The long awaited Modern Barn Door DIY tutorial is finally here! As always one of the big reasons why I build anything is because A) I know I can build it cheaper or B) I’m just not finding what I’m looking for on the market these days. So here’s to building your own modern barn door DIY.

I built this modern barn door for our laundry room we remodeled earlier this spring for the Spring 2019 One Room Challenge. That was the most intense 6 week remodel that I’ve never done before!

neutral laundry room with modern barn door

How to build your own Modern Barn Door DIY

Barn doors have become a great space saver in our home and a way to make our home more functional. This 5 step tutorial is super easy and a great way to make an inexpensive impact in your home. Let’s get to making this modern barn door friends!

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Step 1: Make cuts and prep

Cut your plywood, 3/4″ strips and 1×3’s to length according to the printable plans! Use 180G and 220G sand paper and a sander. I highly recommend using this respirator mask I’ve been loving for projects lately. Especially while pregnant it has been absolutely amazing!

woman sanding and prepping plywood for a modern barn door diy

These are the slats I purchased at Home Depot, you can find them in the trim/baseboard section, they are priced by the linear foot.

Home Depot sticker tag for 3/4" plywood slat pieces

I originally had these 3/4″ slats cut to 86″ at Home Depot because I had another idea for the design, but it just wasn’t turning out like I had wanted it to. So I improvised!

woman organizing slats to build a modern barn door

Step 2: Stain your lumber pieces

Use a staining pad, wiping cloths, and gorilla grips gloves to prevent the stain from getting on your hands. I got them at a conference and they have been my go to ever since! We decided to use the same stain used on our DIY Modern Outdoor Furniture, Varathane in Flagstone.

woman using a staining pad to stain a modern barn door

Step 3: Attach top and bottom pieces to barn door base

Take your 2 – 1×3’s and attach one at the top and bottom of the door using wood glue, clamps, and 3/4″ bradnails.

freshly sanded and prepped plywood base for a modern barn door

Step 4: Attach slats

Use wood glue and a bradnailer (this one is my go to!) with 3/4″ bradnails to secure slats to plywood base. Make sure they are even and nail down when wood glue is still wet/tacky. With these 3/4″ they warp easily, so bending them a tad to straighten out while attaching will be necessary.

woman building a modern barn door with wood glue and Ryobi brad nailer

When attaching the top vertical 19 slats, make sure the 3/4″ pieces are butted up against the 1×3 at the top.

3/4" wood slats butting up to a 1x3 piece of wood for the modern barn door

Since I improved on this design after already purchasing supplies and cutting to size, your assembly of the bottom slats will be easier when following the printable plans.

The top slats will all meet 1/4 of the way down the door, you will then switch your slats to horizontal and attach the same way.

prepping barn door for horizontal slats

The bottom of my door will look a tad different than yours, but spacing should look like this. For lumber measurements follow along on the printable plans.

attaching horizontal slats to 1/4 of the modern barn door

Once all the slats have been attached your door should look like this!

finished modern barn door diy without handle attached

Step 5: Attach door handle

The door handle was made from scrap wood left over from the project believe it or not! But, I wasn’t intending on making a handle, it felt a little bare so the handle worked out great. I used wood glue to attach to the front and marked where the handle hit on the back of the door and used 1 3/4″ brad nails.

diy handle for a modern barn door diy from scrap wood

Now, who’s ready to build their own Modern Barn Door DIY? Checkout the full tutorial and FREE plans!

To see the whole laundry room remodel, be sure to head over to the reveal post here: Neutral Laundry Room Remodel.

Download the PDF plans if you’d like to build Modern Barn Door DIY. It’ll have the step-by-step directions, along with dimensions and a complete materials and cut list.

pin it for later

modern barn door diy with sliding plans for a laundry room

 

To “Get the Look” for this space check out the Neutral Laundry Room Remodel with a full list of sources for everything!

SHOPPING LIST :

TOOLS :

Tape Measure

Pencil

Safety Glasses

Ear Protection

Mask

Miter Saw

DIY Ikea Tarva Dresser Hack

Sander (or Sanding Sponge)

Brad Nailer

SKILL LEVEL :

Beginner/Intermediate

PROJECT COST:

$150

 

Let me know if you have any questions about anything building wise or product questions! I’m an open book 🙂

For more behind the scenes on all of our DIY and home projects be sure to follow along on instagram. To see all of our inspo and upcoming projects be sure to follow along on pinterest.

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21 thoughts on “Modern Barn Door DIY”

  1. This is a fantastic door, it looks amazing!

    I cannot believe there are no comments!

    1. Hi Heather,

      Thank you so much! Hah, we used to have a pretty heavy spam filter on our comments and just recently removed it a few months ago.

  2. I was looking for ideas to redo the bathroom and laundry area in my holiday home and I really love your project. I’ll make a few changes but not too many. Thank you for inspiring me!

    1. Hi Nicoletta,

      Love that I’ve been able to inspire you to take on a project in your holiday home! I hope it turned out great 🙂

  3. Hi!

    I love this SO MUCH! We are planning to use this base design to create much larger sliding doors for our bedroom.
    What kind of plywood did you use seems like there are so many different options!

  4. How did you cut the slats that were exceeding the door after they were attached to the door? Which kind of saw? Circular?

    Or did you cut them before fixing them to the door?

    I have fixed them to the door so they have the exact right length but now I am scared to break them when I will cut them…

    Thank you!

    1. Hi Vanessa,

      I marked the overhang and cut them before adhering them to the door 🙂 If you flip the door over and make your cut with a circular saw you should break anything!

  5. I am obsessed with this door! My goal is to make my own bypass sliding doors with this simply yet lovely plan. What are the kreg screws used for in your printable plans? They are in the list, but not mentioned in the directions. Thanks!

    1. Hi Megan,

      I’m so happy you love the design! Can’t wait to see you re-make this project! The Kreg screws is a typo, sorry about that!

  6. So pretty! Thank you for sharing all that you do. Love this door and your entire laundry room. Great job!!!

    1. Hi Angela,

      You are so incredibly kind! Thank you so much! Im so glad you enjoyed the project 🙂

  7. Love this! How thick is this door? Looking to make something to put in a 2 panel track (our closet won’t work with the outer barn door track) and need to know the thickness to know whether it will fit!?

    1. Hi Lindsey,

      Thanks so much! It’s not too thick the plywood is 3/4 inch and the square dowels on top are 3/4 inch as well. So 1 1/2″ total!

  8. What barn door hardware did you use for this project ? And How did you attach the hardware to the door?

    1. Hi Grady,

      The barn door hardware is linked in the Shopping List and it’s attaching to the top of the door with the provided screws.

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