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DIY for Homeowners

Little Barn Door for Home Security

3/31/2016

25 Comments

 
text by Vicki     Sign up here to join our weekly email newsletter! 
In the news lately there have been reports of people putting cameras on the outside of peepholes to see into your house/apartment/hotel room. I (Steph) started thinking about the peephole in my front door and possible ways of covering it when not in use. 

After much thought, I came up with a DIY solution that is cute, functional, removable, and adds a little more security to my home. Mom helped bring the idea into reality and had most of the materials we used in her craft stash! Watch the video above to see it come together.
Barn Door for Peephole. MotherDaughterProjects.com
Materials:
  • (9) Large popsicle sticks
  • ​Craft Glue 
  • ​Thick Metal Hanger
  • Duct tape
  • Scissors
  • Rubber door stop
  • Sugru Moldable Glue (pick a color that would compliment your door)
  • Wood stain
  • Gloves (when staining or handling sugru)
  • (2) Lego gray half pin with stud
  • (2) Lego black tile 1x4
  • (2) Lego black wheel spoked small (these are apparently retired pieces now but you can still find them online for sale or just use a different wheel)​
  • Optional: Two thin magnets (if you need to secure it to the door more, two magnets taped or glued to the back will keep it in place)
Barn Door for Peephole. MotherDaughterProjects.com
We started with five large popsicle sticks. We made a guide to hold the sticks while we duct taped them together.
Barn Door for Peephole. MotherDaughterProjects.com
We measured and cut the sticks to cover the bottom and top.
Barn Door for Peephole. MotherDaughterProjects.com
We easily cut through the sticks with scissors.
Barn Door for Peephole. MotherDaughterProjects.com
We sanded the edges a little bit and glued the sticks in place.
Barn Door for Peephole. MotherDaughterProjects.com
To make the X pattern on the door, we measured and cut the sticks again.
Barn Door for Peephole. MotherDaughterProjects.com
It took a few tries to get the right cut on the sticks, but we had plenty of extra sticks to practice with.
Barn Door for Peephole. MotherDaughterProjects.com
The handle is the rubber end of a door stop. This was something that we had available but get creative with this.
Barn Door for Peephole. MotherDaughterProjects.com
I dipped the door stop in the same stain we used for the door so it would look cohesive.
sugru
Barn Door for Peephole. MotherDaughterProjects.com
Before we glued the X in place, we stained the door and X-pattern. We used a dark stain we already had from another project.
Barn Door for Peephole. MotherDaughterProjects.com
After the stain dried, we glued the X in place.
Barn Door for Peephole. MotherDaughterProjects.com
Next we headed to the front door to figure out the placement of everything. We use tin snips to cut a straight piece of metal from an old coat hanger.
Barn Door for Peephole. MotherDaughterProjects.com
To make the barn door move, we used six Lego pieces. I have a large Lego collection so this came from my personal stash. If you're not into Legos, you can probably do this with small wheels from the hardware store.
Barn Door for Peephole. MotherDaughterProjects.com
We added a half pin to a wheel, and attached a 1 x4 tile to that. The wheel rolls very smoothly.
Barn Door for Peephole. MotherDaughterProjects.com
We have been wanting to try out Sugru. It's a product that is designed to stick and mold to many things and can be removed. We thought it would be great for this project.
Barn Door for Peephole. MotherDaughterProjects.com
We used it to attach the handle in place. We used a toothpick to remove the excess Sugru.
Barn Door for Peephole. MotherDaughterProjects.com
We also used it to attach the wheels to the barn door.
Barn Door for Peephole. MotherDaughterProjects.com
Barn Door for Peephole. MotherDaughterProjects.com
We headed back to the front door and use the Sugru to attach the metal bar to the door.
Barn Door for Peephole. MotherDaughterProjects.com
Sugru takes 24 hours to cure so I placed a piece of duct tape on the metal bar to keep it in place.
Barn Door for Peephole. MotherDaughterProjects.com
And here it is...a little barn door for my front door peephole! 

I don't use my front door that much and I don't have kids so I decided just having it hang by the wheels was secure enough for my needs. But with different doors/lots of slamming you might need to secure yours in a different way. Adding a few magnets (for metal front doors) might do the trick!

What other ideas do you have for peephole safety? Leave ideas in the comments below!

Please note: We are not sponsored by any of the companies/products that we used. These products were picked and bought by us.

FYI: We are not professionals, and we don’t claim to be. This is what we found worked for our project. Yours may need a little different approach. Safety first!

