Foxcroft Fresh Face- Middlebarn

Foxcroft is little by little getting touch ups to enhance it's cool features, and one of these projects has been a freshen-up for the Middlebarn. 

At Foxcroft we have three barns. The creatively titled "Middlebarn" is the center one. My creativity has limits, apparently. I also have a cat named "Kitty." Anyway, this barn holds a tack room with washer/dryer, and two extra large stalls that are boss stalls of cement block. I think maybe they are stud stalls? It is a pretty little stable, except for the cement block, which is never a great look.

It has a lovely standing seam metal roof, half round gutters and nice detailing in the columns and openings. It has great electrics, a hot water heater and plenty of light. Two ceiling fans droop from above, their purpose maybe hampered by succumbing to the humidity of the outdoors. 

This is barns 2 and 3 in the real estate listing. The Middlebarn is the one in the foreground. It isn't actually attached to the barn at the back of the photo.  There are tractor sheds and a bedding hut built up to the back of the Middlebarn, and the smaller building to the left is the feed shed. Brilliant to have that separate! The fenced bit to the right is an outdoor wash stall. 

It is all very useable, working barn space. DING! Rings my bell.

So, all it needs is a fresh face, and maybe a little softening. 

My first step was to lose the cement block look. I had some Quikrete type "S" left over from another project, so began parging the block wall with that. Of course, when I went to buy more, the store no longer carries Quikrete products, so changed to another brand's type "S". It was easier to use, but I didn't like the finished product quite as much. No worries, it was all to be painted. 

After the parging dried, I gave it two coats of Kilz primer. 

In this photo you can see the Quikrete product parging on the right and the Sakrete product parging on the center left. The far left has a coat of Kilz.

The wonderful tongue and groove wood on the walls received a coat of asphalt black paint, and the door got a couple coats of high gloss Sherwin Williams "Naval". 

  

A New Dawn rose is planted on the feed hut (on left), currently it also has a copper tub full of geraniums and calibrachoa on top of a skinny coop to dress the blank wall. The large barn in the back has a 6' water trough planter full of deer- unfriendly plants. And a viburnum macrocephalum is planted on the right near the outdoor wash stall. 

I added planters by Mayne from Grandin Road for a little floral happiness.

If you look carefully, you can spot one of the hens in the stall. This is the fox-proof, current hen house while they wait for me to get the new one outfitted. 

Pearl and Jules wanted in on the photo session. Posers. 

Kaylee and Clara helped plant the window box last week, and wash that window. 

Now, black and white and crisply blue and green, Middlebarn looks loved. 

There is a wonderful sign holder on the barn already, it just needs a sign! Another project, another time.