Custom Stalls Make You Look Twice

Step inside a beautiful barn with unforgettable stalls.

CJ Elumbaugh spent 3 years studying barn design and researching after she and her husband purchased their dream farm in Arkansas. She took it upon herself to oversee and pick out every little detail inside her new barn. CJ hand selected each type of lumber, planned the dimensions and sizes carefully, while enjoying every minute of this project. The barn was started in the fall of 2021 and was finished in the spring of 2022. The private barn includes 5 stalls, a feed room, wash stall, drive-in lower level hay storage and a tack room with a bathroom connected to a side porch for relaxing.

Photography by Meeta Foster Photography and CJ Elumbaugh

The stunning stall fronts were brought to life by Daisha at Headed West Designs. CJ shared her barn’s color scheme and told Daisha she wanted Aztec/Southwest themed prints. After sending over a few inspirational sample patterns, Daisha came up with these beautiful designs for all 5 stalls. They immediately grab your attention and are one of CJ’s favorite parts of her horse barn.

CJ’s barn is her sanctuary. It’s home to the horses, but also a place where she can relax with them and unwind.

“I wanted my barn to be unique and a direct representation of my style but also functional and a place where you truly want to be. It’s definitely my home away from home.”

Mixed materials including wood, stone and metal in a variety of neutral colors work well together on the interior. The more you look around, the more details you begin to notice. The pops of black in the stall fronts bring out the black ceilings.

CJ’s other favorite barn features include her beautiful rock covered wash bay which adds a rustic touch. But her built in hay room is a functional feature she loves.

“Growing up, I always dreaded ‘hay day’ where we had to stack hundreds of square bales to the barn ceiling to prepare for winter. I never wanted to do that again, so I created a drive-in hay room under the back porch,” CJ said. “It has a roll up garage door so I can back my dedicated hay trailer in. I can shut the door and easily access the hay whenever I need it from the back door. When the trailer starts running low, I just go get more hay and never have to unload or stack!”

Here, outdoor runs are attached to sliding barn doors on the stall exteriors. The hay storage is also accessed from this garage door.

The sitting area on the porch features a beloved barn quilt. The tradition of putting up barn quilts and searching for them on rural highways across the country is a fun road trip activity. There are registries of barn quilts, to help you identify and piece together the wooden “patches” and CJ loves hers.

“My friend Jess at Hackberry Farms created it for me. Again, I gave her my color scheme and a couple Aztec samples and she nailed it.”

The Hollywood bulb C3R Marquis sign was a gift from CJ’s husband. She was torn about finding the perfect piece to hang on the barn and one night she was surprised with the perfect piece. The barn’s exterior also features matching stone included in the grooming stall, bringing everything together.

Thank you CJ for sharing your beautiful barn with Stable Style.

Photography by Meeta Foster Photography and CJ Elumbaugh