How To Build a Sliding Barn Door Entertainment Center For Your Man Cave
Wow! Check out this sliding barn door entertainment center! It will hold it all: games, game systems, DVDs, smart devices, cable boxes, you name it!
Need more man cave ideas? Check out our Modern Man Cave mood board, How to Add Storage to a Manly Space, and 25 Bedrooms for Teen Boys.
By Leanne from Diva of DIY built in her Lake House Fixer Upper.
When we remodeled our lake house, we wanted to incorporate a game room/man cave into the floor plan. My teenage boys love gaming with their friends and my husband loves sports. Having a room with multiple televisions fell high on our wish list! I ran across a plan for Ana White’s Grandy Sliding Door Console. Even though her plan didn’t fit my space, it gave me enough confidence to tackle a modified version on my own.
Build your own farmhouse TV console following this woodworking plan.
How To Build A Sliding Barn Door Entertainment Center: The Supplies
This supply list is for one console. The finished pictures are with 3 consoles. This post contains affiliate links. You can read our full disclosure here.
- 2 – 1×8 @ 8 feet long
- 2 – 1×10 @ 8 feet long
- 1 sheet of 1/4″ thick PureBond plywood (for doors)*
- 1 sheet of 3/4″ thick PureBond plywood (for sides)
- 3- 1×3 @ 8 feet long (for door trim if using this design)
- 2 – 1×2 @ 8 feet long
- 4 – 1×4 @ 8 feet long
- 8 – 2×3 @ 8 feet long
- Hardware for sliding doors (see our Remodelaholic picks for budget-friendly sliding door hardware here)
- 2 1/2″ screws
- 1″ finish nails
- Wood Glue
- Wood Filler
- Paint or Stain
How To Build A Sliding Barn Door Entertainment Center: The Cut List
Frame
- 4 – 2×3 @ 84″
- 4 – 2×3 @ 17″
- 4 – 2×3 @ 14″
Sides
- 2 – 3/4″ thick plywood cut 36″ x 17-1/4″
Face Frame
- 5 – 1×4 @ 36″
- 8 – 1×4 @ 17-3/4″
Shelves
- 2 – 1×8 @ 87″
- 2 – 1×10 @ 87″
Middle Shelf Supports and Cleats
- 5 – 1×2 @ 14″
- 5 – 1×2 @ 17″
Bottom Trim
- 1 – 2×3 @ 90″
- 2 – 2×3 @ 18-3/4″
Top
- 2 – 2×10 @ 91″
Doors
- 2- 1/4″ thick plywood cut 20″ x 30″
- 4- 1×3 @ 30″
- 2- 1×3 @ 15″
- 1- 1×3 @ 29 1/4″ from corner to corner cut at an angle of 28 degrees
How To Build A Sliding Barn Door Entertainment Center: The Process
Step 1) Build The Frame
The frames are pretty self-explanatory but I have included a finished picture as well as a detailed diagram. I made 3 separate consoles so that is why you see 6 of these frames.
Step 2) Add The Sides
Attach the 3/4″ plywood by first applying a bead of wood glue around the edge of the plywood and secure using 2 1/2″ screws. Repeat with each section.
Step 3) Attach to the wall.
I apologize but I forgot to take a picture of the frame installed before face frame, shelves and cleats were installed but I have included a diagram below to give you the measurements.
I installed tongue and groove car-siding for texture which shows through the open back side. Another great idea would be to paint a contrasting paint color or add a fun wallpaper on the wall behind the console.
Step 4) Add The Face Frame
Step 5) Add cleats and shelves
Step 6) Add top boards.
Don’t attach at this point because it will make it more difficult to paint or stain them.
Step 7) Stain or paint frame and top
Frame and doors: Sherwin Williams SW Iron Ore (same color that Cassity used here!)
Top (Pine): Custom Minwax stain color mix of 50/50 Classic Gray/Jacobean
Step 8) Make Doors
You could also make traditional shaker cabinet doors following this tutorial here.
