How To Measure For A Barn Door

How to Measure for a Barn Door: A Step-by-Step Guide

Barn doors are a stylish, space-saving solution for everything from pantries to bedrooms. But before you can enjoy the charm and functionality they bring, you need to make sure you're ordering the right size. Measuring for a barn door isn’t difficult—but it does require a little precision. Here’s a simple, step-by-step guide to help you get it right the first time.

Step 1: Measure the Door Opening

Start by measuring the width and height of the doorway (also called the “rough opening”).

• Width: Measure from one edge of the opening to the other. Take this measurement at the top, middle, and bottom—sometimes walls aren’t perfectly square. Use the largest number.
  

• Height: Measure from the floor to the top of the opening. Again, measure both sides to ensure consistency.
  

📝 Tip: If your doorway has trim around it and you want the barn door to cover the trim, include that in your measurements.

Step 2: Determine the Ideal Door Size

A barn door should be wider and taller than the opening to fully cover it and block light, sound, and drafts.

• Width of Door = Width of opening + 2 to 4 inches
  (This gives you about 1–2 inches of overlap on each side.)
  
  

• Height of Door = Height of opening + 1 to 2 inches

This extra coverage ensures privacy and a clean look.

Step 3: Check for Wall Space

Your barn door will slide along a track mounted above the opening and move to the side—so you’ll need clear wall space at least as wide as your door.

Look for:

• Light switches or outlets

• Windows

• Trim, vents, or art

• Baseboard or crown molding

If any of these items protrude past ¾” from the wall, make note of its overall thickness, the hardware can be adjusted to accommodate.

Step 4: Measure for the Track

Most barn door kits include a track that’s twice the width of your door. That’s the standard rule of thumb, though some tracks come in one continuous length.

Make sure:

• You have enough room above the door for the track and rollers (usually 5"–5.5" of clearance)

• If planning ahead, The addition of blocking above the opening is beneficial for mounting the header
  
  

Step 5: Check Floor Clearance

Most barn doors hang about ½ inch off the floor. Make sure your floors are level and account for any rugs or thresholds nearby.

Final Checklist:

✅ Door opening measured (width + height)
✅ Additional inches added for overlap
✅ Wall space available for door to slide open
✅ Track space and ceiling clearance confirmed
✅ Floor clearance and levelness checked

If you are looking to have one custom made, you can look to our Barn Doors page for some ideas or Request A Quote. We ship worldwide.

A Touch Of Copper

Copper finishes are the latest in home design trends and we can certainly get behind it. From faucets to table accents and lamps. Check out some of our favourite copper touches to home design we found on the internet.

Copper can be the main focus of the piece or a little touch for an accent like we did in our copper stitch walnut side table.

Copper is a more expensive material that is a bit more difficult to work with, so when sourcing pieces ensure they make the impact your are after and show them off!

Make sure to click on each picture to link to credit for the original poster/creator of the content.

Coffee Half Round Side Table

Copper Shelving

Copper Kitchen Accent

Copper Stitching Table

Custom Copper and Wood Table

Copper and Wood Railing

Kitchen Copper and Wood

Copper Leg Dining Table

4 Amazing Mid Century Modern Livingrooms

Mid Century Modern furniture seems to be gaining popularity with it’s clean simple lines and the warm heart feelings it gives us as we remember days past. Possibly a favourite aunts comforting living room or where you grew up learning the guitar with your brother?

Whatever the reason for your love for the mid century modern design, we pulled together 10 of our favourite looks from across the internet.

First up is Kristen Wiig’s home on the HGTV website. The open comfortable space looks inviting and calm.

Lots of seating space in this cozy sun filled living room from Wild Honey. Check out all her amazing photos on Instagram

We stumbled across this fantastic modernized space on the Star Tribune’s blog. We kind of love wood panelling again.

This one is funk with the green couch but kept down to earth with the sleek and minimalism style. We found this one on InspiredDetail.com

Which is your favourite? Chat with us on Facebook to let us know.

The Edmonton's Choice Table

We love Edmonton and all the support we have had over the past 3 and a half years we have been in business, we wanted to really connect with the community around us.

So….. drumroll please….

We are spending the next few months working with YOU and hearing YOUR input on our next build. We will be creating a table based off the decisions of votes on our Facebook page and then showcasing the table at the Edmonton Fall Home Show October 18-20.

Each week on Wednesday we will be asking you about what you would like to see the table be. There will be two choices to choose from each week to determine the direction we take with the custom table.

After all the choices have been determined we will start the build and unveil it during the summer!

Want to know what the table looks like before we announce it to the public? Sign up for our newsletter for the insider updates and first look!

Tips For De-cluttering The Bedroom

Master bedroom design with Iron Hide Bed for the Full House Lottery

To be honest, our bedroom is one of the most neglected rooms in the home. We spend time tidying the main floor and pestering our kids to clean their own rooms, but our bedroom often ends up the dumping grounds. It’s where paperwork that never made it to the office goes, clean laundry waiting to be sorted and folded is and anything else we shove in there when company is coming over.

So aside from sharing our struggle we thought we would share a few tips on getting is organized again.

