in the photo the gap looks large and it would bother me as well. I like barn doors, but either a single or two where each has its own wall space to rest open on.

If there's no solution to the gap issue, I'd prefer something else.

Could you just have regular double doors that open out. I'd prefer that over the bifold and barn doors in this situation.

That’s kind of what I’m thinking, he can retrofit the two doors that are there now into regular hinged doors or something like that. Might be a cleaner look too. Thank you!

You might consider nicer / solid bifolds or hinged doors.

There's something wrong here.... Those wheels are colossal, way too large. Plus, you have 2 tracks, instead of having the doors meet in the middle: that's why the door is so far from the frame. The doors overlap. So, they must be the wrong size for the frame? I'm not sure what those vertical metal things are, either, that go up to the ceiling?

Why can't you have regular doors that pull out? I have a pair about that size, and they click closed, and meet in the middle.

I am not disparaging barn doors at all. I'm looking at my own (I love it), as I'm evaluating the job someone did on yours. My hardware is much smaller, and my door is much bigger.

Agree with the other comments. I think the hardware is too big. And maybe barn doors aren't quite right for such a small wall. I love your wall color though. What is it?

Honest opinion: no, they’re not an improvement. The hardware choice is bad, the doors don’t cover the opening, they look heavy and hard to manage, and IMO barn doors belong in barns.

MAYBE one door would have worked? I agree with the hardware being too in your face, it appears you have more door than closet, the banging and swinging is just too informal for an entry way.

I'm jumping on the "not an improvement" wagon. Way too heavy hardware.

Also, from your railing in the background it looks like your house is leaning more modern and barn doors do not read modern to me

Barn doors are a fad. Done wrong, they look awful. Done right, they take up too much space. Closet doors are meant to keep the interior free of dust. Your hardware is gigantic for two small doors. Take the doors and hardware down and put two normal doors which seal the closet from dust, dirt and the family cat.

The barn doors themselves look fine. The hardware above is just way too big and is distracting. Also, the gap between the door and the opening of the closet is way too big. Perhaps a set of double doors would be better.

I have a similar pantry situation - hinged doors covering a wall that has no “give” on either side. These situations do not work for barn doors. The “ideal” is a barn door(s) arrangement on a long wall where it slides away completely. You need hinged doors to keep the profile low. My pantry is in the main walkway from the kitchen through the laundry room and the hinged doors are a pain but seem to be the only solution. I’ve gone through every idea in my head, and barn doors don’t answer this problem. How about hinged doors that have frosted glass? Or something interesting about the paneling? I am constantly searching for antique doors that can be put n my closet but sizing becomes a challenge.

We had the same issue with this basement DYI project! We chose barn doors specifically for airflow. Very easy fix for the gap was adding a trim board as shown here:

Some adjustments need to be made. I, for one, like my barn doors because they allow for more room in my laundry/pantry and closet.

Thank you all! Thalia B., my wall color is Balboa Mist in Matte, it's a benjamin moore color. I love it.

There is always a gap when doing the bypass doors. This one does seem a bit excessive. The hardware is way to bulky. I have started seeing alot of people doing the barn door look on the inside of the opening - just like sliding closet doors look - not sure what hardware they are using to do this, but it looks nice

good luck

For really good sliding or bi-fold door hardware, I recommend Johnson Hardware. It's very good quality, easy to install, and unobtrusive. Some years ago, I installed a single sliding "barn door" using their hardware; I painted the metal housing white to match the door and trim and put a door guide on the floor to guide the door as it moves. For that particular application, it worked out very well.

https://www.johnsonhardware.com/

are Pocket doors an option here? The barn doors are worse than the original louvered bifold

Okay, wanted to follow up on this post. I took down the barn doors and made these new ones myself. What do you think, better?

Much better!

yeppers. way better. nice job!

I like your solution!

Nice job! Looks great. If you need a door guide at the bottom center, you can make an unobtrusive door guide out of a piece of wood, cut or dadoed to make "slots" for the doors, painted to match the doors and then affixed to your wood floor with a thin Command strip. Better than screwing a commercial door guide into your lovely wood floors. Also, if the upper rail is metal and can be painted to match the trim or doors, it would look even better.

Perfect!

Honest opinion- the gap kills it. I do like the doors more than what they replaced, but I also don’t think they do that much for the space. Ans, the gap, to me, makes it look cheap

Looks great!!