The past, present and future of barndominiums

By Jenny Yu. 

Learn about the origins and present-day trends of  barndominiums. 

In the wake of COVID-19, The Coffee Shops saw a surge in chatter and demand for barndominiums — residential and commercial buildings designed to offer large spaces with high ceilings and owner flexibility. Stacee Lynn, also known as "The Barndominium Lady" and founder and owner of The Barndominium Company, discussed the rise of barndominiums in this episode of MetalCast™.  

While most people think the term ‘barndominium’ comes from Texas, likely due to its popularity in the state, Stacee says the term can trace its origins back to Connecticut.  

“A developer in Connecticut back in the late 1980s had an equestrian community, and he imagined selling acreage lots to homeowners who owned horses,” Stacee explained. “He wanted to create a barn where people could board their horses, so they didn't have to do the day-to-day work to manage the horses, but the horses were close by. He said it was a barn, and they're like condominiums for the horses. So, he called it ‘barndominium.’” 

Fast forward to today, where the building trend is spanning multiple states, purposes and environments. Barndominiums are becoming increasingly common in the United States. Stacee highlighted a few of the latest trends she’s seen, one being glass garage doors.   

“Glass garage doors are super popular,” Stacee offered. “You can open it up during parties or very nice days, which makes for a nice event and lots of natural light when they're closed. It just looks like a big, pretty window.” 

Other trends Stacee noted were pass-through kitchen windows and customizing ceiling beams. She shared, “We're incorporating brick and stone on our elevations to really give [these homes] a lot of ‘wow.’ A lot of folks are deciding to upsize some of their steel beams inside the house so that they can paint them black and leave them exposed.” 

Another exciting trend that Stacee has experimented with is giving the classic front porch a new and exciting twist. She shared, “On a gable roof line, we continue that gable extension to include what we call the side porch, which is very easy to do. It's an economical way to do it.”  She continued, “You get super high ceilings, you can put outdoor kitchens, outdoor fireplaces. Some people screen them in, so you can open up that glass garage door and never have to worry about a bug. It's really the extension of your home life.” 

Read the transcript, Listen to the podcast or Watch the webinar to learn more about the origins and ongoing growth of barndominiums in the construction industry.