Does your barn have one?
Do you live in it?
What is it like? Upstairs? At the end? Next door?
Is that not the ultimate dream of any one with a passion for horses?
Now, the reality is, I too looked at this and is what I wanted, the reality is not such a good idea.
You do hear every little noise, which is fine if you don’t mind, for some it is peace of mind, for others, maybe not so much.
You have definitely more dust, insects, rodents to fight, there is no separation between an open barn that will attract those and your dwelling.
Then, if it is a private barn, no public there, who cares, right?
If you are a trainer, or worse, a boarding stable, you really can’t get away from it all, especially when you are needing some peace or maybe sick.
I asked real estate people, insurance people, tax assessors and all said, the barn/houses they knew about were all hard to sell, very limited market for those and normally cheaper than separate buildings, hard to insure, more costly to tax generally for the house you get and may be against code in some places.
The fire department said, not a good idea at all, best have at least 100’ between any structures with different purposes and that space where fire trucks can manage.
Easier to control the fire and even save at least one structure if they are not together.
So, I sighted and thought about it for a long time and ended building a house and separate barn.
Still, I think the dream of a simple apartment somewhere in a barn is soooo attractive.
I have worked in training barns where we had an apartment somewhere in and/or above the barn.
It was fine, but it was not a house for a family, more for single young workers that spent time on the road also and for which any one place to lay down and store your suitcase really was plenty.
It is more common in places with bank barns, where there is more of a true separation between the barn and the apartment.
I managed a facility years ago that had a 30 stall barn with 2 apartments, a hayloft, and a lounge overlooking the arena above it.
My apartment was above the grooming stalls and a couple stalls with horses in them. I found it peaceful, the barn closed at 9 so people making noise wasn’t an issue. And I was glad I was there one night when a new horse decided to break her door and go for a gander around the barn. I was quickly awakened and was able to catch her before she got Mr. Stud all riled up.
I agree that it isn’t really a set up for a family, but I quite enjoyed it as staff. I rolled out of bed and started feeding at 6:30, I could run down and do night check in my pajama’s, and I didn’t have to pack a lunch.
I lived in an apartment above a barn once, and it was ideal for quick and easy access to caring for the horses, especially in the wintertime. But I did not enjoy hearing the horses all night long . . . even the simple rattle of a feed tub often sounded like a horse getting cast or some other emergency. I can’t tell you how many times I rushed downstairs in a panic only to see their blinking little faces wondering what the hell my problem was!
I live in one 
It is a boarding (jumpers) facility but with good but strict barn hours ( barn closes at 9 every day, 6pm on sunday). I live upstairs of the main barn . The apartment is a 3 bedroom , living room, kitchen suite. It’s above the office, feed room and a couple stalls which aren’t in use right now. I’m down the “hall” from the stable lounge room which overlooks the one indoor arena but really doesn’t get a lot of traffic when I’m actually in my apartment. The “hall” is also the extra tack room for un used blankets and tack.
I don’t hear anything which surprised me. I hear the very odd kick and do hear the whinnies. The mare closest to my door talks to me every time I open it just reminding me that she is starving! lol
No rodents or dust. Well maybe one mouse but I was 3/4 asleep and had no lights on at 6am a couple weeks ago and haven’t seen any evidence of him around.
And boarders /staff/bosses are super respectful about my days off and try not to bother me and generally don’t unless there is an issue or a quick question.
Fire: totally understand that. We have a big fire alarm system in place. And firemen are familiar with the farm due to false alarms ( had a faulty sensor and the farm has been here for years). They always like coming and saying hi to the horses.
The best part is no commute to work , could wear pjs to feed breakfast. The vie from my living room especially is pretty darn good overlooking the front grass paddocks/driveway ( all lined with oaks). My bedroom looks out to the sand paddocks so on my days off I can check to see if everyone is behaving.
In Australia, I lived about 30 feet from the stables and I heard everything from my bed! Which meant quite a few trips at 2am to un-stick cast horses or at least check them. Could tell exactly which stall/horse it was from my bed! lol
P.
One caution, if you possible have a choice, make the apartment on the ground floor, maybe part of the tack room/office, bathrooms.
Any place you have to use stairs to get to and work with horses, sooner or later you will regret it, when you have some injury that makes stairs impossible, like a stepped on foot, broken ankle or are in a wheelchair for a bit.
If at all possible, if you do go on with a house/barn combination, at least have the house part that you need to access on the bottom, even if extra rooms are above.
I know several such combinations, one a really fancy, two story house built inside a cutting arena, the owner is a builder.
You can do it, just think about it all for long first.
