Recording Studio Refresh
Our home studio (also called, “The Stew”) has been undergoing a lot of exciting changes recently. Here’s a look into our design process, new-to-us vintage gear, and furniture!
We owe so much of our studio’s magic to our interior designer, Pam of Pamela Horton Design. She’s collaborative, an expert treasure hunter, and a creative problem-solver – somehow managing to meet all our (sometimes conflicting!) needs for each space. She also happens to be my mom, so yes… I’m the luckiest.
Setting the Mood: Outdoor Patio and Lounge
The studio is accessed by a separate entrance at the back of our house. The umbrellas and potted plants help the outdoor patio feel enclosed and cozy.
The Lounge doubles as the guest room when we have overnight visitors, and we just love our sleeper sofa from American Leather!
Bathroom off the Lounge. With so much gear coming into the studio, existing plants had nowhere to go and started piling up in the bathroom… and I love it!
The “Hospitality Hutch” in the Lounge.
Beautifully carved organ, displaying vintage books and artwork we got from a local artisan in Cuba.
Recording Studio
View as you enter the Studio.
Spencer’s free, antique office chair kept squeaking during recording – making its way onto actual tracks – so it was high time we upgraded. Our interior designer, Pam Horton, suggested bringing in a few modern pieces to balance all the vintage gear and layered rugs. We chose a classic retro chair designed by Charles and Ray Eames, a favorite in recording studios around the world. It was inspiring to learn more about the designer couple, who championed the “sleek, sophisticated, and beautifully simple” (Herman Miller).
While testing it out at Design Within Reach, our daughters were climbing all over the other furniture, and we were wowed by the comfort and style of the Tugendhat chair – designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in 1929. We purchased a pair for clients to sit while writing, listening, and recording together. Mies famously said, “God is in the details,” a reflection of his dedication to craftsmanship, precise proportions, and elegant restraint. I love these bits of history, and seeing how they might weave into current projects.
Production desk and tape machine. Legend has it that this tape machine once belonged to Sly and the Family Stone.
Celeste and view back into the Lounge.
Pairing vintage gear with a midcentury modern Eames office chair.
Drumset
Stravinsky is always watching!
Grammy shrine, guitars, pedal steel, and last but not least, the photographer and her assistant.
Before…
A little walk down memory lane! For about four years, we lived and worked in a teensy 400-sf apartment where we installed a Murphy bed in the bedroom/recording studio, painted the damaged hardwoods white, and did all sorts of DIY. Also, I put light-leak filters on all of my photos.
…and after!
Fast-forward five years, and things have changed a lot! I can’t wait to keep evolving the studio and see where we end up in another five years.
