Grandy Sliding Barn Door Console

Screw the 2x3 frames together — 2-1/2" screws (or 1-1/2" pocket holes with 2-1/2" pocket screws), glue at every joint. These are the console's entire structure and they will never be seen; the plan's words are 'don't be concerned about being perfect here,' and it's right. Strong beats pretty on this step.

Screw the project-panel sides to the frames (nails at 1-1/4"+ and glue also work), with the panels overhanging the BACK of the frames by 1/4". That reveal is the pocket the back panel disappears into later — the detail that hides every raw edge.

Lay the console on its back and arrange all the 1x4 face frame boards on the front. Glue and nail each down with 1-1/4" brads — or pre-build the face frame with pocket holes and attach it as a unit, the cleaner path if you have the jig.

Lay the bottom shelf boards on the lower frame and glue and nail down. Gaps between boards are fine; the shelf must NOT extend past the back frame — the sides' 1/4" overhang owns that space.

Nail and glue the 1x2 cleats to the insides at the middle-shelf height — these carry the shelf you build next. Level them against each other, not just the tape.

Assemble the middle shelf by attaching its boards to the shelf cleats with 1-1/4" brads and glue — a center gap is fine — then place it in the console and fasten from the outsides to lock it in.

Rip the 1/4" ply into strips and nail them on one at a time for the planked look — the visible texture through the open bays is worth the extra half hour. (A whole sheet works too.) 3/4" brads are ideal; 1-1/4" is fine.

Miter the 1x2 base trim around the front corners and nail with 1-1/4" brads and glue. Tight miters here — the base trim is at eye level to anyone sitting on the floor, which in front of a media console is everyone under ten.

Fasten the 2x10 top with the 2-1/2" screws from below through the top frame — flush at the back, even overhangs on the sides and front. The plan's tip: stain the top boards BEFORE attaching; finishing 91" of top against a finished carcass is fussier than it sounds.

Confirm your barn-door hardware's specs, THEN build the two ~20" x 30" doors to suit: 1/2" plywood slabs with applied strips like the source, or reclaimed boards, or anything flat and rigid. Hang them on the track, set the floor guides, and check they glide past each other without kissing.

DIY track (the tutorials the plan points to) saves real money if you're handy with metal; bought track saves an afternoon. Either way: hardware dictates doors, never the reverse.