A Modern Live-Work Studio in Rhode Island

Jane Wright, a painter and printmaker, and her husband, Dan, an attorney and musician, wanted to build a freestanding studio outside their home in Jamestown, Rhode Island. The idea was for each of them to have a space where they could get away to be creative without being disturbed, or disturbing others. Having some room for guests would be an added bonus.

The side yard was a logical space, but budgetary constraints and local zoning rules limited them to a 700-square-foot space. Working with Estes/Twombly Architects of Newport, Rhode Island, they sited the building on the lot’s northeastern corner to block the brisk winter winds from the nearby Narragansett Bay while creating a sheltered yard between the two buildings.

The studio building is divided into two wings; one houses Jane’s studio, the other a small sitting room where Dan plays music. The space is adjacent to a home recording studio, with a small sleeping loft tucked above.

Double-size windows draw in plenty of natural light, while the slab-on-grade construction helped hold the building cost to $160 per square foot. (Stained poplar flooring was used in the music wing.) The siding is locally milled native white pine.

The Wrights are enjoying their studio building. It has given Dan a place to play and record music with his band, and it has served as a launching pad for Jane’s new interior design business, Roost Modern.