A huge part of Minecraft is farming. From growing food and feeding animals, crops in Minecraft are vital for food production. But crops aren’t the only aspect of farming – you will need to keep all the animals somewhere. As such, you’re probably looking for the best Minecraft barn ideas.
If you’re starting from scratch in a new world, an old-timer expanding their city, or just bored, here are 10 Minecraft barn ideas from which to draw inspiration. Most of these ideas have tutorials on YouTube, which you can follow along, while two are WhatIfGaming’s custom designs.
Best Minecraft Barn Ideas
The list is ranked according to aesthetic, functionality, and material cost. Some of these barns are perfect for new players, while others will be challenging if you’re not a seasoned builder. In addition, we’ve considered material availability and grinding time to build the barns.
This list will highlight the materials used, the pros of each barn, the designer, and the shaders we used.
We hope this list inspires you to start your own barn project. Feel free to share screenshots of your builds or recommend other barn tutorials to add to this list.
Circular Barn and Animal Pens
Very spacious
Upstairs storage area
Space for growth
Design: ItsMarloe
Shaders: Sildurs Vibrant Shaders
If you’ve got a wide-open field but still looking for a way to keep your animals separate, try this circular Minecraft barn idea. While the main barn is relatively small, with separate animal pens and upstairs storage, the outdoor corral is large and perfect for big herds of animals.
This barn idea comes from ItsMarloe, a Minecraft builder on YouTube. It’s at the top of our list as it’s simple yet effective. It’s got a unique design, with the enclosure fences forming an oval around the central building. The barn offers four separate pens for baby animals. At the same time, the outdoor spaces can be used for adult animals – making for easier population control.
The building consists mainly of spruce, so keep some trees around. Other blocks include brick, granite, oak, coarse dirt, and brown concrete powder. You’ll also need yellow coral fans and rails for the chicken coops.
Early-Game Survival Barn
Easy to obtain resources
Two animal pens
Lots of storage
Design: WhatIfGaming
Shaders: BSL Shaders
This Minecraft barn idea is simple, easy, and cheap for those just starting out. The WhatIfGaming team designed this barn ourselves, so, unfortunately, no YouTube tutorial is linked. However, you can use the images above to try and recreate it.
The structure consists of a main barn area 7 blocks wide and 9 blocks long. Inside is space for a small workstation and a row of barrels along the top of the room. Outside is two animal pens – which we used for cows and sheep.
The primary material is oak wood, with the main frame consisting of stripped oak logs and oak logs. The most expensive block would be the campfires, requiring three logs, one coal, and three sticks each. You’ll need almost a stack of logs for the campfires alone. Additionally, it may take some time to grind items for the decorative blocks like trap doors and hay bales.
Lastly, the barn uses a simple design, including an easy-to-build roof with mostly slabs. It’s perfect for players with young Minecraft worlds who only need space for a couple of cows to milk, sheep to sheer, or even a horse or two.
Minecraft Barn Idea With Chicken Farm
Includes two chicken farms
Indoor & outdoor pens
Loft with a view
Design: Gorillo
Shaders: Complementary Shaders
We really love barns that are just as functional as they are beautiful. This barn combines the two with a stunning design and functional egg farm. You’ll need 18 hoppers and bricks, which aren’t the easiest to get, but it’s worth it in the end. This is a simple mob farm to get you started if you need eggs for cakes or feathers for arrows.
The main structure features three animal pens to the right and two chicken farms to the left. There are also two pens outside, perfect for horses or llamas. If you look up, you’ll find a loft made from spruce trap doors. This suspended space is a perfect place to place chests and even a bed – making the barn liveable for the player as well.
The main blocks used for this Minecraft barn idea are cobblestone and stone, deepslate stairs, brick blocks, and walls. You’ll also need chains, lanterns, and a grindstone to complete the aesthetic look of the front of the barn. The roof is a little more complicated with a side window, but still easy enough to follow throughout the tutorial.
