Shut The Barn Door!

I have barn door fever.  Don't know what I am talking about?  Here are a few hints:

Above three images courtesy of From Our Hiding Place

I think a sliding barn door is the perfect solution for the doorway between my kitchen and laundry room.  You can see what I'm talking about in this picture from a few months ago:

When we moved in, that doorway had a door.  It made sense: it closes off the laundry room and mudroom from the main living space.  But I found the door more frustrating than practical:  our half bath is behind that door and the large door would always collide with the half bath door.  The kids could not open the door.  The cat's litterbox is back there, and if we closed the door, he couldn't get back there.  So I took the door off, filled in the holes and made it an open doorway.

The only problem? My laundry room is totally on display.  It doesn't really bother me that much, but the more I lived here, the more I wanted some separation - but something that we could pretty much leave open most of the time and close when we entertain.  A traditional door on hinges was out.  Enter the barn door.

image courtesy of Remodelista

I love how cool it looks.  It's an instant piece of art along the back wall of the kitchen and den. Because it is on sliders, the kids can easily move it.  It will do the job of covering that doorway when we need it, but when not, it can just sit next to the doorway. Perfect!  Here are the plans:

I am purchasing my hanging hardware from Tractor Supply Company.  My parents happen to live around the corner from a store, so my dad will pick up the hardware for me.  I am purchasing galvanized hardware for sliding doors, hangers with rollers, and door stops. As for the door itself, I am taking the easy way out and buying a premade door from Lowes.  I could make a door from planks, but that sounds like a lot of hassle.  And plus, I really want a simple door and Lowes has simple slabs for $26.  Yes, $26!!  This one:

Don't worry: it won't look like that in the end.  I plan to buy some trim and add it to the door to make it look kind of like this:

image courtesy Everyday Art

The color of the door is totally undetermined right now - I want to get the wall color up first and see what the room needs ... but I am leaning very heavily toward yellow - maybe glossy, maybe distressed? Or maybe even that blue pictured above (though, not sure how it will look with the rest of the space ...).  I plan to use some tutorials that I found online (I'll be sure to post the links) and create my own based on their advice and my space.  I promise to post the how-to here on the blog.  Jamie is going to lend a hand and hopefully we can hang this bad boy in a day.  Stay tuned!  

Have you or do you want to hang a barn door in your house? I'm all ears! 

See you swoon,