Personally, I want a house connected to the barn through some kind of mud room or office. I could check the barn without going outside, but there would be an airlock of sorts to cut down on noise and mess.
When I bought my place, there was a nice barn apartment added to the barn. I do like it. I usually rent it out (really since I owned the place it was never empty) so obviously there is a need for it. in our area in most communities they do not allow trucks, so my place is heaven for truck owners 
Very nice opportunity to get some cash (although it is amazing how many taxes I have to pay for it… Tourist tax, sales tax…) If its ever going to be empty then I plan to use it for my tack. Right now I do not have an air conditioned tack room
I have one, ground level, and I wish I could see more of the things that I hear. I need cameras everywhere! It’s super convenient, obviously, and I’m pretty accustomed to living in small spaces now, so it doesn’t bother me. Besides, I’m outside/in the barn most of the time anyway!
I have always thought what a perfect retirement set up. I want an indoor with stalls on the sides, and an upstairs/ downstairs apartment on one end. Not having to go outside to do am chores and last of the night check is very appealing.
Barn owner where we board has two apartments connected to her house. They stay rented, but rarely to a “horsie person”. One gentleman who recently moved in actually is taking lessons…he rode when he was growing up and is enjoying being back in the saddle.
Personally, I wouldn’t want a living quarters that is physically attached to a barn for any number of reasons, including vermin, noise, etc.
I loved my barn apartment built into the loft of a big old New England barn. I could walk out my living room into the loft and down the ladder during a winter storm and feed in my jammies and slippers. I could hear anything odd. One night a horse got cast early. He definitely would have been there all night if I had not heard the commotion.
Also I had a lot of privacy and the best view on the farm.
And the best thing (said now as an owner of a beautiful old money sink on a nice property) I did not own it and the people who did became close friends. I got to live on a fabulous farm and work as much or as little as I wanted and enjoy the property without the expense. The farm work was not expected but I enjoyed it and because I became friends with the owner we used to do a lot of projects together. No pressure, no expense.
now that I own I appreciate those days a lot more and believe me I appreciated them then too!
The farm was small - about 10 acres and only 6-9 horses usually 2-3 boarders tops so it was not busy. I wouldn’t like it at a large pubic, active barn.
I personally have never lived in a barn apartment but know two folks who do.
Person 1: rented a super nice 2 bedroom apartment attached to the barn on a single level (i.e.; not a second floor apartment). She had no problems with mice or hearing things. It went apartment-mudroom space-tack room-feed room-stalls. It was a private farm so only her horses were in the barn so it worked perfect.
person 2: has a GORGEOUS facility in a super horsey neighborhood. This is more a showcase type farm. Her living space in above the barn. The barn is built in a U shape with stalls on the arms and the center part the tackroom, feed room, sitting room with stairs leading up to the living space and bathroom (I am talking as nice as folks homes). The actual living space is above this center part of the barn so not above any horse stalls. The center of the barn U in a gorgeous courtyard. The living space above has a balcony that overlooks the courtyard. On the frontside of the barn is an arched carport space with a deck on top of it that connects to the dining area of living space. IMHO it is the PERFECT layout for someone wanting this type of set up. She did a lot of work with an architect to come up with a completely functional layout. The ceiling/ floor between the barn and living quarters is double layered with additional insulation and noise barrier. The only thing she hasn’t put in but has the space for is an elevator to the living space. She hopes to always be able to walk stairs as it is good exercise, but planned for the potential need of an elevator as she ages.
I HATED the barn apartment that I lived in. I thought I was going to love it since it was fairly close to my college and pretty inexpensive. I was the first person to live there after construction so everything was new and it looked really nice, and I boarded my horse at this barn. It was ground level and next to the indoor arena. It had in interior and exterior entrance and over looked the outdoor arena with a nice little deck.
I probably could have loved it but the construction (and landlords) was the worst piece of crap of all time. The seals around the windows and doors sucked. There was so much dirt and dust coming in I could barely keep up with it - wreaked havoc on my allergies. So many bugs (flies/gnats). So many bugs! I don’t even know how they were getting in. I would kill them all and then 10 minutes later the apartment would be overrun again. If I had lights on after dark I was over run with gnats and during the day it was black/house flies.
What else…oh yeah - the horribly leaky roof that the landlord “couldn’t do anything about”, the window that fell out of the frame that took a month to fix, and the baby skunk that I found in my bathroom closet. Landlord couldn’t/wouldn’t do anything about any of it. Longest and worst 10 months of my life and only stayed so long because I didn’t want to move in the middle of a semester. I hated it so much I barely rode my horse while there.
Now, I would probably consider another barn apartment that was constructed better, and had better landlords!
