A Photographer’s Home and Studio in a Hudson Valley Barn
Name: Mark
Location: Hudson Valley, New York
The basics: 6 months, owned — 440 square feet
Mark was looking for studio space and in order to get more bang for his buck he decide to look outside of New York City. He found a barn with a long artistic history and new it was the place for him. He renovated a studio apartment underneath the barn, creating a bright and warm home base while tackling larger renovations on the property.
Tell us a little (or a lot) about your home and the people who live there: I’m a photographer and video designer that needed more space than I could find in NYC. I began looking for a studio outside the city and found an amazing old property that needed some love, and now I have a Hudson Valley workspace and studio to call my own. I was able to purchase the Bloch School of Music; Alexander Bloch and his wife turned the barn into a performance space in the 1920-1940s. It has a 150 year old post and beam barn that was used as a music school and performance space. The barn had been run down and used as storage when I purchases the property. I began the cleanup and refurbished a small studio apartment under the barn last winter. I finished the apartment in spring and continue to work on the barn and my office space while I contemplate what to do with the old house from 1750.
What is your favorite room and why? The large open barn is inspiring, I spend my mornings there with coffee and evenings with wine on the sofa.
What’s the last thing you bought (or found!) for your home? I love the history of this barn, and while writing this I found a link to an essay from the original owner recored in the 1950s! It’s things like this I keep finding, I keep finding the history. The old sofa in the barn was pulled from an old house on the property, and historic photos I’ve found are scattered around. The last thing I bought was a lodge cast iron grill pan.
Which fictional character would be most at home in your place? I don’t know about a fictional character. It’s even more entertaining to think about the real characters (artists, musicians, flappers and poets) who have lived and performed on this farm and barn in the past.
Mark’s words of wisdom: Inspiration is one thing – and Pinterest is great – but you really do have to create a space that you love in the real world. At some point you have to put the internet away and build. It’s hard work and takes a lot of time and it takes a good sledge hammer.
Thanks, Mark!
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