer. Note that we are also able to source other wood options upon request.

Swipe or scroll to see all 17 wood species →

Specialty Barn Door Wood Options

Finishes

Once you've chosen the wood, next comes the finish. All wood doors need a finish that seals and protects them. Interior doors are of course not as exposed to the elements, so the finishes you use for interior doors don't have to be as robust as exterior doors. It's also important to choose a finish that you can easily maintain, as you'll probably use your interior doors more times in a day than you do your front door.

Swipe or scroll to compare finishes →

DIY Barn Door Kits

Custom Barn Doors

If you have a door design in mind, or you'd like to adapt one of our existing designs, you can create your perfect barn door through our custom division, RealCraft Reserve. From ultra-wide door openings, to bespoke finishes, special order woods, and one-of-a-kind barn door hardware, we've done it all. Unlock boundless creative freedom with RealCraft Reserve.

Systems

Types Of Sliding Barn Door Systems

Swipe or scroll to see all door systems →

How to choose between bi-parting and bypassing for barn doors

The variable that is the most likely to influence your decision here is simply, how much wall space do you have on either side of a wide opening? Bi-parting systems need more wall space than bypassing, because bypassing doors are stacked on top of each other when "open", whereas bi-parting doors rest by the wall when open. For closet systems, bypassing is always best, since it's rare to need to access both halves of the closet at the same time, and wall space won't be needed.

A bi-parting door setup works for spaces where you want to make a bold design statement, such as in dining rooms or formal sitting rooms.

Hardware

Barn Door Hardware Overview

The barn door hardware you choose is just as important as the door itself. From design to functionality, it impacts every part of how your barn door looks and operates.

Just like with the doors themselves, barn door hardware has come a long way in the years since it's gotten popular. You no longer have to settle for generic or overly rustic-looking hardware. Sleek and innovative designs, upscale materials and finishes, and intuitive accessories separate the best barn door hardware from what you can get at the big box stores.

Here are our barn door hardware kit designs, and a little about each one.

Flat Track

Our flat track hardware comes with a stunning array of hanger styles, so you can customize your look.

Hanger Styles

Swipe or scroll to see all hanger styles →

Architectural Series

Swipe or scroll to see the full series →

Hardware Finishes

Powder-coated finishes are applied to raw galvanized solid steel.

Powder Coated Spectrum Colors

Wheel Styles

For Classic, Aero, and Prop style hangers, you can customize the wheel style with the following options:

Full Polymer Hush Wheels

The entire wheel is made of black polymer "hush" material so it will glide along the track quietly.

Steel Matched Wheels

For the most cohesive aesthetic, these wheels match the finish color selected.

Steel Matched Wheels with Hush Insert

Wheels are made of solid steel with a powder-coated finish with a black polymer insert where it makes contact with the track. This helps the wheels glide along the track more quietly.

Floor Guides

Nobody wants to deal with wobbly, unstable doors. So while it may seem like a minor detail, but a floor guide is a crucially important component of your barn door system. These small accessories are usually floor-mounted, unless there's a situation where the floor can't be drilled into, or for exceptionally wide or heavy doors. Without a floor guide, your barn door runs the risk of jumping off the track, which could be hazardous. So be sure to add them to any barn door configuration. The floor guide should be placed so that it makes contact with the door whether it stands in its open or closed position.

Swipe or scroll to see all floor guides →

Barn Door Handles

Last but certainly not least, let's talk about barn door pulls, because every door needs a handle. There are two basic types: flush pulls and mounted pulls.

Flush pulls are recessed into the surface of the door itself. Mounted door pulls project out from the door face, and come in a variety of shapes and lengths. You'll often see the two barn door handle types paired together, with a flush pull on the backside of the door and a mounted pull on the front. One element you'll want to consider is accessibility, as flush pulls require more dexterity to operate than their projecting mounted counterparts.

Mounted pulls have the most versatility in design, from sleek bar pulls to rustic ring pulls.

FAQ

Barn Door Buying FAQ