DIY Modern Barn Door in Four Easy Steps

For the longest time I’ve wanted a barn door in my house but I was only finding rustic barn doors or farmhouse style doors, which are beautiful, but are just not my style. So I decided to design and build one myself to fit my aesthetic, my budget, and space and I absolutely love how it turned out.

So, disclaimer…I have NEVER built a barn door before nor did I really even know where to start! So, I turned to Pinterest and found inspirations and I researched ways that barns doors have been built by other DIY’ers. Knowing my skill set and the tools I had available to me, I was able to construct a unique custom barn door!

{The following post may include affiliate links} Click each photo to be taken to my LIKEtoKNOW.it page where you can shop these looks. I receive a small commission from each purchase.

Let’s Get Started!

Supplies You’ll Need:

• (1) 3/4” Plywood cut to Door Size
• (1) Sheet of 1/8” Eucaborard
• (4) 1”x6” Pre-Primed Trim Boards
• Wood Glue
• Wood Filler
• Silicone Caulk or Trim Sealant
• Brad Nails
• Primer / Paint / Spray Paint
• Barn Door Hardware
• Door Pull

Tools You’ll Need:

• Circular Saw
• Trigger Clamps (multiple sizes)
• Metal Straight Edge
• Level
• Brad Nailer /Nail Gun
• Drill with multiple sized bits
• Tape measure

Cut List:

{Please note that ALL door openings will be different. Please measure and cut your pieces to fit YOUR DOOR.}

• (1) piece of Plywood Cut to size
• (14) 6″ X 96” strips of Eucaborard (to be cut down to size)
• (2) Vertical 1” x 6“ x 7’ (or to fit height of your door)
• (3) Horizontal 1” x 6” x 28” (or to fit the width of the door)

Four Easy Steps

Follow along to see how these four steps will help you achieve your custom Modern Barn Door.

Step One

What’s Behind Door Number One?

The first step in creating our Modern Barn Door is to cut the plywood to size. I used a sturdy 3/4″ plywood for this project.

TIP:

Get your Plywood cut down to size at your local lumber yard or box store (Home Depot or Lowes) for FREE!

IMPORTANT NOTE:

When cutting your plywood you want to take the full door opening and trim into consideration. For my build, I was leaving the existing door trim and I wanted my Barn Door to cover the full opening plus the trim. As a rule of thumb I decided to add an additional 1-1/2″ to the top and sides of my measurements.

Step Two:

Did We Make the Cut?

It’s time to cut the strips for our inner layer using Ecuaboard.

What is Eucaboard? Trust me I didn’t know until I started researching. I knew that I wanted a thin smooth product that I could manipulate and cut into my desired design. I went to HomeDepot and started to search until I came across the Ecuaboard (aka Hardboard Tempered Panel). It was less than a 1/4″ thick, it was smooth on one side, it looked easy to cut, and best of all it was under $10 for one panel!

I decided that 6″ panels would look best for my desired aesthetic and would be easier for me to cut using the tools that I had available.

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Using a measuring tape I measured out my panel size. I then took a metal straight edge and clamps to prepare for my cut. This step made it easier for me to use my circular saw. If you have a table saw, you can skip this step and use that instead. I repeated this step until I had used up the entire board.

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I decided to make myself a template by drawing directly on my plywood sheet. This helped me visualized where the centerline was for my angled pieces and also helped me know where to stop my boards. This is an optional step.

Now that I had my template laid out I decided to start placing my boards. I lined up my first “starter” boards by centering them on the 90 degree corners. This helped me keep the angles consistent as I added boards. Once again, I used clamps to hold everything in place. They will be your best friends as you start to glue things down.

You are the Glue that Keeps us Together

Once I was satisfied with my board placement I used a Premium Wood Glue to adhere the boards to the plywood. I used a paint stir stick as a spacer to keep all the boards equally positioned.

You’re gonna want to listen to this next step!!!

IMPORTANT!!!

You MUST weigh down your glued down pieces!!! I literally took weights from my husband and used them to hold down the pieces. I raided my paint closets and stacked up all of my wood scraps. Give them a few hours + to cure.

This step is make it or break it!!!

Rounding Third Base

This step is almost done! Now that your boards have had time to dry in place it’s time to trim up your edges. Some edges will be overhanging quite a bit and will need to be cut with a saw, and some edges will need a little sanding down. I took this time to fully sand the outside edge of the door.

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Seal the Deal

This is another optional step, but one that I think is very important. I decided to use a flexible sealant to fill the tiny gaps between the the plywood and the boards. This step gave me the clean finish that I was hoping to achieve.

Tip:

Use Painters Tape for a crisp line and an easy to clean finish.

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At this step you can use a Primer to paint the boards.

Step Three:

I’m not gonna lie, Step Two was a bit of a doozy. There were a bunch of tiny steps to achieve one larger step.

In step three you will see your door finally start to take shape!!!

Trim, Trim, and more Trim

I consider this the most crucial step in making this rectangle piece of plywood look like an actual barn door.

In the last step we primed the boards. For the trim layer I chose to use pre-primed boards to help me save a step.

I then measured out my boards and cut them to size. Using my nail gun I secured the trim pieces in place. Make sure to use a 90 degree square to keep your corners at perfect 90 degree angles.

The Glow Up

To finish the door I chose to use a Premium Wood Filler to help hide those imperfections and to fill in my nail holes. Once the compound is dry I used a 220 grit sand paper to smooth down all the edges.

At this point you are ready to paint! I have mentioned before that I HATE TO PAINT so inadvertently I failed to document that process. OPPSIE

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Step Four:

You made it!!!

Aren’t you proud of yourself???

Your door now looks like an actual door and now it’s time to put on the hardware and to hang this baby up!!!

The Crowning Jewels

I knew from the start that I wanted a door that was a bit more modern and streamline than a traditional Farmhouse Style Barn Door. I had already used a brassy gold metallic in my space and decided that the gold would be the perfect fit to make this door truly custom to my aesthetic.

I purchased a Barn Door Hanging Kit from Amazon but it only came in black. I spray painted it using Rustoleum Pure Gold and it turned out better than expected. I also was very pleased with this Amazon purchase! I was consistently finding sets that were $150+ and that just wasn’t in my wheel house until I came across this kit that was under $50 (including the handle)!

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At this point, the only advice that I can give is to follow the manufacturers recommendations for hanging the door.

For my specific application, we used a 1×4 board and secured it to the studs to make a very sturdy base to hang the door from. A HUGE shoutout to my dad for being my mentor during this part of the build! You’re gonna need an extra set of hands!

ALL DONE!!!

I am SO DANG PROUD OF MYSELF!!!

From a small sketch and a piece of plywood, I created my very own Custom to-me Modern Barn Door!!!

Pin me!!!