FYI: Amazon affiliate links are being used on this page.
sugru

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25 Comments
Teq
4/3/2016 10:17:47 am

I have covered my peephole with round magnets for years. I use magnets because they are in my craft stash and I am to lazy to come up with what you did and to lazy to do the project. but I think I like your idea better than mine.

Reply
Steph
4/3/2016 04:57:28 pm

thanks!

Reply
Teq
4/3/2016 05:17:15 pm

because of your idea more people are going to be coming up with their own ideas to cover up their peepholes. Good job and keep them coming.

Reply
Steph
4/3/2016 09:53:42 pm

Yes, I hope so! Thanks

Reply
Carol
4/4/2016 11:25:19 am

Sewing bobbins would work for the wheels

Reply
Steph
4/4/2016 11:50:30 am

Yes, we thought about that too. Good idea!

Reply
Sadie Seasongoods link
4/6/2016 07:59:51 am

SERIOUSLY? Cutest thing ever...would LOVE it if you'd link up to Talk of the Town. :) http://www.sadieseasongoods.com/talk-town-link-party-14/

Reply
Vicki Kubiak
4/6/2016 11:15:23 pm

Thanks for the invitation and kind words. I've posted our tiny little barn door to "Talk of the Town."

Reply
Angie @ Knick of Time link
4/7/2016 01:57:24 am

This is seriously the most insanely adorable project!

Thanks for sharing it at Talk of the Town @ Knick of Time!

I'm giving you a shout-out on Facebook and pinned it to the party board! :)

Reply
Vicki@MotherDaughterProjects
4/7/2016 06:42:07 am

*Blush* Thank you for your support!

Reply
Betsy link
4/9/2016 11:10:36 am

This is SO darn cute and clever. Sharing and pinning. Thanks so much for sharing with us at Talk of the Town.

Reply
Jansi
4/10/2016 05:20:17 pm

I absolutely love this! Very clever, really adorable, and, of course, useful. I, however, am going to make one for use as a fairy door in my hallway. That where the fairies enter and exit my home. I would love to have it done before my granddaughter comes. :)

Reply
Steph
4/10/2016 05:37:56 pm

Thanks Jansi. A fairy door is a great idea and I think your granddaughter will love it!

Reply
Marie, The Interior Frugalista link
4/13/2016 10:02:39 am

Visiting from the Talk Of The Town Party - that is the best peep hole cover EVER! Pinning to share ☺

Reply
Steph
4/13/2016 02:49:27 pm

Thanks so much Marie!

Reply
MimiG2002
4/13/2016 06:16:44 pm

Perfect. I really love your creativity..
Just found your blog, but will definitely be back!

Reply
Steph
4/13/2016 10:24:35 pm

Thanks Mimi. So happy you found our site! Feel free to sign up for our email list to get all our project updates (link at top of post).

Reply
Ashley
4/19/2016 08:23:54 pm

Can you give me more information on the Lego pieces? So I can order, or maybe other options?

Reply
Steph
4/20/2016 09:03:50 am

Hi Ashley, if you look at the materials list at the top there are links to a website you can buy the Lego pieces. Another thought we had but did not try was using a sewing bobbin for the wheel and putting a bolt and nut through it so it would still roll. We went with the lego idea so we did not fully think through the bobbin idea.

Reply
Theresa
10/4/2016 12:45:12 pm

OMG!! This is the cute thing ever ever ever!!! Been wanting a barn door but can't figure out how to make one wide enough for my opening so I will settle for this on my front door. I love everything in miniature. Question - I'm not understanding how the half pin connects with the 1x4 tile because the tile looks smooth on both sides. Do they have a place that the half pin snaps into? Thank you for posting this. Too damn cute!!!! Someone said they were making a fairy door THAT's a really cute idea too!

Reply
Steph
10/4/2016 01:35:03 pm

Hi Theresa! We are so happy you like the project! One side of the 1x4 tile is smooth but the other side has groves to attach to a lego brick or other components. The half pin just snaps into places really easily. If you google "lego 1x4 tile" you should see a bunch of images of both sides. Hope that helps!

Reply
Don
3/28/2018 04:47:23 pm

Gotta say, your peep-hole project made me smile. I've been wanting a justification to make a rolling barn door but, none of my door ways will allow the movement.
I going to get a peep hole just to do this!!!
Thanks for sharing!

Reply
Steph
3/29/2018 09:43:59 am

Awesome Don! Glad you like the idea :)

Reply
Dian
5/5/2018 08:10:25 am

If this is totally your idea no one else's you should really think about selling this idea to somebody that will make you some money don't let someone else steal this idea from you

Reply
Jonah Perry link
1/15/2021 10:29:45 am

Great bloog you have

Reply



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