One of the decisions you will need to make as you are selecting a barndominium floor plan is how many stories you want your home to have. 2-story barndominium plans are very popular, just as they are for traditional suburban homes. In this post, we will share some of our favorite 2-story barndominium floor plans with you. But first, let’s explain why 2-story barndos are popular.
Why Choose a 2-Story Barndominium Design?
For some, the decision to build a 2-story barndo comes down to how much land is available. You may want more square footage than you can fit into a one-story home on the amount of land you have. But with a second story, you can easily double the square footage without increasing the actual footprint of the home.
For others, the appeal of a 2-story barndo comes down to separation of space. The main living spaces can go on one floor, the bedrooms on another. In a lot of modern homes, the master bedroom still goes downstairs, but the other bedrooms are upstairs.
Our Favorite 2-Story Barndominium Floor Plans
Let’s take a look at some exciting 2-story barndominium floor plans so you can start to visualize what your own home could be like.
BG-20016 Thatcher Barndominium House Plan
This 2-story barndominium floor plan includes 1,986 square feet of heated space, 3 bedrooms, and 2.2 bathrooms. The garage, garage loft, and porch add 2,049 additional square feet.
The wraparound front porch leads to the combined living room, dining room and kitchen. A small hallway leads to a bathroom, and offers access to the laundry room and mudroom. The mudroom can also be accessed from the kitchen. This short hallway leads to the master bedroom and bathroom as well.
From the mudroom, you can access a locker room, storage, and half bath on your way to the garage. Given that there is a locker room, this would be a perfect floor plan if you want to have a home gym in your garage.
There are stairs to get to the second story from both the living room and the garage. There is a spacious loft in the garage that you can use as a workspace, for storage, or whatever. A door from the garage loft leads to the balcony, which in turn has doors to both the upstairs bedrooms, as well as the stairs leading to the living room. The two upstairs bedrooms share a bathroom.
BCO-40127 Fulton Barndominium House Plan
The Fulton house plan features 2,060 square feet of heated space on 2 floors, 3 bedrooms, and 2 full bathrooms. The garage, porch and deck add 2,552 square feet of unheated space to the floor plan.
The 2-car garage connects to the combined living room, dining room and kitchen through the laundry/mudroom. The kitchen has a small pantry. A doorway on the opposite side of the room from the entrance to the mudroom leads to the master bedroom, master bathroom, and master closet (which is a walk-in closet).
A flight of stairs in the living room leads up to a loft above the kitchen. This is a pretty large space, so there are a lot of different ways you could use it. A hallway off the loft leads to a pair of bedrooms with a shared bathroom.
PL-62304 Wolfe Barndominium House Plans
This spacious barndo floor plan includes 3,226 square feet of heated space. It has 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, a porch, garage, and shop. The porch, garage and shop added together offer another 1,464 square feet. The garage has space for 2 vehicles.
A door from the garage leads to the laundry room/mudroom. From there, you can proceed into the great room. There is a family room with a bathroom that is separate from the living room, which is an interesting feature in a modern home. The great room and kitchen are connected, however. They have a vaulted ceiling for a spacious feel.
From the kitchen, you can access the master bedroom, bathroom, and walk-in closet. The master bedroom has an additional door leading to the workshop in the garage. There are stairs from the workshop as well as the great room.
If you head up the stairs from the shop, you reach a small storage area. Otherwise, the upper story of the garage is open to below, making the space suitable for tall vehicles or equipment.
The stairs from the great room lead up to a walkway along the open area. On one side, there is a loft, plus a bedroom and bathroom. The loft is pretty large, so it can serve as a flex space. The flex space overlooks the great room, so it’s a good space to stay connected between the two stories (i.e. kids up in the loft working on homework can call down questions to their parents below).
On the other side of the upper story, there are two more bedrooms. These share a bathroom, and have larger closets than the one across the way. They could be shared by kids who prefer the bigger closets, but don’t want as much seclusion. An older child who wants more privacy may prefer the other room, even with its smaller closet.
Two-Story Barndominium Plans By Footprint
Most people arrive at a two-story plan from a footprint constraint rather than an architectural preference — the lot will not take a wider building, so the second floor is what makes the square footage work. If you already know your footprint, start there.
40×60 Two-Story Barndominium Floor Plans
The most popular two-story footprint, and the one with the most inventory. 2,400 square feet on the ground floor gives enough width for an open main level with a real staircase rather than a stair squeezed into a corner, and enough depth to put a shop bay at one end without shortening the living space. See the full 40×60 barndominium house plans collection, including the two-story and shop layouts.
40×50 Two-Story Layouts
2,000 square feet per floor. This is the footprint where going two stories starts to pay clearly — you get four-bedroom capacity on a building that still fits a standard rural lot with room left for a drive and a septic field. Browse the 40×50 barndominium floor plans.
40×40 And 30×40 Two-Story And Loft Plans
At 1,600 and 1,200 square feet per floor, these are the footprints where a loft usually beats a full second story. There is rarely enough upstairs area to justify a full second floor’s structure and roof span, but a loft over part of the main level adds an office, a bonus room or a guest space cheaply. See 40×40 barndominium plans and 30×40 barndominium plans.
Two-Story Plans With A Shop
Stacking the living quarters is what makes a shop building work as a home without an enormous footprint — put the shop on the ground floor and the bedrooms above it, and a 40-foot-wide building does both jobs. These are on the shop house plans page.
2-Story Barndominium House Plans FAQ
Are 2-Story Barndominiums Cheaper To Build Than Single-Story?
Usually yes, per square foot. A two-story plan puts the same living area on roughly half the foundation and half the roof, and those are two of the most expensive components in the build. What you add back is a staircase, a second-floor structural deck, and often a second HVAC zone. On small plans the added items can cancel the saving; on plans above roughly 2,500 square feet the foundation and roof saving usually wins.
How Much Lot Do You Save With A Two-Story Plan?
Close to half the building footprint for the same heated area. That is the reason to go two stories on a narrow, shallow or heavily set-back parcel — a 2,000 square foot single-story plan needs roughly twice the ground a 2,000 square foot two-story plan does. It also leaves more room for a shop, a septic field or a drive.
What Is The Difference Between A Loft And A Second Story?
A loft is a partial upper level open to the room below, so it does not need a full second-floor structure or its own roof span, and it is usually cheaper. A true second story is a full floor with its own walls and rooms. Lofts suit bonus rooms, offices and guest space; second stories suit bedrooms that need doors and privacy.
Do Two-Story Barndominiums Need A Different Foundation?
Often, yes. A second story roughly doubles the load carried to the slab, so footings, slab thickness and reinforcement are typically specified differently than on a single-story plan of the same footprint. This is set by the plan’s engineering and your local soil conditions — do not assume a single-story foundation detail transfers.
Can Any Barndominium Plan Be Made Two Stories?
No. Adding a floor changes the structural design, the foundation and usually the roof, so it is a major modification rather than a change order — $1,000 for up to five changes, and anything altering overall dimensions falls in that tier. Starting from a plan drawn as two stories is almost always cheaper than converting one.
How Tall Is A Two-Story Barndominium?
Most run between 24 and 30 feet at the ridge depending on wall height and roof pitch, against roughly 16 to 22 feet for a single story. Check that against any height restriction in your covenants or zoning before you commit — it is a common and avoidable surprise.
Get Your Own Custom 2-Story Barndo Plans
A 2-story barndominium maximizes square footage even if you do not have a huge amount of land to work with. If you are ready to take the next steps to building your 2-story barndominium, click on any of the links in this post to get your 2-story barndo plans.