How to Make a Barn Quilt Door
Have you seen wood squares painted with geometrical shapes that look like a single quilt block? They are usually seen hanging on a barn. They are called barn quilts. Learn how to make a barn quilt door with this step by step tutorial.

Old door without glass
Our garage has an old white door.
I’ve always loved the door because of the old look it has with the white paint peeling off. It’s one of my favorite spots to take photos, it makes a great background.
A few years ago, the door was open and a gust of wind made it close rapidly and broke the top glass pane.
To fix it temporarily, my husband replaced the glass pane with a piece of plywood.
Guess what happened the following year?
The same thing to the bottom glass. It broke because of the wind.
You would think we would have learned to keep the door open with something heavy. Oh well.
For the last few years the door has not had any glass, just plywood.

We could have replaced the door, but as I said I like it. We could not replace the glass though because the door is so old that glass would just break again.
I kept telling my husband I would paint the plywood to at least match the color of the door.
Time kept going and I just would work on other projects instead, oups!
Then one day we were driving in Vermont and I was admiring the barn quilts on the barns.
I told my husband, how some day I’d like one for our home. I told him they look so fun to make and we always have plywood at home, I should try and make one.
Then an idea struck me!
Why not make two barn quilts to replace the glass in the garage door!
Perfect project for this month’s At DIY Challenge which is Make it Pretty Outdoors.
I’m participating in a year long DIY challenge with great DIY bloggers. Every month we have a new challenge. Last month’s was the DIY Home Improvement Challenge, I showed how to paint kitchen cabinets. At the bottom of this post you’ll find a bunch of DIY Home Improvement projects.

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How to make a barn quilt door
Supplies:
- Plywood
- Paint (4 colors)
- Base color: Soft Focus T18-09 from BEHR
- Other colors: Pistachio MQ4-42, Semi-Precious MQ6-6, Road Less-Travelled T18-07 all from BEHR
- Paint brush or foam brush
- Painters tape
- Ruler
- Pencil
- Eraser
- Sealer
- I used Varathane Diamond Wood Finish in Satin – Outdoor in aerosol
Step 1: We removed the plywood from the the door and painted them in the color Soft Focus.
We like using BEHR Marquee because it has a primer inside.
We applied two coats waiting 2 hours in between the coats.

The plywood was in good condition because we had replaced it recently. Had it been old weathered plywood, I would probably have replaced it with new plywood or applied good primer first.
Step 2: Once the paint was dry, we inserted the pieces of painted plywood back in their location in the door.
Using a pencil, I traced the openings on the pieces of plywood.


Step 3: I used painter’s tape to tape off the exterior edges of the plywood. I did this to make sure the barn quilt design was within that area.
Then I added more tape to make the area square (the holes in the door look square but they aren’t quite).

How to transfer barn quilt pattern onto plywood
Step 4: I found a giant block I liked and used that as the pattern for the barn quilts.
I used Adobe Photoshop to play around with colors I liked, to give me a visual.
You’ll notice that I used colors from the cushions I have on my back porch. I shared a sneak peek at the colors last year on my Instagram feed.

Step 4: Using a ruler and pencil, I drew the pattern onto the pieces of plywood.
It was a question of drawing lines from one end of the plywood to the other creating squares.
Once the squares were on the plywood it was easy to make the triangles, by joining corners with the ruler.



Step 5: I erased all the unnecessary lines.

How to paint a barn quilt
Step 6: Using painters tape, I contoured the triangles that would be Pistachio on one of the plywood pieces.
I used Frog Tape because I really like the way it keeps lines crisp by preventing paint bleeds.

Don’t go crazy with taping too many shapes at once because you may just accidently make a shape smaller, not realizing that the tape creates a border.
Step 7: I contoured the middle diamond on the other piece of plywood that would be painted Pistachio.
Step 8: I painted the triangles and diamond that I had contoured with painters tape in Pistachio using a foam brush.


Step 9: After waiting 2 hours for the paint to dry, I proceeded to give a second coat of paint.
Step 10: As soon at the second coat of paint was applied, I removed the painters tape.
I prefer removing painters tape while the paint is still wet.

Step 11: After waiting 4 hours, I repeated steps 6 to 10 I kept painting the rest of the pattern on the pieces of plywood switching from Pistachio to Semi-Precious.
Please note: I waited 2 hours to apply second coat. I waited 4 hours before proceeding to the next color because I wanted to make sure the painters tape wasn’t applied over drying paint (I didn’t want the paint underneath to peel off as I removed the tape.



Don’t they already look great?


Step 12: I taped the contours of the 4 small diamonds on both pieces of plywood.

Step 13: Time to paint the small diamonds in the color Road Less-Travelled.
A little tip, start by applying a thin coat of paint around the inside edge of the painters tape, it helps to seal the edge even more, preventing paint from bleeding through.


TIP: If you encounter any paint bleeds, use a small paint brush to touch up the paint.
Step 14: I applied a second coat of Road Less-Travelled after 2 hours and removed the tape immediately.
Step 15: Let the barn quilts cure for 48 hours.
Step 16: Erase any visible pencil marks.

Step 17: I sprayed an outdoor water based sealer on the barn quilts, to help protect them.
I used aerosol varathane and applied 4 coats as per the instruction on the can.


Atttaching barn quilts to a door
Step 18: Time to install the barn quilts in the door!
We placed them in the holes where the glass was.
We nailed wood moulding in the back of the door to secure them into place.
Shout out to my helper, Gabrielle! She helped me with the whole project.


Here is the barn quilt door fully installed!
Barn Quilt Door

Doesn’t it look awesome?!
I have no idea why I didn’t do this before! hehe So much prettier than plywood, right?!
Want to see what the barn quilts look like hung on a barn or a garage with weathered wood?
Barn Quilt on barn


They look really great on a barn. This is not in fact a barn, but my parents’ garage. hehe Looks so good I should make some for them.



P.S. If you loved this project, please PIN IT and share it! Thank you so much!
So what do you think of the barn quilt door?
I’m loving it so much!
I love that it’s pretty and that it didn’t take long to make, even though I started the project last summer with my daughter and just completed it now. hehe OUPS! As I mentioned above, sometimes I have too many projects on the go.
I also made a 3D Barn Quilt if ever you’d like to see it!
Oh and if you like door projects, I bet you’ll love my DIY Screen Door!
Have a FABULOUS day!
Christine
I never would have thought of this and it is totally sooo cool! Thank you for inspiring me!
Awww thanks Christine!! :)
From the idea to the pattern to the colors, your barn quilt is simply amazing! Very impressive and so pretty. What a clever way to incorporate your barn quilt art to your own space! LOVE IT!
So happy you like it Meegan!! I’m loving it so much!
What a fun way to update a door and make it a focal statement! I love how your tutorial shows that Frog tape is a great choice in keeping paint lines crisp.
Thanks Megan!! I agree, such a focal statement. :)
such a cute little door!
Thanks so much Carmen!
Love the colors and the transformation! I’ve featured it at this week’s Craftastic Monday Link Party. Thanks for sharing it there!
This is lovely! A real personal touch for your home – it turned out great!
Looks stunning, Pinned.
What a fun project Christine… that’s really taking quilting to the next level. Love it!
Thank you for sharing this project at Create, Bake, Grow & Gather this week. I’m delighted to be featuring it at tonight’s party and pinning too.
Hugs,
Kerryanne
What an outstanding project! That door is to DIE for! I loved it as just a door too but the quilt takes it over the top!
I’ve featured this beauty in this weekend’s DIY Salvaged Junk Projects 510. Thanks for bringing it over!
Wow! I really Love this! The colors are Beautiful & that door…❤️