Hi there, friends- how are you? I am so glad you are here! There is a project I am dying to show you! Have you ever looked at pictures of the beautiful barn doors people have in their homes and dreamed of having one of your own? I made one, well- a fake one that looks as good as a real one for ZERO dollars! Can you believe it? I used leftover plywood from a shiplap project and nailed it to an existing door. Done in one afternoon- and that includes staining the door! Let me show you how you can make a faux barn door that looks great and costs little!

Step One- Choose the door you want to cover

For me, picking the door to make a faux barn door was easy. My laundry room door seemed like the perfect fit! The laundry room is right off our kitchen. After undergoing a very white makeover recently, my kitchen was screaming for some wood accents. The door was in the right spot and privately I will admit, if this project did not turn out well I could not easily replace the door without it looking out of place.

Here it is before!

Step Two to Make a Faux Barn Door- Cut the plywood into strips

Over the last two years, I have become the queen of faux shiplap! Well, maybe the word queen is an exaggeration. But I do love it and I have put it in many places! My first project hanging shiplap was on our kitchen island. Once that was complete, I shiplapped an entire wall in our dining room. And finally, I shiplapped the wall behind our faux fireplace. Love, love, love shiplap!

So when I do my shiplap projects, I buy large sheets of 1/4 inch plywood and cut them down to 6 of 8 inch strips. I had some leftover plywood from my last shiplap project and cut it down to 6 inch strips- as shown here!

I then measure each strip against the door and cut it to fit. Make sure you cut the strip to fit the door when it is closed.

Step Three to Make a Faux Barn Door- Use a nailing gun to attach the strips

My Ryobi nailing gun to the rescue! I hang each board on the door. You might notice at the top on of the boards is slightly shorter than the others- no worries, when we trim it out you will not be able to tell at all! You do need to remove the doorknob.

Step Four- Add trim along the frame

Once all the boards are hung, you are ready to trim it out! I used 2.5 inch plywood for the vertical trim pieces and 3 inch plywood for the horizontal trim. Truth telling here- using boards of varying width was done out of necessity, as I did this project on a whim and I was using what I had on hand. Regardless of the reason, though, I really like the look of having wider horizontal boards! I love when things work out like that!

Step Five- Stain your beautiful door and add a handle!

I used leftover Minwax stain I had from a project where I built open shelving in my dining room. The color is Walnut. This stain is awesome because it has low odor and dries quickly! One thing I like about staining wood on a faux barn door like this is it is almost impossible to mess it up! The more rustic looking the better! I ordered the door handle from Amazon.

I guess this is technically step 6- but it is a quick one so maybe we can compromise and call it a half step! Lol! I added an extra piece of trim to the top. While it is not a major feature, it does give the door a more custom feel.

How did I get the trim piece? Easy peasy! If you visit the trim aisle at Home Depot, you can select and cut any piece of trim you choose. Literally. They have saws in the aisle, you simply measure your piece of trim, cut it, pay for it, and take it home! And that is what I did!

 

One of the easiest DIY projects I have done- and it makes such a big impact on the space! 

What projects are you working on right now? Be sure to share in the comments!