A reader named Peggy wrote me about her talented sister Kelly Mittleman, an award-winning designer in Connecticut.
For one of her recent projects, she converted what had been old horse stables into a “music barn” that her client can jam out in with his musician friends.
The homeowner and his friends get together once a week to rock out in the barn.
Kelly says she wanted to keep the bar in the barn modern enough so it wouldn’t end up looking like “Ye Olde Saloon.”
She’s a singer, so she knew how to create a space that musicians could really use.
She hired acoustic engineers to line the walls with acoustic panels and then covered them with reclaimed barn wood.
A rickety old ladder used to provide the only access to the loft, so they built a staircase to replace it and make the upstairs space more usable.
How cool are those pull-down Murphy-bed bunks for overnight guests? Such a clever idea.
Thanks to Kelly for sharing her work with us and to Peggy for telling us about her talented sis!
Check out Kelly & Co. to see more of her work!
Photography by Paul Johnson.
Fabulous! The combination of talent & money works like a charm!
Haha well said 🙂
Wow, those are both just perfect!
Wow! Rustic and elegant at once. Love the barn and the cottage. This woman’s a genius!
What a talented designer! That truck grill over the fireplace made me think of the TV show Black Dog Salvage. Looks like something Mike and Robert would have in their shop. And, that cottage is gorgeous…when can we move in?
I so love the barn. I went to her website and she is amazing!
Seriously! I need the source for those Murphy bed bunks. I have at least two uses for them. Love that they are sideways, not end over end. Thank you.
I had seen that music barn on Houzz and forwarded it to the male musicians in my life who were all envious. The perfect musicians’ man cave and one I wouldn’t mind hanging around in! Love the stone cottage, too.
Very cool. Looks like a great place to hang out. Just goes to show that, while money can’t buy happiness, it can help!
Wow! What a cool space!
What an amazing converted barn. It looks so rustic and gorgeous. Also that old Divco milk truck grille is so cool. I would love to turn the lights on and off.
What a talented designer Kelly Mittleman is. She does such amazing work and if I had lots of money, I would let her come design my house.
I am sooooooo jealous. I love, just love this barn and the little cottage. The rustic charm & detail in both absolutely pull me in. Kelly is so talented and I totally love her style.
Very well done, Kelly Mittleman!
Hi, I love your site it’s one of my favorite blogs. Just wanted to let you know of a problem I’ve been having the last few days. Whenever I click on any link it takes me to a Rosetta Stone ad and leaves me there. =< Is this a shared problem with anyone else?
Well, that’s bizarre. I don’t know what could cause that to happen. I just ran through and checked a bunch of links on my blog but they all seem to be working normally from my end. All I know to do when weird things happen like that is to recommend refreshing the page and trying again. Sorry for the hassle, Maureen!!
My oh my! There’s so much to comment on 🙂 Seriously love both spaces. I think this is the first time ever I’ve thought “I’d absolutely love to have that designer work on a space for me”. I really like her work…Katherine Ireland would be another one. One question I have. Would that pistol above the urinal be called a “pee shooter”? Bwahahahahaha 😀
love both of those spaces, what talent!!
i have been wanting to do something like that barn (on a much smaller scale)to my garage. it will never happen, but i can dream :)!
We do a lot of dreaming here, don’t we? 🙂