7 Brilliant Barndominium Exterior Colors

As more and more homeowners have made dramatic changes in how they use their homes, multipurpose spaces like barndominiums are on the rise; they offer the flexibility of added living space, the option of a home office, or the ability to create one epic bonus room. Choosing the best exterior paint color for your space will ultimately come down to personal preference; however, if you’re looking to follow trends, paint your space one of these popular barndominium colors.

1. Black

Black has been gaining steam in the past few years—not just as a paint color for traditional homes but also as a barndominium color scheme. It’s not only sleek and sophisticated, but it’s relatively low-maintenance. It’s more appealing than, say, white to the homeowner who lives in a humid climate that sees a lot of mold, dirt, and pollen and might find themselves needing to repaint every other year.

Recommended colors:

• Sherwin-Williams Iron Ore

• Farrow & Ball Pitch Black

• Sherwin-Williams Tricorn Black

• Sherwin-Williams Black Magic

• Benjamin Moore Black Beauty

2. Red

If you want your barndominium to look more traditional and less modern, you may pick a popular farmhouse paint color, like red instead. A fire-engine red looks good with a matte black or pure white trim, though if your design style trends more toward earth tones, you may opt for a paint color that’s earthy and reminiscent of clay and terracotta.

Recommended colors:

• Benjamin Moore Million Dollar Red

• Farrow & Ball Singed Red Paint

• Sherwin-Williams Rookwood Red

• Farrow & Ball Preference Red

• Benjamin Moore Cottage Red

3. White

There’s something so timeless and elegant about a white facade, especially when painting a barn; you can’t beat a pure white paint when it comes to elegance and versatility. White paint comes in an array of hues, some warmer with yellow undertones and others cooler with a bluish tint. A white barndominium will require more regular paint touch-ups, but the brilliance of the color is worth it.

Recommended colors:

• Farrow & Ball All White

• Sherwin-Williams Marshmallow

• Benjamin Moore Simply White

• Sherwin-Williams White Flour

• Sherwin-Williams Snowbound

• Benjamin Moore Cloud White

4. Beige

Beige paint is a terrific vessel to channel the timelessness of white without being so aggressively bright. In addition, it elegantly bounces off of warm green landscape colors, especially those that veer more olive in tone. Beige can run from peach-based shades to ones that are more tan, like a milky café au lait. 

Recommended colors:

• Sherwin-Williams® Accessible Beige

• Benjamin Moore® Stone House

• Sherwin-Williams® Balanced Beige

• Clare® Beigeing

• Farrow & Ball® Drop Cloth

5. Gray

There’s nary a scenario when a structure does not look good painted gray, and a barndominium is no exception. Gray paint runs the gamut of deeper, almost charcoal hues to greige—a mix between gray and beige—to the lightest of foggy, cloud colors that can appear almost white on a paint chip.

Recommended colors:

• Sherwin-Williams Agreeable Gray

• Sherwin-Williams Reflection

• Benjamin Moore Silver Song

• Benjamin Moore Cloud White

• Farrow & Ball Shadow Gray

6. Sage Green

Muted shades of olive or sage green paint really make a barn blend in with its natural surrounds. Choosing an earth color like sage fuses the structure to the landscape and is a good choice if you want the building to disappear—or you could go for a deeper hue on the color wheel like a forest green to make your barndominium stand out against a clear blue sky. 

Recommended colors:

• Farrow & Ball Green Smoke

• Sherwin-Williams Pewter Green

• Farrow & Ball Duck Green

• Benjamin Moore Peale Green

• Behr Pine Mountain

7. Blue

Blue is a widely used exterior color and more homeowners are picking it for their barndominium for good reason: The color pops and also fades seamlessly in the sky, creating a natural ombre-like effect. For more drama, go brighter toward the cerulean or cobalt blue end of the color spectrum while, if you’d rather have the structure blend in with the heavens entirely, opt for an ultra-light blue.

Recommended colors:

• Farrow & Ball Ultra Marine Blue

• Sherwin-Williams Blue Plate

• Benjamin Moore Champion Cobalt

• Sherwin-Williams Rainstorm

• Behr Cerulean

Tips for Choosing Your Barndominium Paint Color

The primary exterior color will be underscored or emphasized by the colors and details around it, so consider the bigger picture of your color scheme before deciding what hue you’ll choose for your barndominium. 

1. Consider Your Roof and Stonework

If your roof is a dark color, you might not want to paint your exterior in the same vein, unless you’re aiming for a sleek, monochrome look. Consider selecting complementary colors that allow each element to stand out instead. For instance, gray roofs can be beautifully paired with white barns, while green roofs harmonize nicely with beige or greige barns. 

2. Think About Trim

Select a trim color that works with the primary barn color as well as the roof and stonework. Many people choose to paint the trim a similar or identical color to the roof for uniformity, and it’s advisable that you stick to a maximum of four colors for your barn so things don’t get too overwhelming. A beige trim against a dark blue or gray barn can give a modern look, or bright white trim with a saturated blue or green can be striking. 

3. For Resale, Keep Things Traditional

If you plan to resell your home in the near future, keep your color selections traditional. Many buyers want to see a potential home as a blank slate, a place that they can customize to their liking. Sticking to classic, neutral color options is a great way to let their imagination run wild, and help you go from For Sale to In Escrow. 

4. Test Using Large Samples

Get the largest paint samples you can so you can get a good sense of what the colors will look like next to the stonework and from a distance. Remember to look at the samples at different times of the day so you can see how they look in full sun and at dusk.

5. Be a Good Neighbor

When deciding on a color scheme for your barndominium, take some inspiration from the colors used in your neighborhood. Observing the color choices of your neighbors can help you gauge the local style and aesthetic. If you notice that most people in your area are opting for neutral tones, it might not be the best idea to paint with Barbie pink. While it's important to add your personal flair and style to your barndominium, it's also essential to be considerate and respectful of your neighbors' preferences. 

Kristin Luna contributed to this article.