DIY: Modern Farmhouse Barn Door Window Covering

In this post I’m going to show you how we used the ever-popular sliding barn door to create a custom window treatment in our finished basement space.

If you’ve been following along on the blog, you’ll know that we recently installed our entertainment console down here — a simple IKEA hack that you can read about HERE. Once that was finished, we set out to tackle dressing up the window.

In the picture below, you can see how unfinished the window looked. First, we built and installed a simple window sill to provide a more durable surface because, let’s face it, drywall just doesn’t withstand much ‘living’ when there are children and a frisky feline in the home.

Despite the fact that Eric’s style is more traditional/rustic farmhouse while I prefer modern and Scandinavian design, we both immediately agreed (probably the first time ever, you guys!) a sliding barn door window covering would look nice in this spot. Plus, it helps to block out a large portion of the light streaming in during family movie nights, especially in the summer. Eric’s installed the Hue lighting system in this space, and in order to get the full effect the less light the better.

So, if you have a similar window nook and would like to add a custom sliding barn door window treatment, here’s a quick rundown. It was super easy!

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TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

I’ll start with the technical part of the tutorial. We opted to have the barn door covering extend two inches on both the left and right sides of our window as well as the top. Our window measures 35″ inches wide by 62.5″ tall.

In this tutorial I’ll be using measurements based on our specific window size. You’ll want to adjust these measurements as necessary to fit the dimensions of your window.

SUPPLIES & MATERIALS:

• 3/4″ x 4′ x 8′ sheet PureBond Birch Plywood
• (3) 1″x4″x6′ select pine boards
• (1) 1″x4″x8′ select pine boards
• Sliding barn door hardware kit
• Sliding barn door finger pull
• Compound miter saw
• Brad nail gun
• Wood glue
• Brad nails

TUTORIAL

First, cut your plywood at 39″ inches by 62.5″ inches. We purchased a 3/4″ x 4′ x 8′ piece of PureBond birch plywood and used a table saw to cut our sheet to the specified dimensions. If you do not have access to a table saw, be sure to get the plywood cut before leaving the lumber store.

Next, cut (2) 1×4’s at 62.5″ inches and (5) 1×4’s at 32″ inches.

Take (1) 62.5″-inch 1×4 board and place it flush along the side edge of the plywood. Attach using wood glue and nails. Remember, if you plan on staining the barn door window covering, it’s imperative to clean up any glue spillage or seepage immediately. Repeat for the other side.

Take (2) 32″-inch boards and place them at the top and bottom of the plywood barn door between the side boards you just attached. Again, ensure they are flush with no overhang and then attach with wood glue and nails.

Mark the center width of (1) 32″-inch 1×4″ board and place this in the center height of the plywood barn door window covering. You’ll then attach the remaining (2) 32″-inch 1×4’s spaced evenly between the center board and the top and bottom boards.

Once dry, sand and apply finish material of choice. We opted to use the same stain as the wooden top on our floating entertainment console: Minwax Special Walnut. Now, I wasn’t sure if the wood stain was going to look too rustic once hung on the wall, so I opted not to apply a sealant immediately — just in case I needed to paint it. (I shouldn’t have worried — I think the wooden stain looks amazing so I’ll just add a couple coats of Minwax polycrylic protective finish to it once the weather warms up.)

Attach your handle of choosing once the stain is dry. We opted to use a simple matte black finger pull.

To install the barn door sliding hardware, we followed the specific instructions included with the kit we purchased. The only change we made was not installing the guide on our brand new windowsill. Instead, we attached it to the wall just to the left of the window. It’s tucked in so the only way you’ll see it is if you’re standing at the window specifically looking for it. This just ensures the door won’t ever slam against the wall.

If you’ve found this tutorial helpful, I’d appreciate it if you share it with your friends on Pinterest by clicking the below image.

We still have a lot of projects to tackle in this space, including:

• A coffee table for LEGO building and playing board games
• A bar sofa table for additional seating behind our couch
• Finishing up our desk area
• A cane-door cabinet for additional storage (plus a spot to hide the subwoofer and printer)
• And some custom bookshelves (still have to get Eric on board with this one)

Don’t forget if you’d like to follow along with our progress, be sure to sign up for the newsletter below.