Decisions, Decisions: Barn Color Edition

For those of us who build things but don’t necessarily make them look pretty, there’s a certain, um,  tightness of chest that comes when it’s time to put down the hammer and actually paint or decorate something. I mean, Pinterest exists for a reason so it’s not exactly a breathing-int0-a-paper bag kind of moment, but there’s been a time or two where I thought I may physically suffocate under the weight of a truckload of paint swatches.

For the most part, Liberty House has taken it easy on me these first six months, but now I’m faced with this.

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That is a big wall, in need of some paint.

The irony of the new barn siding is that I only did it on the two sides that were called out by the appraiser, which are the two sides you don’t see very often. The rest of it still looks like this.

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Sigh.

Clearly there’s a lot to do on this building yet, including residing these areas, potentially replacing the windows/doors, installing soffits and trim, getting a working garage door in the shop, insulating, and getting the furnace up and running. Not to mention extensive interior work to the shop and interior walls. Which is exactly the reason I chose to just reside the “easy” sides for now, and tackle the rest in early spring.

However, the problem at hand is that the new siding needs a coat of something-or-other before winter to protect it from weathering. I’ve pretty much ruled out transparent or semi-transparent stain because my new objective is to reside this barn as few times as possible in my lifetime, and a solid stain or paint will give it better protection.

My big question is, do I keep the current “barn red” from the front and use it all around for a more traditional barn look (similar to the big barn, and the donkey barn)…

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Or do I treat this building more like a garage and paint it the same color as the back of the house?

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I kind of like the idea of going with a whole new color, and gray barns sound pretty sweet.

And it’s located closer to the house than the other barns…

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(The donkey barn is hiding behind those pines over to the right.)

But the current roof (which is in good shape) has a greenish red hue that will probably go better with the red.

So. What do you think? Would you go gray, or stick with the barn red?

62 Responses

  1. Hey Kit,

    Haven’t checked in in a while – and things are looking good!

    For the barn question… I’ve always got a little joke in my head about farmhouses (which are secretly my personal favorite) that ‘what’s great about a farmhouse is that you can paint it any color you like; red, white OR blue!”

    For the barn, I guess you’ve got to decide if you’re going to leave the addition grey. I’ve got a lingering suspicion that you wont, but that’s a topic for another day. The barn, white.

  2. You’re on your own. I never give a lady advice about paint color. It’s kind of like the story, “If a man is in the forest and hears the tree fall down, is he still wrong?”

    Besides, I love Hunter Green!

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