The builder, Gorillo, does an excellent job guiding the player through the build with their easy-to-follow tutorial. Its overall look and functionality place this barn third on our list.
Large Barn With Stables
Open-plan interior
Yard for horses
Cheap on resources
Design: Mr Mirror
Shaders: BSL Shaders
Stepping it up a notch is this large barn with side stables. The build also includes an enclosed yard for more animals or to stretch your horse’s legs. It’s a beautiful space with low-cost materials as the base, with harder-to-get decorative blocks to polish the barn off.
This Minecraft barn idea is perfect for players who have already established a Minecraft base and a good collection of items to build with. Again, this Minecraft barn idea uses blocks like granite and brick, which aren’t the easiest to come across. However, most of the walls are made from cobblestone and stone. The frame is constructed with oak planks, and spruce stairs and planks are used as highlights on the roof. Decorative items include spruce trap doors, leaves, coarse dirt, campfires, and lanterns.
We love the use of stairs to create smaller windows and allow the player to peak into the barn but creates a feeling of security – especially in a world of monsters.
There are shelves for storage, but the barn can’t be used as a storage room. However, if you’re using the barn to keep animals for wool, leather, and milk, there’s enough storage to keep the dropped items. If you’re looking for more storage, keep reading as we have the perfect Minecraft barn idea for you!
Quaint Minecraft Barn Idea
Medium sized barn
Space for 6 animal types
Chest and smoker workstation
Design: Cryptozoology
Shaders: BSL Shaders
This barn has a central aisle with a raised ceiling and two wings spread outwards. At the back of the barn is a workspace with smokers and furnaces and space for at least 10 double chests. The barn also includes six animal pens which are great for a Minecraft barn idea on the smaller side.
This barn also uses brick, but considerably more than the previous ideas. The barn has brick walls, stripped spruce log beams, and dark oak trim on the roof. As such, you’ll need to find spruce and a roofed forest first if you’d like to follow this tutorial in survival. However, the creator, Cryptozoology, has multiple other designs for buildings that use more common brick types.
Otherwise, the barn is simple, cozy, and perfect for players looking to expand their farm or village.
Llama Barn and Stables Idea
Fenced yard
Dedicated storage section
Large animal pens
Design: Reimiho
Shaders: Complementary Shaders
For llama lovers, we have a build just for you. However, if you prefer horses, this stable and barn will work just as well. The barn is much more complex than those mentioned above, with stunning detail and block palette choice. However, with detail comes more blocks and items needed to build this barn.
The barn is a double-story, offering storage above the animals. In addition, it includes an enclosure outside the stable and a dedicated storage space that can be used for a wall of double chests. The barn has space for 12 llamas/horses without getting too crowded. If you prefer horses, this gives you the perfect space to breed the fastest and strongest horse.
The loft is narrow yet has enough space for chests, hay bales, and a bed. If you’re a traveler, this is the perfect base camp for your llama caravan.
Lastly, the lighting within the barn creates a comfy feel, and the enclosure gives you the space to feed and tame horses. The front archway follows the style of the roofs throughout the build and creates a stunning entrance feature.
All in all, this is a Minecraft barn idea that seamlessly blends function and design. It’s an expensive build but worth it in the end. Shoutout to Reimiho for a unique build.
Huge Rustic Minecraft Barn Idea
Massive barn with second floor
Large pens for horses
Has a copper roof
Design: TheMythicalSausage
Shaders: Complementary Shaders
MythicalSausage is a renowned Minecraft Youtuber and builder. You should check out his channel if you haven’t heard of him. He’s friends with Fwhip (another Minecraft player) and has recently been featured on Hermitcraft. In fact, he has two barns that have made it onto our list.
This massive barn has plenty of space for sheep, cows, pigs, and horses. In our world, we’ve turned it into our main stables. It has impressive features and detail that really make it stand out. With balconies and an impressive ceiling, it’s one of the best Minecraft barn ideas.
