DIY Sliding Door Console Table and Barn Door Hardware Tutorial

When we moved into our house 8 years ago, we didn't have much. Not even a TV. So, one of our first purchases for the house was our TV and the entertainment center pictured below:

This served it's purpose, but time took a toll on it and my tastes changed. I began despising it after cleaning it and the veneer continually ripping. Plus, it showed dust like no other which drove me nuts. I'm not sure what took me so long to make a new entertainment console for this space, but it was worth the wait :) I love how this new one turned out!

 I had a couple of requirements. It had to fit perfectly into our little alcove; almost so it would look like a builtin. It also had to have 3 shelves and be high enough that if my kids put food on it, our dog couldn't reach it with his mouth :)

I found the perfect plans from Ana White and modified them to fit my space and to get the three shelves I wanted. I used the Grandy Sliding Door Console Table plans found here.

 My height is 31.5" tall, depth of 18.5" and 46.5" wide. I followed the plans pretty closely, but changed out the sides for one 1x8 and one 1x10 to get the depth I needed. Plus, it saved quite a bit of money going this direction. Also, my width wasn't nearly as wide as the plans, so I just did two openings instead of three.

I also added that third shelf following the same idea in Step 5 of the plans. I did add the other support 1x2s to the back since I knew a lot of weight was going to be added to the shelves.

 I used two 1x10s for the top and sanded the heck out all of it. I made sure every corner was sanded down and not sharp at all.

 I filled each hole and the seams with some wood filler to get a smoother look.

 I then painted the entire console table white.

Now for the door and the hardware. I thought about going the Amazon route and buying some hardware there, but the smallest size I found was 6 feet and the actual door hardware was quite a bit larger than I needed. So, I decided to make my own. Here are the supplies:
1 - 1" wide flat aluminum bar. Mine is 1/4" thick. Need this to be long enough to cover the door pieces and the sliding track.
1 - 1 1/2" swivel double pulley
3 - 2 1/2" metal screws (these screws should fit through the size of drill bit you use to create your holes)
3 - 1" metal spacers (should fit over your metal screws above)
9 - 1/4" metal washers
5 - 1/4" hex nuts ( or the size that will fit over the screw size you used above)
2 - 1 1/2" metal screws (for top of door going through pulley)
4 - 1" screws (going through door)

Dremel with sander and metal cutting bit
Drill and metal drill bit

Here's the two bits that I used on my Dremel to cut through the metal. I marked with a marker where I needed it cut and then started off cutting with the metal disc cutter. Once that was done, I then used the sander bit and sanded the metal's edges so they weren't sharp.

 Next I drilled three holes in each of the door pieces. From the top and bottom, I measured 1" in. and then about 3" up from the bottom hole. The actual length of each piece is 8".

 For the sliding track, I drilled a hole into each end, 1" in and then one directly in the center.

 For the pulley, all I needed are the discs in the middle. So, I used my Dremel and the metal cutting disc to cut off the end of the center pin. I then used a chisel and hammer to try to hammer out the pin.

 My chisel was too big so I ended up using a 2 1/2" screw to finish the job with the hammer to get the pin out.

 I spray painted all the hardware a gunmetal black. I placed the spacers on the screws and then lightly screwed them into a board to make it easier.

 Here's the hardware in each hole for the sliding track. I actually didn't end up using the nuts at the end since my screws ended directly into the wood. If you have a place that that doesn't happen, you may want to use a bolt instead and finish it with the hex nut. In between the washer and the spacer is where the aluminum track is.

 For the door, this is the order I used. I actually ended up doing a second hex nut at the end since the first one kept coming off with each slide. Or you can use some lock-tight to keep this from happening.
The bottom holes were just the screws and one nut then into the metal and wood.

 As for making the door, I used a 1/4" project board from Home Depot and cut it 2" wider and higher than my opening.

 I used my Dremel Ultra Saw for the cuts, which is amazing! I got this for Christmas and just love it. I hate using my circular saw or table saw, and this is the perfect inbetween :)

 I then trimmed out the door with 1x2s and painted it white. I was actually going to do a natural wood look, but decided it looked too busy in the space.

This is was the hanging door actually looks like for reference.

 And from the top view. As you can see, the spray paint actual has worn away a little with use. I don't mind this, but some people may :)

 And here's what the whole door looks like. Yes, the door does slide off the track at the end, I haven't figured that out yet. I thought about wrapping the track around the sides to prevent this, but gave up and went the easy route.

 I just love how this brightened up the space!

 My idea for the design was to have one of the openings house the DVD player, xbox and movies and then have the other side be for decor. So, when we are here and watching TV, we can have all the ugly stuff showing :)

 But, then when we are entertaining and have guests over...or I just want it to look pretty and clean, I can slide the door over and have the decor. The bottom two boxes actually house DVDs too.

 This entire space has completely changed and I love the difference it has made! It feels so much lighter and brighter. Before, it was like a big black hole sitting on a big brown hole :)

 Now it feels like this was how it was always meant to be. I wish I had done this years ago! I felt so completely lost with this space for some reason. I couldn't wrap my mind around what to do with it.

 For the future, I'm thinking about extending this board and batten to the shelves. I can't decide if I want to go higher, like half way to my 20 foot ceilings high, or just keep it the same height. I guess I'll have to photoshop a mockup and see what looks decent :)

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