(2.5-min read)
If you’ve surfed Pinterest or visited a new house within the past two years, there’s a good chance you’ve encountered the ever-trendy wall-mounted sliding barn door. Though sliding barn doors installed within a home give it a touch of utilitarian chic, some of us are wondering if we’re going to look back at this trend 20 years from now and wonder, “What the heck were we thinking?” Let’s take a look at some of the upsides and downsides of installing wall-mounted sliding barn doors in your home.
Sliding Barn Door Benefits
Space-Saving Design
There is a particular benefit to having a door that doesn’t require a sweep-path for its opening. For smaller homes, sliding barn door means more of the space can be utilized. In particular apartments and tiny houses, sliding doors may be the only viable option for closing off a space.
Intriguing Look
Sliding barn doors have a slightly rugged-yet-chic aesthetic about them that is currently still popular. This visual appeal also modernizes dated spaces. This makes them extremely popular among house flippers who are looking to make their properties feel as new and modern as possible.
Slide Barn Door Drawbacks
Slide-Path Limitations
For as space-saving as wall-mounted barn doors seem to be, the slide path (where the door hangs when it is not closing off a room) needs to be free of all light switches and electric outlets. No wall hangings can be present on the wall that doubles as a slide path.
Privacy Issues
Most doors provide a level of privacy for a room. You could likely have a low-toned conversation in a closed room without worrying about disturbing people in nearby places or being overheard. Wall-mounted barn doors don’t provide as much privacy due to a slight gap between the door frame the door itself. It is essentially like having the door cracked at all times.
Potentially Dated Look
While we have no crystal ball, we know there will come a time when wall-mounted barn doors may date a space. The doors are still fashionable and trendy, but there’s no guarantee that they won’t end up as the wood paneling and shag carpet of the future. That being said, none of us can guarantee what the future of interior design will deem timeless or dated.
Traditional doors, sliding doors, no doors — the options for customizations in your new custom home from Perry Hood Properties are virtually limitless.