Rip plywood to 20″ x 30″ panels (or size of opening). With nail gun, attach the two 30″ trim boards to the plywood panel.
Double check your measurement and cut the remaining trim boards to finish the door panel. Attach with nail gun.
To create the diagonal design displayed on my entertainment center, your board will be 29 1/4″ long from corner to corner with an angle of 28 degrees. Again, attach with nail gun.
Stain or paint doors (or both!). I painted mine Sherwin Williams Iron Ore to match the frame. (This is the same color Cassity painted her interior doors and colorwashed her barn door here to add color while still showing the wood grain.)
Step 9) Hang Doors
I followed the instructions included with my sliding door hardware. See our Remodelaholic picks for budget-friendly sliding door hardware here.
Step 10) Attach top boards to the frame
That is it! Not too bad for an entire sliding barn door entertainment center, right? Now it’s time for the fun part…the accessories.
I chose chunky baskets, old trunks and metal containers to accessorize our man cave opening shelving. They add extra storage while keeping a masculine feel.
I am so happy with the way my sliding barn door entertainment center turned out. All of the game systems and cable boxes are hidden behind the barn doors when not in use, but the doors easily slide open to give access when needed. The extra storage is perfect for all of the PS4/XBox games and our DVDs and I even have a basket for remote controls. Life is good for all of us!
Each and every one of you inspire me and I LOVE to see the work that you’ve created. Feel free to share with me on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook. And as always, be sure to follow Diva Of DIY on Pinterest and sign up for our FREE Newsletter to receive the latest projects delivered straight to your inbox! – Leanne
And follow along with Remodelaholic, too, on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest.
More from Remodelaholic:
DIY and budget-friendly sliding barn door hardware
how to build a farmhouse console
how to build a double X console table
how to easily and inexpensively stain wood any color
how to build a split Dutch barn door
Originally published 08.26.2017 // Updated 03.25.2020
Hi! I’m Leanne Lee a.k.a. “The Diva of DIY”. I am a female contractor, wife and mom to 3 teenage boys. By day I run a successful home renovation business, Rekindled Spaces, that specializes in breathing new life into existing spaces. By night I blog about projects to help you transform the house that you have into the home you love. Why not grab your favorite beverage and head on over to my blog I'm pretty sure you will find projects here to inspire you to fall in love with your home again. XOXO, Leanne
Leanne did a great job on this project!! I love the additional storage the console provides without taking up a lot of room in the space. I also love the color she chose. It’s perfect for a man cave. I recently got a new paint sprayer and I can’t wait to start using it on projects like this.
Thank you sooooo much. I am obsessed with my paint sprayer so let me know how you like it.
Leanne
This looks absolutely awesome!! The design and color will be perfect for out basement. What is the final length of one console? I see the frame is 84″, but the top is cut at 91″. It looks like the rest of the dimensions are 36″ H x 17″ D. Fantastic work!
Hi! I put 3 separate consoles together so my total entertainment center length is 22.75 lf (that is the top). The frame length is 7′ x 3 consoles = 21 lf leaving a small overhang.
If you are only making one console, the total length would be 91″ which is the top length with a 84 inch frame so it will have a bigger overhang.
Perfection!! I will definitely be following you from now on. Great work!
Thank you so much!
Leanne
Do you have the step by step pictures sliding door console? My husband thought he had seen them before and now that he is working on the project he can’t find them.
Hi Amy,
All the photos are in the post or there are some additional video steps shown in the video as well. Let me know if those photos aren’t showing for you and we’ll figure out why! 🙂
I didn’t see anywhere on your materials list the Top boards .
Is there a build plan for this? I’ve looked and can only find the one for the console without doors. I’m very new to building and need a plan ????
Hi Stephanie,
There is not currently a printable plan, but the details and information in the post can hopefully get you started! We’ll work with Leanne on a printable plan, too 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
What size barn door hardware do I need to order?