Get rid of unnecessary clothes

Socks without pairs? Underwear with holes? Clothes that no longer fit? Go through your drawers and closet to weed out the things you no longer use. You can consider donating it or one of my favourite things is hosting a clothing swap. Basically you get your friends together and you all bring clothes you no longer want. You take their old items, you take theirs and everyone wins.

Clear out things from underneath the bed

We have one cat that likes to steal socks and bring them under the bed. We often find a stash under there, along with toys from the kids playing and random things that have gotten kicked under. Take a few minutes to clean out from under the bed for a nice clear space.

A custom floating bed frame done for the Full House Lottery

Get rid of anything that doesn’t belong

Make a pile of everything that doesn’t belong in your bedroom, such as those kids toys, paperwork, junk from your bedside table, tea mugs or anything else lingering. Once you’ve gone through the whole room, put things in the places and wipe down the surfaces.

Create functional, yet beautiful storage solutions

Depending on the space you have there are many options for beautiful storage solutions. If everything has a place to go, it’s more likely to end up there. Most of the time things end of up chairs and exercise equipment, because it doesn’t really have a home. So have a home for everything and it’s more likely to end up there.

A custom wood bed made with drawers built in on either side. Great storage solution in a smaller bedroom.

Sleek barn doors to cover closet openings to keep a clean de-cluttered look in the bedroom.

7 Gorgeous Holiday Mantel Inspirations

People are starting to decorate for the holidays (actually we have already here in our household!)

One of our favourite holiday statement decor spots is the fireplace mantel. A place to go a little on the grand side!

These are some of our favourite mantels we’ve seen on Pinterest.

We love the statement piece with the reindeer outline and the simplicity of it all.

The stars pop against the greenery in this one……

The Kim Six Fix did a wonderful job on making this mantel feel comforting and festive.

Clean and crisp!

Design Improvised did a great job creating a white wonderland with twinkle lights and all.

This oozes classic style.

We will just leave this one here…….

Wood Bed Frame Inspiration

The bedroom is well known to be the sanctuary of the home. The place you can come to at the end of your day to relax and unwind and sleep. We at Iron Hide believe the bedroom should be a beautiful space that you can enjoy.

We of course LOVE wood bed frames of all shapes and sizes. We have done some unique ones like these wall hanging beds for the Full House Lottery Home and a client’s teenage daughter….

Custom bed made for Full House Lottery

We have also done more rustic style like this one…..

But we are inspired by all wood frames. Personally we are designing our own low profile wood bed similar to these…

Looking to get your own custom bed made? Send us an email at IronHideWoodworks@gmail.com or you can fill out our QUOTE FORM

Our 5 Favourite Holiday Dining Tables Decor

We love hosting Christmas at our house. The family gathering around and sharing cheer. In our family we often find ourselves at the dining table long after the meal, chatting over some wine or playing a game of cards.

We are so inspired by some of these Holiday Tables we found on Pinterest we just had to share the inspiration.

This first one is from Lauren McBride Blog. We love the rustic yet elegant feel with the wood charger plates and the greenery on across the length of the table.

This next one we love the candles ranging in different sizes and heights and the gorgeous overhanging napkins under the plates.

You can just feel the warmth and love in this spread from Proverbs 31 Girl Blog on her Christmas House Tour. The mix of the elegenat glasses and plates with the rustic box and placemats.

The pop of red and the sweet little wooden houses in this Holiday Dining table Spread is just so sweet and inviting.

Sometimes less is more and simple is the way to go. This slightly more minimalistic approach from Nordic Design and nature like table spread is gorgeous AND practical for those after dinner card games we like so much.

Finding Inspiration For Your Custom Build

Custom Furniture Inspiration

Looking into a new dinging table or coffee table? Not finding what you are exactly looking for in the stores? A great option is designing and building a custom piece.

This is of course, where we come in as a custom wood and metal furniture building shop.

You can create furniture so that it fits your space and fit’s into your style. We come across a lot of people who have bought furniture that they had to fit their house around. Hiding parts of big gorgeous windows to fit a bed or trying to get the right color on a table offline to match floors or other furniture in the house.

Since you are able to customize your furniture, you can get exactly what you want and need.

Now you know where you want something and an idea of colour maybe, where do you find the inspiration?

Every Tuesday on our Facebook Page we post Pinterest Inspirations. We find awesome stuff from Pinterest people have built or love and post them! We love Pinterest for finding beautiful ways to decorate your new piece.

Following some awesome bloggers can come with great inspiration too. We love The DIY Mommy and some her great tips for styling.

Additionally, good old fashion magazines. There are a lot you can find in grocery stores and browse through. There are some great ideas in magazines that give you an idea of the overall look you are after.

Custom Spring Organization Builds

Custom Entryway benches perfect for Spring Organizing!

This time of year people are cleaning out their homes and updating home designs. We get a lot of people looking to update their home with new custom furniture.

Cleaning up or organizing a new space? Realizing you need specific storage that's functional and beautiful? This is the type of custom woodworking we do. 

Here are a couple of entryway solutions to help stay organized:

Over 8 ft tall!

Side cubbies help with organizing seasonal wear.

Add a shoe closet

LOTS of storage here for a client with a loft and not so much for built ins.

Simple and elegant storage

Check out THIS GALLERY for more options!

Contact us for a quote or you can Check Out Our Facebook Page too.