Sliding Pantry Door - A before and after

I purchased this door from Philadelphia Salvage. If you are in the Philly area...I highly suggest this as a must visit on your list.  They have some of the greatest finds.  I came home with far more than this beautiful arch door that would soon become my sliding pantry door.

I always knew I wanted a sliding barn door for our newly rebuilt home.  What I didn't realize is the one I'd fall in love with would have an arch.  But, I found this old door browsing facebook one day, and immediately knew I'd turn it into a sliding pantry door!  And, a red sliding pantry door!

Once I was given the go ahead that the doorway could be turned into an archway, I started seeking out a place to purchase the hardware so we could hang the door.  This door is really heavy so I needed good sturdy hardware to make the sliding pantry door hang correctly!

I went to http://www.barndoorhardware.com/ and spoke with them directly to ensure I was ordering the right hardware. The one thing we ordered that I would never had thought of (per the rep that I spoke to) was a stay roller to keep the door from swinging.  The stay roller is fastened to the wall behind the door, the door sits between the wall and the roller.  The roller can be adjusted for width of the door.

Source http://www.barndoorhardware.com/accessories/guide-rollers/

We ordered a flat track system with the arrows.

Source http://www.barndoorhardware.com/flat-track-hardware/

Because the door is arched we had to make some adjustments to the length of the strap.  We had the guy that framed our home (Andy) cut and then weld a long piece in the middle to make the straps much longer. You would never be able to notice the adjustment he did such a great job!!

You can see here, with a little sneak peek, that the reason to make the strap longer was where the top of the door arched the original strap was too short for the long sides, and to have put it on the next panel would not have allowed for the door to hang right or safely.

And then...

We hung the door to ensure everything was right with the hardware...

Oh snap....look how sweet she looks all hung up!  I could already visualize how it would look once I painted her barn red!!! 

I began the work on the door...  This was a process in itself!  Before I even started on the door, actually before we even brought the door inside, we tested it for lead paint.  Luckily the paint was not a lead based paint.  Had this been lead based paint the process would've been much more in depth to remove & strip the paint.  It was not something I was looking forward to...thankfully I didn't have to worry about it.

Between layers of paint and the bottom of the door had wood rot.  I would deal with fixing that later. As a side note..  I knew the door had wood rot prior to purchasing.

I started sanding...and sanding...more sanding.  And, then I filled in the wood rot with Rot Stop first and then wood filler.  I think I ended up sanding and filling with more wood filler 3 or 4 times.  Since this was to be an inside door, I was not in the least concerned about the wood rot.

Once I had a good smooth surface and the majority of the paint removed (I never got to the original door, but I didn't need to) I had to decide what color I was going to paint the door.  Now let me just tell you this... I love with all my heart old barns especially red ones.  This door reminds me of just that and I so wanted to paint it red in the very beginning.

I have never stepped out of my comfort zone and gone BOLD.  Red is a statement to me.  But, then I remember reading a very long time ago that using red in decorating brings happiness.... love.  A red door means "welcome" and "protection".  

I had to put about 3 coats on each side.  The color is Barn Door Red by Glidden.  

I then used a little ebony stain and wiped around to make it look really old and distressed.  I used baby oil to move the oil around and really concentrating on the crevices.  I let it dry and cure for a day.  I then waxed it with Maison Blanche antique dark wax. 

Once completed I added the kick plate on both sides, the mailbox slot and the handles.  

And...this is my final product -

I know some people say that the handle is on the wrong side, but for our family & the way this door is set up on the inside, this was the best option.  Plus the door really is never shut.

I also didn't fill the holes because I like them & the character of the door.  I might one day do something, but right now I like it.

That is my DIY before and after in creating a really beautiful piece that for our home.  It creates a focal point in our open concept living area into our pantry.  May our home welcome you (our guest) to come in and join us, and may you feel loved and happiness as you sit with us at the dinner table or kitchen island as we chat, sip our beverage of choice and eat yummy food!

Have a fantastic day and weekend!!

~Lynn