Painted Barns

What is it about painted barns that make them so charming?

Is it the sense of longstanding agricultural tradition? Is it the fact that you know the barn is most likely home to various farm animals? We at Five Star Painting® have our own theory… it’s totally the paint.

The most traditional look for barns is a bright red, but do you know why? Certainly, it’s one of our favorite prime colors, followed closely by blue and yellow. But there was a specific strategy for farmers choosing red paint for their animals’ home. According to farmersalmanac.com, before paint was readily available in rural areas, farmers and ranchers had to be resourceful when finding ways to seal and protect their wooden barns from the elements. So, what did they use? Oftentimes, they mixed linseed oil, which is an orange-colored oil derived from the seeds of the flax plant with items like milk, lime, or ferrous oxide, which is more commonly known as rust.

The rust served a special purpose of killing fungi, moss and other growth that were plentiful on a farm. It also turned the linseed mixture a red color. And so, generations later, farmers often choose red paint to carry on the familiar appearance of the barns of their predecessors. To put a modern twist on the traditional, some owners even put designs on their barns, like barn quilts and flags.

Remember, if you want the best painting work done for your barn, you can call Five Star Painting to take care of your project. And besides, we want your animals to have a freshly painted home, too!