Stardew Valley: How To Build And Use Every Farm Building

Table of contents

Just started in Stardew Valley and wondering how to fill all the space on the farm you've been handed? Never fear — there are a ton of different buildings, each with a different purpose and appearance. But, which should you build first?

Typical wisdom suggests building a silo or a shed first, but really, the choice is up to you. To help you decide which buildings you want to build and when, just look to this guide, which lists every farm building and its purpose. We've also included building costs and requirements for each structure you can place on your farm.

Updated June 27, 2024 by Jacqueline Zalace: There are a variety of Stardew Valley buildings that you can add to your farm, with all of them being quite useful. We've updated this guide with a bit more information and updated construction costs, as well as a new section on the Pet Bowl, which is used to provide water for additional pets.

The Farmhouse

read more

When you first start, you'll have a small farmhouse with just one room. Depending on which farm layout you choose, the starter furniture inside will change. Head to Robin's Carpenter Shop north of town to upgrade, renovate, and customize the exterior of your Farmhouse.

There are also some renovations and customizations available after the second upgrade , including adding more rooms and changing the color of the Farmhouse.

Coops

read more

One of the first major quests tasks you with building a coop. Head to Robin's to build your coop.

Once you've upgraded to the Big or Deluxe Coop, the associated animal unlocks can be housed in any coop , regardless of size.

The door on the outside can be opened to let your animals out during the day. If the door is d at night, they'll get stuck outside, which will make them upset and leave them exposed to animal or monster (if you have monsters on your farm toggled on) attacks.

Lastly, all coops are six tiles wide and three tiles tall. You don't have to worry about taking up more space as you upgrade the coop.

Barns

read more

The second major animal-housing building is the barn. Like coops, it has a door that can be opened and d for the animals living inside.

Every barn level is seven tiles wide and four tiles tall.

Fish Ponds

Next, we have the fish pond. You can add a fish to this pond, with each species producing different items over time. The fish will multiply, asking for certain items at different levels that will allow them to reproduce more, up to ten in total.

Each species produces different items; however, most will produce

Roe , which can be placed into a

Preserves Jar to make aged roe. Sturgeon, though, produce roe that is turned into the ever-valuable Caviar.

The decorations around the edge of the pond can be changed once there is a fish inside, and signs can be placed on them to show which fish are contained within.

Some fish, including

Lava Eel ,

Super Cucumber ,

Slimejack , and

Void Salmon will change the color of the pond at certain population levels.

Sheds

Sheds are one of the most versatile buildings you can add to your farm. Some people use them for storage, others fill them with kegs or other machinery, and some people even decorate them to make them look like cafes, display rooms, and many other things.

While the exterior is a seven-by-three tile building, the inside is mysteriously much larger at 11×9. This allows you to fill space on your farm more efficiently. For example, filling it with kegs allows more of them in the same amount of exterior space.

Sheds can be upgraded to big sheds , which retain the same exterior size while expanding to 17×12 inside .

Mills

A mill is used to turn beets into sugar, wheat into flour, and unmilled rice into rice. With a footprint of four by two tiles, this is a great little building to fill the empty space on your farm.

While

Wheat Flour and

Rice may not be the most useful items, there is no denying that this building has a very quaint-looking appearance, and adds some movement to your farm with the spinning portion on the top.

Silos

Silos are a very useful building if you plan on having any animals on your farm. They store

Hay automatically when you use your scythe on grass, and you can also manually place hay inside.

You can retrieve that hay from the hopper inside a coop or barn to place on the feeding bench, or, if your barn/coop is upgraded enough, allow it to auto-fill. Each silo is three tiles wide and three tiles tall and can hold 240 hay.

It's worth building a silo first , as they're relatively cheap, and you can gather a good amount of hay before buying animals .

You definitely need one before winter if you plan on keeping your animals fed , as you can't rely on grass growing.

The Stable

By building the stable, you'll gain access to your very own horse, which you can ride most places to increase your speed. The stable has a footprint of four by two, making it another relatively small building.

At first, a horse might not seem too important, but with this traditional mode of transportation, you can quickly zip around the map in no time.

Don't worry about your horse being out of the stable at night. It always finds its way home and will be found waiting for you the next morning.

Wells

The well allows you to fill your watering can like any body of water or your kitchen sink.

It's a good idea to place a well in a spot on your farm where water is a good distance away to save yourself the walk.

This is especially helpful if you are growing crops in an area that doesn't have the most amount of water. Rather than running all the way to a pond, you can place a few wells on your land. They are relatively cheap to make, so try placing a few!

