For those of you who have ever met a potter, many of us have our studios in barns. Pottery requires somewhat bulky equipment and room to move with the clay. The bigger your work, the more room you need! My studio is in an 1850 barn (original section was built around 1800, I think :). I'm also an old-house nut, so working in a historic building with wonderful old bones gives me inspiration and comfort. My work is traditional because I love history and tradition. I am surrounded by that which was built by another craftsmans' hands 2 centuries ago--how cool is that??!!
Most recently, I decided to refurbish the old floor boards from a damaged section of floor we had to take up, and will use them as wall coverings (not that the insulation isn't attractive....). :) I did need to pressure-wash 100 years of grit and grime, so I took a picture of the boards drying. Keeping with the salvage/re-use theme, I also had my hubby cut one of the old hand-hewn beams (severely damaged on one end), and I made a bench-half-wall out of it. Upstate NY winters require somewhere to put on your boots!
I kept as many of the old elements as I could when converting the barn into my studio. The original floor with it's 18-inch wide planks wherever possible, the interior doors (check out the door to my glass room), exposed beams, etc. Although the restoration of the studio/barn is an ongoing/constant thing, I would say I am most fortunate to have such a lovely place to work all the while!
