Architectural Elements: Sliding Barn Doors

A celebration of a Remodelista favorite: traditional sliding barn doors artfully used in interiors.

Whether they’re new or reclaimed, barn doors lend their rustic, practical sensibility to a space. They save room but are not tucked away like pocket doors, making a virtue out of their rugged beams and industrious hardware.

N.B.: See our post on Hardware: Barn Door Fittings for door hanging options.

Above: A San Francisco entryway by Feldman Architecture.

Above: In New York, a black sliding barn door in the entry hall of a TriBeCa loft by Schappacher White Architects. Photograph by Jason Lindberg.

Above: A bright barn door by Los Angeles architect Barbara Bestor. Photograph by Aaron Farley for Paper Magazine.

Above: Sliding barn doors at the Los Poblanos Historic Inn reference the compound’s agricultural origins.

Above: A rustic barn door in a lake house designed by Birmingham, Alabama–based Studio C Architecture.

Above: With a simple Shaker sensibility, this sliding barn door divides the dining and play spaces at the Seesaw Cafe in San Francisco.

Above: A leather handle used on a barn door by Alchemy Architects.

Above: An oversized reclaimed barn door in a studio by Patrick Davis Design.

Above: A bathroom alcove with interior sliding doors by Max Levy Architect.

Above: Barn doors in the Vermont home of the founder of Oughton Limited Bags.

Above: The door of this bathroom by the Brooklyn Home Company was sourced from a New Hampshire sheep barn. Photograph by Emily Gilbert Photography.

Above: A sliding barn door conceals a home office in a project by Greene Partners.

Above: The door to a bedroom in a Mill Valley, California, home by Artistic Designs for Living.

Above: Furniture maker Cliff Spencer crafts barn doors from reclaimed wine-barrel oak.

Looking for farm style in every room? Browse the 233 Farmhouse images in our Photo Gallery.

N.B.: This post is an update; the original story ran on March 18, 2010, as part of our European Sensibilities issue.