Elphaba, I'm in Houston. We have completely gutted our "new" house and are in the process of rebuilding. Throughout the house, we have installed pockets for 4 pocket doors. One of those is in the master bath. I am really excited to be getting those doors out of the way. I can share my experience. We have 3 pocket doors in our office here, and we have not had any problems. The office is on a slab, and the thermostat is only kept at a comfortable level 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. This means that it gets fairly humid in there on the weekends. The office pocket doors are rarely used, but when I do use them, they work just fine. They were installed about 3 years ago without any problems. It's true that it is humid outside, but I wouldn't think with central air that it would be any more humid than anyplace else on the inside of your house. Of course a bathroom is more humid than other rooms, but if your cabinet hardware isn't sticking or rusting, I would think that the pocket door would behave in the same way. At least that's what I'm hoping since we just installed 4!!! My vote is for the pocket door. Best of luck with your project! Enduring, that's great info on the pocket doors. Thank you for sharing. This post was edited by TXBluebonnet11 on Fri, Jun 21, 13 at 3:13

"I went to work in an office that had a pocket door that never worked right because someone had driven nails into it at some point and it was never the same after" (palimpsest) Yes. This happened to us when DH nailed the baseboard on the wall between the laundry and kitchen. The door came off track. When we renovate I will replace or remove. However, this was builder grade. On our extension I added three pocket doors. The one I had put in for the powder room is a solid core door, not thinner than most doors, as I wanted as much sound-dampening as possible with such a device. We used Johnson Hardware - not the home depot variety which runs $ 40 or so, but commercial grade. Look at the Johnson site under 1500 Commercial Grade and you will also find non-standard size frames (door max thickness 1 3/4"). Use a good carpenter.

Aside from the fact that your rough opening may be manipulated to accommodate a barn door, does the overall style of your home support this door style? Since the show Fixer Upper, I feel like there is a barn door epidemic that really does not relate well to most homes and looks strange and out of place. Aside from the function question, I think the style question also needs to be raised for your space in order to ensure your home remains cohesive as well as functional.

I'm going to say none of above (if pocket doors not an option).... I see french doors in new construction offices all the time and all I can attribute it to is "what everyone is doing" because from a practicality issue it makes no sense to me. Most people's offices are for working in and are functional and private and often times, messy! Why would people want that to be "open" to everyone? You certainly don't want your guests to see it and it is even unappealing and even stressful to look at a space covered in piles and clutter. I know everyone's office is not this way but trust me :), most are not the tidiest rooms in the house! Put solid doors that offer noise control and privacy. Also gives you other options if for some reason it needs to serve another function at any time- i.e. guest room.