However, it doesn’t have as much functionality or features as other barns on this list. As such, it falls down the list to seventh. Additionally, it’s a high-cost build with calcite, diorite, copper, and deepslate. It’s not a structure for early game but for those with a more established world. Lastly, the barn uses an immense amount of spruce wood, so get your axe ready if you plan on building this barn.
Large Chest Storage Barn
A barn dedicated to storage
Two floors for chests and barrels
Multiple workstations
Design: WhatIfGaming
Shaders: Sildurs Vibrant Shaders
Here’s another one of our custom builds. Again, there’s no YouTube tutorial, but the images should spark some Minecraft barn ideas. The twist in this build is that it’s no ordinary barn. Instead, the chests fill the spaces where animals should be. Different workshops line the floor, like smithing, smelting, and cooking. There is space on each side wall for 36 double chests, making this barn your storage hub for a farm or general use.
Constructed with mainly oak wood, it’s a building that you can start relatively early in your game. It uses spruce wood for trimmings and core features and coarse dirt and brown concrete powder for the floor. We’d say that the most expensive items in this build are the decor, which you can always omit until you have the necessary resources.
The storage barn has a high ceiling, allowing for ‘ventilation,’ a pit of greenery, and a living loft. Since the barn has no animals, it’s not such a bad place to set up base if you prefer the rustic lifestyle.
Lastly, the barn is on the larger side and needs a good amount of space. It’s roughly 13 blocks wide and 17 blocks long. So make sure to clear a flat area before starting the build.
Modern Minecraft Barn Idea
Modern red barn design
Stables on the side
Cozy interior
Design: Goldrobin
Shaders: Sildurs Vibrant Shaders
Most of the barns on this list have been medieval or rustic barns. However, these styles don’t cater to everyone. So, here’s a modern barn idea for Minecraft. It follows the classic red and white color scheme with an opening just above the barn door. It’s a medium-sized barn but perfect for your average farmer.
The barn offers four pens for animals and two outdoor stables. Additionally, if you climb the ladder at the back, you’ll find a vast open loft for all your storage needs. You can use the loft to store hay for breeding cows or turn it into a room full of chests for meat, wool, leather, and more.
As for the blocks used in the build, it’s somewhat expensive. It uses quartz to add variation to the polished diorite. While it’s not rare, you’ll need to travel to the Nether before you start this build. Alternatively, you can replace the quartz blocks with white concrete or calcite blocks.
The structure’s body is constructed from mangrove wood, using stripped mangrove logs and planks. In addition, you’ll need spruce planks, stairs, slabs, and trap doors. Lastly, to build the classic style roof, you will need deepslate.
Overall, this is a superb barn and perfect for those who have a Minecraft world theme set in the present. The style is easy to follow, and you can use the same brick pallet to build accompanying silos or a Minecraft farm house.
Tudor Minecraft Barn Idea
Large structure
Outside horse stables
Lots of space in the loft
Design: TheMythicalSausage
Shaders: Complementary Shaders
Last on the list is this fortified Tudor barn from MythicalSausage. The barn features a rounded roof and a side tower made from stone bricks. The foundation of this barn is heavy with stone, while the upper half is constructed from wood. It’s the perfect Minecraft barn idea that’ll complement any medieval castle.
That said, you’ll need to locate a roofed forest and get the Nether if you want to follow this tutorial. The build uses dark oak wood and bone blocks, so unless you’ve found a fossil, you’ll need the explore the hellish dimension.
You’ll need to refine a lot of stone for this project, and we recommend setting up more than one furnace. You’ll use the stone to make stone bricks and use the stone to texture the wall to make it less bland. In addition, you’ll use cobblestone in the walls and spruce wood for the floors and roof.
MythicalSausage also uses many materials for decorating, so be ready to start grinding and crafting to build this stunning barn.
