Barn doors for interior use in renovations and new builds

Timber and glass interior barn door | Milliken Builders

Barn doors are becoming more popular for interior use in Australian homes. For a while we have admired barn doors on Pinterest, in interior design magazines and on American home renovation shows. They have been widely used across the USA where their rustic look is well suited for the current farmhouse and log cabin styles so popular in American architecture.

Barn doors are now readily available in Australia

We had our first enquiry regarding barn doors a few years ago and spent several hours searching the internet for information and suppliers in Australia. Now a quick Google search yields Ideal Barn Doors, Australia’s leading barn door manufacture which is 100% Australian owned and operated. Other suppliers include Hume Doors and Corinthian Doors. Even Bunnings offers a range of barn doors and hardware.

There is a wide range of barn doors

As barn doors have increased in popularity in Australia the style range has also increased. Traditional barn door styles such as the middle bar, z brace and British brace styles aren’t as suitable for Australian architecture. There are sleeker options available with vertical or horizontal planks, aluminium and glass combinations or timber and glass combinations.

The hardware comes in stainless steel, matt black, white and gold. Also any standard internal door can be customised for use with barn door hardware as well as having mirrors, glass and/or timber doors custom made to create door options suitable for our contemporary style architecture and decorating.

Barn doors are a great alternative to other door systems

  • The compact design makes them ideal for small spaces. Barn doors require less clearance than a swinging door and do not require the timber and gyprock cavity frame required for a cavity slider system.
  • Barn doors can be opened all the way maximising small openings.
  • The weight distribution across the track means larger barn doors can be used to cover bigger openings.
custom glass barn door and rollers by GADS Glass & Shower Screens Illawarra
custom glass barn door and rollers by GADS Glass & Shower Screens

Barn doors fit over most openings

Barn doors come in three styles making them flexible for non-standard size openings, large openings and spaces with minimal clearance.

  • The traditional barn door is a single opening. Barn doors are available in numerous sizes from 720mm up to 2100mm wide so the traditional barn door system can span most openings.
  • The double opening style consists of two doors that slide to either side of the opening. It is particularly suited for large openings and closing off sections in open floor plans.
  • In the by-pass barn door system the doors can slide behind each other which means they need less track space on the wall next to the door. By-pass barn doors are good for wardrobes, multiple openings in the same space and smaller spaces.

 

owners door customised to barn door
owners door customised to barn door

Potential negatives of barn doors

There are a few things you may want to keep in mind when deciding if a barn door system is right for you.

  • Barn doors are probably not your cheapest option. You will need to purchase the door, the hardware required for mounting the door as well as any accessories (handles, soft door closing mechanism etc).
  • Barn doors are harder to lock than other door systems so you may not find them suitable for spaces requiring privacy or security.
  • Barn doors are noisier when closing than other door systems. If this is an issue, be sure to check if there is a soft close mechanism available for your system.
  • Pinched fingers are likely especially if using the system without handles. Consider if that is what you want if little fingers will be in the vicinity.

Barn door systems are functional as well as decorative. Choosing the right barn door system can add a real ‘WOW’ factor and can overcome any space challenges you might have in your renovation or new build. Why not check out some of the options available in the web sites suggested above?

Give us a call on 0409129840 or  fill out the enquiry form on our contact page to arrange a quote for installation.

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