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THE GREAT INDOORS: The little shack that could (and did!)
After years of searching for the right home, Peter and Carolyn purchased a corner unit in Manayunk with a small lawn and an interesting, two-story shack that they wanted to turn into a studio space.
THE GREAT INDOORS: The little shack that could (and did!)
Reporter Meg Augustin takes you inside some of Philly's most fab dwellings to showcase our city's unique grasp on design and architecture.
For local artists Peter and Carolyn, finding the perfect house meant more than finding four bedrooms, two 
baths and a two-car garage. The couple, both painters and instructors at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, also needed studio space. After years of searching for the right spot, they purchased a corner unit in Manayunk with a small lawn and an interesting, two-story shack (pictured right) they thought could become the perfect studio space.
Looking at the original structure, though, one would be hard-pressed to find much comfort, let alone inspiration, in its decrepit bones. An odd mashup of garage and two-story work space, the hut was dark and dreary, and hardly the spot to create oil paintings. After years of putting the renovation off, last year’s blizzard finally gave them the push they needed. “If our inspiration was anything,” says Carolyn, “it was the snow covering the roof.” As the bones began breaking under the weight of frosty snow, the duo finally decided to get the transformation started.
The couple teamed up with Myers Constructs, a local design company with the motto “Design to Build.” And that’s precisely why they were chosen. “What we were looking for … would not have translated well to other contractors,” says Peter. “When we met Tamara [Myers], we knew she just “got” us.” Not only did the building need to be re-fortified and re-imagined, there were innumerable particulars that the couple wanted to create their perfect workplace. They needed two separate studio spaces, workable, practical materials and, most importantly, “a lot of light,” says Peter.
And that’s precisely what they got. Only saving the original footprint and a few walls, the new space was 
completely rejuvenated … with a lot of light. Two “shapes,” as Myers points out, make the downstairs area. One, smaller, squarer and darker, functions as an open work space for non-painting endeavors while the other is a two-story, window-filled haven for added luminosity and inspiration. Looking for northern, bright light, the couple worked hand-in-hand with Myers for the perfect display of windows. The ceiling is squared off with a block of four skylights while the southwest wall features several expansive windows that were left off the ground to allow for an unblocked view and serve as wall space to hang paintings. The southeastern wall features an expanse of wide, short windows at the top, and a few smaller widows at eye-level, which creates privacy while sustaining natural light and wall space. Upstairs, in Carolyn’s studio, light is also abundant. Myers created a specially peaked roof that would allow for a particular slant of northwestern skylights that let the room be flooded by the sun.
Myers also knew she needed to create a workable space, not a finished space. The walls are covered with practical, painted plywood allowing Peter and Carolyn to easily hang works without worrying about studs and damaging drywall. A rustic, steel beam was put in place to support the upper floor, which works structurally and aesthetically. Finally, the space was fitted with only heat and A/C, allowing it to be a comfortable workspace but used for little else — the perfect equation for hard work and inspiration.
“The space turned out better than we imagined,” says Carolyn. The seemingly impossible task of creating a glorious, imaginative studio space from a rundown, Manayunk garage surely seemed daunting, if not impossible. Lucky for Peter and Carolyn, between their persistence and creative thought and Myers design-centered attention to detail and planning, the outcome was as much a piece of art as any within its walls.
If you'd like to see your home or design project featured in an upcoming Great Indoors, email Meg @ megan.augustin@citypaper.net.
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