Chicago Barn Door Co started as a hobby in the basement of our family home in Villa Park as Shutters by Jen. I wanted custom wood shutters for our home, but finding them locally was difficult, and seeing a product before we bought was nearly impossible. I decided to build my own instead of taking a chance with ordering online.
Neighbors, friends and passers-by asked about where I got the shutters and wanted some of their own, which launched Shutters by Jen in 2013. This was a small company based out of my basement and our marketing was comprised of word of mouth and Facebook. After a short time, I decided to expand from shutters into sliding doors and other decor using new and reclaimed barn wood to satisfy the requests of our customers.
In 2014, we changed the name to Chicago Barn Door Co and moved into a retail space in Addison. This space allowed us to have a dedicated showroom and much more work space. We expanded our product offerings to include custom, hand crafted sliding barn doors, fireplace mantles, reclaimed accent walls, live edge walnut slabs, and other wood products. The showroom is something unique for this type of product and allows customers to see and feel the different styles, hardware, and materials so they can envision how they would look in there home. We have recently added barnwood flooring to our product line and work with designers, architects, home builders and consumers.
In 2018, we expanded into a second location to scale up manufacturing and finishing to meet demand.
About the Owner
Before starting Chicago Barn Door Co, Jennifer Orlando worked full time as an office manager in a local dentist office. Her passion was woodworking, and making shutters was a great creative outlet. After 28 years in the dental industry, Jennifer was able to quit her full time job and concentrate solely on the barn door company, building and finishing doors, managing the office, and helping her husband Jason with sales and marketing.
Jennifer and Jason now both work full time to maintain the business and meet our customer needs at Chicago Barn Door Co. We are a small family business with the support of other family members and employees.
