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Adding A Sliding Barn Door For Bathroom Privacy

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Today I am sharing why adding a sliding barn door for bathroom privacy was a great option in this home renovation project and yes, we would do it again! 

Let’s face it, a bathroom door is important but what if a traditional hinged door creates a traffic jam or opens into a tight space?

There are several bathroom barn door ideas and a sliding door is a great option if you are tight on floor space and still need to provide bathroom privacy.

3 panel white sliding barn door on bathroom wall
sliding barn door for bathroom privacy

Sliding Bathroom Door

The biggest consideration when installing a bathroom sliding door is ensuring you have enough room for the door to slide.

This particular master bedroom at a home renovated and built an addition on was very large and while the master bathroom had a lot of room, a traditional door swing into the bathroom would have meant a cramped linen closet area.

Barn doors do not need to be “barn style.”

Consider hanging the same style doors in the rest of the house.

A sliding modern barn door for a bathroom that matches the same door style throughout the house is a great way to create a cohesive modern look.

How To Install a Sliding Barn Door For Bathroom Privacy

Step 1 – Install Door Header

First we added a trim (header piece) piece above the door to mount the black sliding barn door track.

mounting barn door track header above bathroom door opening
installing header for sliding barn door bathroom privacy

Step 2 – Install Sliding Track Hardware

Measure with a level where the track will be placed and mark line with a pencil.

measuring for barn door track with a level and pencil on door header
sliding barn door for bathroom privacy

Once the measurements were taken, we drilled holes (this is a great screw gun) for the screws and then fastened the track to the header with the provided hardware.

screw holes for barn door track in door header

The barn door track slides beyond the door opening about 36″ or the width of your door so be sure to ensure you have enough wall space for the door to slide open.

Measure the height of the door from the floor in order to obtain the proper placement of the track.

measuring the height of door for barn door track

Use your level to make sure the track is straight / level before you fasten the bolts tight.

measuring the black door track to ensure it is level
installing a sliding barn door for bathroom privacy on a header board

Once the track was mounted, we installed the rollers on the doors and the remaining barn door hardware.

We used this heavy duty black barn door kit and fastened the track to the door header and the rollers to the door.

black barn door roller on white door

Follow the directions provided in your kit to ensure you attach the door hangers in the correct spot.

hanging interior door on sliding barn door track
barn door track kits are great for hanging a bathroom door

Tip

*The door doorstop can be adjusted and tightened easily depending on where you want the door to stop.

Bathroom Barn Door Ideas

I personally think any interior door can work for your bathroom entrance and if you want the barn door to the bathroom to match the rest of your house, then simply hang that interior door to keep the door style consistent throughout the house.

3 white sliding interior doors to bathroom and closet, white oak floors, blue walls
sliding barn door for bathroom privacy

Barn doors offer flexibility especially for a laundry room, pantry, closet and of course a small bathroom with minimal floor space.

You will notice in the bedroom image above, we also installed closet sliding doors instead of a swing or bifold door.

Here is another bathroom where we recently installed a sliding bathroom barn door and it looks beautiful!

master bathroom door ideas, frosted glass sliding door
sliding bathroom barn door for privacy

As you can see above, this sliding door offers a nicer alternative to a traditional swing door and adds a beautiful focal point to the bedroom.

You can see this entire installation and bedroom makeover by visiting this blog post, 1950s cape cod master bedroom remodel.

Pocket Doors VS Barn Doors

Another option to consider instead of a traditional hinged door, is a pocket door.

If you are not loving the look of a sliding barn door, pocket doors give you the same “slide” option when floor space is limited.

bathroom pocket door 2 panel shaker style
our bathroom pocket door slides inside the wall

Both pocket doors and barn doors slide.

The difference is, a pocket door slides inside the wall. You can see below how we installed a pocket door at our lake house bathroom.

Here is the view with the pocket door open.

bathroom pocket door for privacy
a pocket door and sliding barn door are two great options for small bathrooms

Where To Buy A Barn Door and Sliding Door Kit

Here are some of my favorite barn doors from Walmart (yes Walmart is like Wayfair now – they sell everything and better prices) and Amazon that we have in our own house and have used on client projects.

We used this barn door kit for the double closet doors.

If you are ordering a sliding door kit online, just make sure you order the correct length track for your door opening.

These are 3 panel solid core interior doors (similar to the 2 panel interior doors here that we installed at the split level house) and they look so good hanging on the black sliding door track leading to both the closet and bathroom. For some reason I didn’t get a picture with the door knobs installed but you get the idea!

This door set comes with the hardware which makes like very easy! I personally love the matte black hardware but they also have stainless steel.

How Do I Make My Bathroom Barn Door More Private?

Are barn doors private enough for a bathrooms, is a common question and personally, if the bathroom is within a “bedroom,” I have no issue at all with installing a sliding bathroom door.

One thing to consider when installing as a bathroom door, is the barn door kits do not come with a privacy locks.

Based on reviews, these barn door locks are a popular choice – try this one or this one.

white 3 panel interior door on black sliding barn door hardware
sliding barn door for bathroom privacy

Fixing the privacy concern with bathroom barn doors is very easy to fix!

Weather stripping is an effective way to seal any gaps at the top and bottom of door.

If your bathroom is in a quiet spot, you might not need to worry.

If it’s near the kitchen or a high-traffic area, the weather stripping solution should provide adequate privacy.

3 white sliding interior doors to bathroom and closet, white oak floors, blue walls
bathroom sliding barn door for privacy

All in all, I love the bathroom barn door. The white sliding barn door on bathroom wall provides privacy and visual appeal as the black track was modern giving a fresh modern look to an otherwise boring wall.

One of the best features about sliding barn door tracks is you can mount any interior door making this a popular diy project. You do not need to mount a traditional barn style door. The sliding barn door to the bathroom proved to be a perfect choice to suit both function and style. It was a win win!

Meet Jessica

What started as a hobby, Jessica’s blog now has millions of people visit yearly and while many of the projects and posts look and sound perfect, life hasn’t always been easy. Read Jessica’s story and how overcoming death, divorce and dementia was one of her biggest life lessons to date.

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