New barn exterior colors -advice needed

[Bluey]

@Lucassb

I have a pretty traditional red brick ranch, charcoal grey roof. My outbuildings were grey with white trim when we bought the place. When I re-sided the barn, I chose a creamy white with charcoal trim and a lighter grey on the panels of the doors. I am really happy with it.

Those colors really look nice on that barn.

I think those were the OP’s first choice?

Good to have a model to go by, thank you.

Whoever mentioned gutters, those seem to be a big help, taking the roof water away to distinct places, not letting it flow all over everything.

We use gutter extensions on the bottom and those come in all colors, from white to black:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Flex-A-Spout-Black-Downspout-Extension-85015/303499069

[Lucassb]

@Bluey

Those colors really look nice on that barn.

I think those were the OP’s first choice?

Good to have a model to go by, thank you.

Whoever mentioned gutters, those seem to be a big help, taking the roof water away to distinct places, not letting it flow all over everything.

We use gutter extensions on the bottom and those come in all colors, from white to black:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Flex-A-Spout-Black-Downspout-Extension-85015/303499069

Thank you, @Bluey. It took me a long time to pick the colors, actually, but I am pleased with how it came out. I ended up putting a nice big flowerbox under that window and doing some plantings around that corner of the barn and I am happy with the view from the back porch now

We also have those gutter extensions and they are a big help.

[anon55755751]

@Lucassb what are the dims of your barn?

I flew out for a work trip this am and was thinking about a dark red or dark blue door with white/cream crosbucks to match the wall color. House door is a deep rich blue.

I like the idea of adding brick accents, maybe as pavers or flowerbeds rather than wainscoting. Esp. if I orient the aisle e/w so one aisle faces the road. Siting is a little worse in that orientation, but not by much. Hm…

[Victorious]

I think you should most certainly add extra space if you can swing it now. Our barn was originally 5 stalls with 2 large open areas. those 2 areas served as hay storage, bedding storage, tractor storage, at one point the chickens lived over there as did the sheep…my point is, you will always need storage for stuff and building it now is easier than adding it later. My husband jokes that we just keep building outbuildings to house our roving piles of crap(it really does add up! I mean at one point we had 3 different mowing attachments for the tractor!!!)

[Lucassb]

@anon55755751

@Lucassb what are the dims of your barn?

I flew out for a work trip this am and was thinking about a dark red or dark blue door with white/cream crosbucks to match the wall color. House door is a deep rich blue.

I like the idea of adding brick accents, maybe as pavers or flowerbeds rather than wainscoting. Esp. if I orient the aisle e/w so one aisle faces the road. Siting is a little worse in that orientation, but not by much. Hm…

My barn is 36’ wide by 48’ long. Six stalls plus a full size wash rack and a 12 x 12 finished tackroom in a center aisle format.

[ElementFarm]

@anon55755751

I am pretty sure I know the answer to this, but what are everyone’s thoughts on building more barn than you “need”?

Building for 4, but may only ever have 2. I can also go way more minimal than my current design - have half the barn an open bay with dirt floor and no stalls, and the other half storage as currently planned. I like my horses out 24-7 if possible. If I have stalls I will use them but they aren’t necessary and I could always use the cost savings to do a better Outdoor Ring.

Definitely build for more than you think you’ll need! if the extra space doesn’t have a horse in it, it’s still good storage, makes the property more marketable if you ever want to sell, and is available for your changing needs. You may want to take on a rescue or new project. A horse may get injured/need to be retired, and you buy a replacement. You may want to take on a single boarder or two for company and barn help. Or a young relative may get into horses and you simply must get him/her a pony.

We rented a starter farm with 3 stalls/3 horses. Then added a 4th horse. Moved to our forever farm after about a year with 4 stalls/4 horses. We added a run-in shed immediately, and that worked well for several months. Then got another horse (fun project to flip). Then took on a friend-in-a-bind’s mare on pasture board. Then we bred my next (hopefully) AO horses. Before you knew it, we had 7 horses (including the mini). We built 2x additional x-tra large stalls for a total of 6 stalls, and we still don’t have a spot for everyone (currently have 9 including the mini and Shetland). We’re in the process of building 2x more additional stalls, and luckily we live in a mild climate where most horses can happily live out 24/7 with a run-in, and ours is nice–fully matted, lights, fans, etc. We only bring in the show horses/broodmares, everyone else happily lives out.

So while I don’t recommend expanding as much as we did, I do think it’s wise to plan for an extra stall or two, because you don’t know what will end up joining your barn family.