OUR NEW BARN DOOR

Welp. She's up, guys. It only took half a year, but hey. When you are renovating an ENTIRE farmhouse in the middle of nowhere, you don't beat yourself up. 

We show ourselves grace here, remember?

But back to the door...

Y'all. She's HUGE. I don't say that when I'm around her because it could hurt her feelings, but this door is LEGIT a beast. And I love it. 

When we moved in, our family room had a giant doorway with no door. At first we were okay with it, until we realized that we couldn't watch TV once the kids went to bed down the hall. The more we lived here, the more we realized we needed some separation. But how? There was no space for a swinging door that large. And I have a personal vendetta against bi-fold doors (to be fair, they started it). So a barn door it was, and Simpson Doors to the rescue.

When I first got in touch with them, I was doubtful they could make a door this big. I had talked to several companies who wouldn't take it on. So I was THRILLED when they said YES.

A little info about our door for the DIY'ers out there: 

  • It's Hemlock Wood, model 49812
  • We chose and installed the handles (both sides) ourselves, including routing the space for the back handle
  • We used regular ole industrial barn door hardware from Tractor Supply, and spray painted it for an oil-rubbed bronze look
  • And we installed the hardware over a 2x4 stained to match

Simpson Doors barn door installed in The Festive Farmhouse by Allison Aars as a DIY tutorial

Now let's talk about stain: 

We've started mixing our own stain here at The Festive Farmhouse, well, because I'm picky. I know the shade I want, and I don't settle for anything less. And while mixing stain is another blog post in itself...a comparable match for this shade is Sherwin Williams Banyan Brown (just keep in mind, stains take different shades on different types of wood). 

We stained both sides (no pre-stain), then sanded down and stained again. Finishing with one last sanding, with fine grit sandpaper. 

For our handles, we chose one recessed (for the back side) and one modern bar handle. I've linked those along with the barn door hardware below:

 

 

A few questions we received over on IG:

  • Is it hard to slide? NO. IT'S A STURDY DOOR, BUT NOT TOO HEAVY. 
  • How hard was it to install? BEGINNERS LEVEL
  • Was this a one person job? NO. BECAUSE OF THE SHEER SIZE.

So there you go! I hope that helps. Also worth noting, we have been so impressed with Simpson Doors and their service, I doubt we'll every use anyone else. Their doors are top notch, well-made, and beautiful to boot. So if it ain't broke, don't fix it...right?

I'll be sharing the next two doors over the next few months. So until then, my friends...here's Hershey Girl. 

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