How to Build a Barn Door Entertainment Center

Do you have an unused space or wall in your living room that doesn’t feel complete? If so, an entertainment center with sliding barn doors would be a great addition to the space. Not only would it serve as a home for your tv, but it would also create a fully functional and decorative piece of art.

How to Build a Barn Door Entertainment Center

1. Measure Space
2. Plan Barn Door Entertainment Center Design
3. Design the Barn Door
4. Hire Contractor or Do It Yourself

Entertainment centers are valuable in modern design, and the addition of barn doors can create a staple look that sets the tone of your living room. Dreaming is one thing, but putting forth the effort to bring that dream to reality is another. So, if you’re ready to add a beautiful and elegant barn door entertainment center to your home, now is the time.

Benefits of Building a Barn Door Entertainment Center

Not only can a rustic barn door entertainment center bring an aesthetic appeal, but there are also many perks to having this staple design in your home.

A sliding barn door entertainment center creates ample storage space. When designing a full-scale entertainment center with shelves and cabinets, you can fill those spaces with electronics, books, movies, magazines, decorations, and so much more.

Plus, you can choose to have the sliding barn doors closed to hide the tv when not in use, which would also hide the unsightly cords and tv console. With this design, you can decorate the surrounding shelves to match the interior design style of your home by filling them with pictures, books, and plants.

In this way, a large and overbearing tv screen won’t be the first thing someone notices in the living room. Rather, your barn door entertainment center will add style and character to your living room in an elegant and sophisticated way.

Perhaps the greatest benefit of a barn door entertainment center is how versatile it is. You can design them to your exact specifications to serve your lifestyle and home design. Whether you want more storage, a way to “put the tv away,” or functional bookshelves, a sliding barn door entertainment center could be just what you’ve been looking for.

How to Build a Barn Door Entertainment Center

If you’re ready to make your family room more functional, follow these steps to create a custom barn door entertainment center:

1. Measure Space

The first step to designing and building a barn door entertainment center is to measure the space where you would like it to go. You’ll want to ensure there’s enough room for shelves on either side and a space for the center tv and any storage shelving you might need. This would be a good time to measure the dimensions of your tv to ensure the center will have enough space for it to rest comfortably. You don’t want the tv to be crammed, nor do you want too much room on either side.

Next, you’ll want to decide the width of the entertainment center. How far will it need to stick out from the wall? This will affect how deep the storage space, shelves, and center tv area will be, so carefully think about how much space you need to make the entertainment center functional.

In this process, you’ll want to be mindful of how the barn door entertainment center will relate to the rest of the living room. You may need to rearrange the living room furniture, including the accent chair, end tables, and coffee table, to ensure it all works together.

Write down the dimensions, as you’ll need them when you start the design process. Take note of any floor panels or vents you need to work around. If you need to incorporate a floor panel or vent, you’ll want to plan on cutting the wood to fit around it.

Once you have all the dimensions in place, you can start designing the barn door entertainment center itself!

2. Plan Barn Door Entertainment Center Design 

Now that you know how much space you have to work with, you can start designing the layout of the shelving and tv space. The purpose of the shelves and storage space will affect the design, so keep in mind how you intend to use them. Be as creative as you want—this is your own custom design!

It may be helpful to draw out the dimensions you need and then play around with different shelving and storage designs. Make sure to include a headboard where the sliding barn door track will be installed. If you need ideas, Pinterest is a great resource to use. It has a variety of sliding barn door entertainment center design styles that will spur your creativity.

During this step, you can decide how many shelves you need, how much space you would like between each shelf, and what kind of storage cabinet space you need to accommodate the TV, a cord management system, and accessories. Adjustable shelves allow for more flexibility, giving you the ability you to remove them if you want to create an open shelf area. At the bottom of the entertainment center, you can have a drawer or cabinets that will give you more discreet storage space.

Next, consider what wood type and finish/color you would like for the structure. This is when you would decide if you want to paint it a specific color or if you would like it stained. For example, the dark walnut finish would create a dark brown wood that would look perfect in shabby chic, rustic, or transitional design styles.

Perhaps you’ve dreamed of a white barn door entertainment center to complement your modern farmhouse. You can also use reclaimed wood to can create a beautiful rustic barn door entertainment center.
Knowing what type of wood or material you’ll use for the entertainment center is important, as it will affect the barn door, finish, and barn door hardware you choose.

3. Design the Barn Door

The sliding barn door used for your entertainment center will be the staple piece. Because of this, you’ll want to make sure you pick a high-quality door that will work for your overall design.

By choosing a barn door with Rustica, you’ll be sure to find the perfect door for your sliding barn door entertainment center. Here are a few examples of interior barn doors that would look great on an entertainment center:

• Artisan Brace Sliding Barn Door—This sliding barn door offers a classic barn door design that would look impeccable with any color or finish. With alder wood, you’ll have a natural wooden look that will complement the rest of your entertainment center.
• Aztec Barn Door—If you want a unique design that stands out with elegance and flare, consider picking the Aztec Barn Door for your entertainment center. With its geometric design, it would look perfect in any modern design style home. This sliding barn door style looks amazing in white when complemented with gold barn door hardware.
• Reclaimed Panel Barnwood Door—If the rustic, reclaimed wood look is what you’re after, this door is the perfect fit. This barn door design would look exceptional in any farmhouse or classic style home.  

There are numerous sliding barn door styles to choose with Rustica. We’re confident that our diverse, high-quality selection will give you the perfect barn door for your entertainment center. You can fully customize every door to meet your preferences, including the finish, wood type, dimensions, and more. We encourage you to browse our selection of sliding barn doors to find the style that seamlessly fits your design goals.

Once you’ve chosen your sliding barn door, you’ll need to choose barn door hardware to match. All of Rustica.com’s barn door hardware is fully customizable, the track, wheels, and hanger. Many people think of the hardware as an afterthought, but it’s important to carefully think through each detail as you design your barn door, as the hardware is what pulls the overall look together.  

4. Hire a Contractor or Build Yourself

Once you have all the information you need for your barn door entertainment center, such as the dimensions, layout, and barn door, you’re ready to bring your design into reality. There are two ways you could go about this; build it yourself or hire a contractor. Like most decisions in life, there are pros and cons to both.

Hiring a contractor will be more expensive than building it yourself, but the benefit of hiring a professional is that they know exactly what they’re doing. Going this route will ensure quality work and a barn door entertainment center that’s built to last. If pocket holes, screws, wood glue, and plywood are things you’re only vaguely familiar with, you’ll probably want to hire a contractor.

If you’re a handyman, building an entertainment center yourself shouldn’t be too difficult a task. Many homemakers and DIYers have successfully built barn door entertainment centers, and there are many guides and videos online that outline the process.  

Designing Your Barn Door Entertainment Center with Rustica

While it may seem like a lot of work to design a sliding barn door entertainment center, the end result will be more than worth it! You’ll finally be able to have the living room you’ve always dreamed of, complete with the perfect barn door entertainment center and aesthetically pleasing furniture and decor. It will be picture perfect!

There’s no doubt that the barn doors are the most important element of your entertainment center. These doors will be frequently used, so they’ll need to be high-quality and long-lasting. With these expectations, you’ll want to source your barn doors from a place you can trust.

At Rustica, we pride ourselves on the quality of our sliding barn doors. We guarantee you’ll be satisfied with any door you choose through us. We’ll provide you with all the information you need on how to properly install the barn door hardware, as well as how to correctly place the door on the track and hangers. And, if you need additional information, our customer care team is just a phone call away to help!