They may have a permanent place.

To my thinking they don't save as much space as a pocket door because they are still outside the wall and fully open they take up the same amount of space as a swinging door. (What they don't have is the swing space where you need the full depth of the door 90-degrees from the wall)

But, you can't really put furniture or art right on the wall where the barn door rests in it's open position.

trend...

They may be trendy, but I do think they are practical in some situations.....and if it works for you who cares if it is trendy or not?

We have a formal LR and FR separated by a center hall, but no doors anywhere. When the kids hit middle school, we turned the LR into the FR/TV room, and the FR into the "computer room"...bringing the computer up from the basement so I could keep a closer eye on things.

Kids are grown and now we have two family rooms since DH and I often like to watch different tv shows. We had planned to put up " barn" doors so there wouldn't be dueling tv noise, but DH decided to wear headphones instead....at least for now. We really can't do swinging doors, so barn doors are the perfect solution and if DH ever decides he's tired of headphones we will install them.

I think they currently have trend status but will be an enduring one. They are too expensive to change out quickly by most people which is good because they will never be a ubiquitous trend. They are part of the rustic/refined and industrial chic eclectic esthetic which will continue as it opposes but can blend with the strictly traditional style.

JMO and I like them.

Another thread on the subject with pics.

Here is a link that might be useful: barn doors

On the upside, since they are not common in the real world, only the houzz followers will realize your doors were once a trend when the fad passes. ;-)

We have one of those stupid CA designs where the master vanity area is open to the MB. My husband used to get up at 5:30am to go to work. I told him we needed a pocket door that would run on a track along the bedroom wall. He told me there was no such thing. He put in ugly bi-fold doors. Now I know better.

Our dining room and kitchen are separated by an interior door. It looks stupid, too. We cannot remove it because the DR light shines into the eyes of people watching TV in the den when the door is not closed. I want to install a barn/track door there. He wants to wait until we remodel that area. My fear is that they will be difficult to locate for purchase then.

So I agree they are probably trendy. But it depends upon why you want one if they are worth it--just because they would look cool, or because they are the best solution to a problem.

They are too useful to become totally obsolete, and easier to retrofit than a pocket door.

Fad, not trend. Trend has the potential to become long-term classic, where as fad is a flash in the pan. JMHO and I am usually wrong. ;-)

I have a setup like Gyrfalcon. In my house of slider door there are sliders where there shouldnâÂÂt be and no door where there should. We have gone back and forth over having a track door along the crazy large open vanity area. The problem is the lack of wall space to hang art since the back end and part of a side has those darn sliders to the outdoors. So, IâÂÂm thinking if I get a solid door for the track IâÂÂll hang art on that. Stupid idea!?

I think they are trendy but I certainly hope they endure. The entry to our library is immediately off of our kitchen and breakfast area. We don't have enough space to put French doors in and a track door would be perfect. I don't want an industrial or rustic look so we haven't pursued installing them but a pretty classic door on a track would be lovely imo.

They seem to be practical and you aren't going to find them in Home Goods any time soon. Highly stylized doors and hardware that are forced into a space won't endure but that applies to any decor choice.

Thank you so much for your thoughts. Here's my situation. I'm finishing my basement which is attached to my garage (I live in Iowa where garages are frequently 'tucked under' the house).

The door from the garage will go into a hallway which will, to the right lead to a storage room and already existing stairway and on the left will be a family room.

I'm thinking that I might want the family room to have the option of being open instead of closed off, but I do want the option of having it be closed. Hence, the thought of a large track door (I'd have it be white and modern looking and able to have art on it).

(the bar in the picture is not going to be there ��" can't afford the plumbing ��" the closet is going to be in the family room and there'll be a long less deep closet on the right along the wall just entering the basement)

This post was edited by Phronesis on Mon, Mar 17, 14 at 13:20

Code will likely dictate a fire barrier door between the garage and living space. Carbon Monoxide danger as well as fire.

Our home which has some barn door openings, and it was built 36 years ago. So no - not a fad, not a trend, totally practical, and I recommend them.

jterrilynn, Art on the door is not a stupid idea, because that is what I planned to do in the dining room too! :) Of course, only if the piece and door ended up looking right together at the time. But yeah, that is what I envision.

These doors seem to be very trendy now, but I think they have their purpose and will be around for awhile. At least in homes that were not built with pocket doors.
We have a pocket door in our half bath, by my insistence when in the building stages. I can't imagine having any other kind of door there and wish I'd have installed them many other places throughout the house. We are strongly thinking of adding a barn style door to the master bath instead of a swinging door. We have already added a screen barn style door at the turn of our hallway to keep the cats from our son and grandson's rooms.
That being said, with your set up (and the changes you noted) I personally wouldn't want a barn style door.

Just my 2 cents, but in the right style of house I feel they'll prevail and won't be considered a fad. If something 'fits' a house, I think it can last forever , and look as though it belongs. Case in point, Allison's home comes to mind. If you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about.

Where people have placed them simply because they are cool and "in," they'll eventually looked silly. But in homes where the location, architecture and decor support that choice, they will continue to be a wonderful and appropriate statement door. I'm thinking barn conversions, old (and new, I guess) farmhouses, in more casual areas of country estates, etc.

All track doors aren't "barn doors". I don't think they are a trend. I agree with Pattycakes. I think it depends on the house and if they "fit", they could be timeless.

Thank you Sassafras for weighing in. Would love to see your home.

I've seen the track doors in several renovated lofts in the "old city" area in the city where I work. I've also seen them in some more industrial type decor in that area.

tina

I'm with you too Patty.
I think if done right, they can fit in any home though. The industrial look we're seeing in a variety of styles of homes right now, in my opinion, is the part that is more likely to be just a passing fad. Those that fit the bones of the home in the style of the door and how they were installed (with the hardware covered by a cornice that matches the woodwork in the home) could last as long as the house does.

I know I am late to the party but the doors shown in the immediate pictures above are perfect for what I have in mind for my walk in closet.

We are considering one for our master bath - presently it has a regular swing door which swings in and to the right, which used to bash into the tub. We are replacing the tub with a glass shower, and still don't want the door hitting against the shower. The plumbing is in the wall to the right of the door and electrical outlets and switches to the left which is also too shallow to accommodate the door.. Putting a pocket door in would require major plumbing and electrical rework which we don't want to do.

So our options seem to be: bifold door - doesn't seem great for a bathroom even if we do leave this door open most of the time or barn door. The barn door would take up wall space in our master and look strange since that's about the only free wall space for our dresser. It would have been a good option if the room was laid out differently! So bifold door is probably our only option :(

Tmnca -- I am putting one in my master bedroom, for the closet. I plan to put my dresser against that wall - just out a couple extra inches or so, so that the door can slide behind the dresser when open. Could you consider the same?

I really like them. We stayed in a guest cottage on a ranch a few years ago, it had a track door to separate the shower/toilet area from the rest of the bathroom. A door there would have been awkward, the sliding door was a great use of space. Pic from website:

It fit in well with the style of the cottage:

They should be left on the barn.

I think they are a fad, which disappoints me, because we had planned on one many years ago, before they were 'cool'. It works well for the space on our powder room, and the fact that we used a vintage door that matches the other doors in the house, and used vintage hardware makes it a bit more special. I guess not many people see them, though, because it is one of the biggest draws when people see our new house. As for taking up wall space; one thing I considered was putting recesses in the wall so that art could still be hung there. I didn't bother, though, because the powder room door is usually open.

We also employed a swinging door in the house, which you don't see all that often anymore. It's funny how many I see in old TV shows and movies, though.