Slime Hutches

The slime hutch is often considered relatively useless, especially given its size. However, it's a pretty fun addition if you've got the room. The building is 11 tiles wide and six tiles tall, and allows you to house and raise Slimes, up to 20 in total.

After you purchase the slime hutch, Marlon will provide you with your first

Slime Egg . This slime egg can be placed into the

Slime Incubator inside the slime hutch to hatch a Slime.

There are four water basins inside, which can be filled with your watering can. When watered, slimes produce

Slime Balls ; the Slimes can also breed new ones if there's room inside the hutch.

It's a good idea to wear a

Slime Charmer Ring while inside to avoid being damaged. Additionally, furniture (including fences) can be placed in a certain manner to prevent the Slimes being able to get to you while you fill the water troughs.

Cabins

If you're playing on single-player, you may find little use for the cabins that Robin can build for you. However, they're important in a multiplayer game.

Cabins basically function as an additional Farmhouse. They are five tiles wide and three tiles high and can be upgraded in the exact same ways as the main Farmhouse, down to the cost and included upgrades.

If you select some cabins from the opening settings at the start of a game, they'll be built automatically. However, you can add more by visiting Robin and requesting construction. Each costs 100g, which is very cheap for an entire building.

Only the farmhand who occupies the cabin may upgrade it . While cabins are built instantly, they take three days to upgrade , just like the Farmhouse.

Shipping Bins

You can build additional shipping bins, and you can place them basically wherever you want on your farm. They function exactly like your original shipping bin.

They're only two tiles wide and a single tile high and will be built instantly, meaning you don't have to wait for Robin to finish constructing them.

The Greenhouse

The Greenhouse, like the Farmhouse, comes with your farm and doesn't need to be purchased. However, you won't be able to use it at first.

In order to access and use the Greenhouse, you'll need to complete all of the Community Center bundles in the Pantry or purchase its repair from the Joja Community Development form for 35,000g.

The Greenhouse can be moved . It occupies a grid seven tiles wide and six tiles tall.

The purpose of the Greenhouse is to grow crops and trees, allowing you to grow any crop in any season. Any type of crop will grow and fruit trees will produce their fruit year-round.

There is a wood border around the edge where sprinklers can be placed. Additionally, the area around the plot of land allows for fruit trees to be planted, even though it doesn't immediately appear that way. The Greenhouse also has a water trough at the back where you can refill your watering can.

Obelisks

The next few buildings cannot be built by traditional means at Robin's shop and instead need to be built via the magic book at the Wizard's Tower.

In order to access this book, you'll need to finish the quest 'Goblin Problem' and return the Wizard's

Magic Ink .

This quest itself is also locked behind the 'Dark Talisman' quest , which you can unlock after completing the Community Center or the Joja Community Development form.

Once you have access to this magic book, there will be a few new farm buildings for you to construct on your farm. The most fascinating are the obelisks, of which there are four.

read more

Each of the obelisks is three tiles wide and two tiles tall.

The Gold Clock

This strange building is a true late-game item for any completionist. The Gold Clock will prevent debris like stones, branches, and weeds from appearing on your farm. It also stops your fences from decaying.

It costs a whopping 10,000,000g and no other resources. Luckily, it only takes up a 3×2 grid.

Pet Bowls

Pet Bowls are little areas where your pets can get some fresh water. While this isn't the most interacted with location, Pet Bowls are essential if you want to have more than one pet, which can be adopted from Marnie.

Bowls can be added to your farm by speaking with Robin.

When you adopt additional pets, they will lose friendship points every day if they don't have a bowl. With a bowl placed down, they will maintain friendship. High friendship with a pet is a good thing; if you have reached maximum friendship, they will have a 20 percent chance of dropping a gift for you.

Junimo Huts

The final building on this list is the Junimo Hut. They take up a space three tiles across and two tiles high.

Junimos reside inside these buildings, and they'll harvest the crops in the surrounding area when they're ready for harvest. The crops can then be found in a small bag in front of the hut. You can also toggle the switch on the Hut's menu screen to make Junimos stop harvesting.

Harvest Conditions

Junimos will not harvest crops if it's raining, or if the entrance is blocked. They also stop collecting when you attend a festivalor at 7:10pm if there are still crops to be collected.

Additionally, you do not receive Farming experience for crops collected by Junimos, but the quality of the crops they collect are affected by your Farming level as if you collected them yourself.

Junimos will collect flowers, crops that normally require a scythe for harvest, and crops that you can't reach because they're blocked by trellises. However, they will not collect crops grown from Wild Seeds, nor will they harvest crops grown in garden pots or in winter.

Placing gems inside the Junimo Hut will change the color of the Junimos residing within , and if you place a

Prismatic Shard inside, they'll change colors, which is very cute.