The Doors of Yankee Barn Homes

One of the many things to consider when building a Yankee Barn Homes post and beam home (or barn), is the front door or main entrance.  As with the remainder of the home and/or barn, the styles for doors are endless and this is definitely an area you’ll want to consider when planning. What type of mood, feeling, “Welcome” are you trying to portray? Do you want the entrance to blend with the building or do you want it to make an architectural statement of its own? Will there be a porch, a deck, steps (and if so what material will they be made from – stone, wood, cement, etc)? Are you after an authentic barn-look, complete with a sliding barn door, something more traditional, or something that ties in with the style of your home? These are just a few of the many options you’ll most likely consider.

I am an extremely visual person, so when I need to consider an issue such as this, I immediately turn to pictures. They are absolutely the best way to get my point across when explaining the look I’m after. Hopefully, this post will help some of you do the same or at least give you a starting point.

The indented front door, seen above and below,  is very popular for post and beam barn-style homes as it is not only a traditional look, it is also extremely practical. It creates an entrance/porch area within the foot print of the home; no bump-outs necessary.

Notice both of the above examples were built into the main structure of the house, while the next two entryways show an indent in the ell of the home.

and…

The farmhouse porch is another very popular option for a Yankee Barn home.

The options for a farmer’s porch are numerous…

or…

Another popular entryway  for Yankee Barn homeowners is to use the bump-out addition as the home’s main entrance. As you’ll see, these come in all shapes and sizes with almost endless architectural detail possible. The first in this series happens to be one of my all-time favorites. The combination of the salvaged doors with the weathered shingles is just beautiful.

For a mountain rustic style bump-out entry, you can’t beat this next one.

In the subcategory of creative design and/or placement of the bump-out entrance I give you the Adirondack lodge style…

…and the Rhode Island shingle style. This house also wins for putting the bump-out on an angle to the house and ell!

Close-up of the same entry.

Finally, I’ll close with the ubiquitous (and rightly so) barn door. Whether it slides or is hinged, faux or functional, it is the tell-tale sign of a barn home.

The door above is a large, single sliding door which provides added shelter to the large glass entryway.

Both of the above doors slide to meet in the middle of this barn home addition…

…or hinges are always a popular choice.

Now for one of my favorite Yankee Barn Homes examples of the sliding barn door.

Closed…

…or open.  Simply beautiful!