Above, Encounter Festival fun this past summer. Opposite, The Barn’ s diverse décor and clientele.
utive director of the Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce. Dan Thomas, co-owner of the South Egremont Spirit Shoppe, agrees.“ Not that it was an eyesore, but it’ s easier on the eyes now,” he says. He also likes that ButtonBall is not just a late-night spot, but offers daytime, family-friendly events. And while a music venue in the middle of town will always have to deal with noise issues, he says that most of the inn’ s neighbors he talked to say it’ s not a problem.
Wanting to see ButtonBall in action, I walked into the inn’ s front parlor amid lively chatter from the dining room, honestly a bit nervous to meet the former Housewife. I found her, her husband, and their pooch, Jesse, warm and charming. With a ready smile, Heather was excited to take me on the ButtonBall journey. I blurted out my first question:“ Why UFO wallpaper in the bathroom?”
“ You know the UFO thing here was real, right?” Heather says, referring to an“ off-world” incident in Egremont and surrounding towns on September 1, 1969.( I vaguely remember hearing about it. Google filled in the blanks of the incident that rocked the Berkshires.)“ We wanted to take the scary out of the UFO thing, have fun with it,” she says of the wallpaper she put in the bathroom, and she points to artwork in the room we were in: historical photos and illustrations of the inn that she had superimposed with UFOs, alien figurines on the shelves, all designed to embrace the UFO event in a lighthearted way. ButtonBall hosted an Encounter Festival on August 31, which was not only a wonderful day for the community but also gave lens to zoning issues that are attached to the word“ festival.” Heather says it will become an annual event.
With aliens out of the way, we got down to the very real world of renovation. Bringing electricity and HVAC systems up to code were herculean tasks. Removing yards of extension cords from trees— and many of the trees themselves— had to happen before they could get insurance. All 12 guestrooms( six in the main building, four in the attached apartment, and two in the carriage house) were lovingly renovated.
The inn is now a delicious blend of rustic, modern, and quirky. The new innkeeper points out vintage wallpaper and furniture, antique mirrors, a restored luggage rack, and Tillett handscreened prints. Signature bedding oozes modern luxury throughout. She emphasizes, with emotion, that they could not have opened so quickly or with so much pizzazz without the help of her friends. Designer Patrick McBride, fourth generation owner of Tillett Textiles in Sheffield, collaborated with Heather on interior design. Superstar interior designer Courtney Novogratz, who has a stunning home in Egremont, told her that you can’ t have all new or all old. Longtime friend and fellow entrepreneur Jennifer Nacht, former executive director of the Lenox Chamber of Commerce, helped organize the business side of ButtonBall and continues to be involved with special events.“ The Barn is where we would all go and have fun— the local Honky Tonk,” recalls Jennifer.“ I wanted to be part of bringing it back.”
As we step out the back of the inn, The Barn looms a few hundred yards behind and towards the right. The carriage house, a few steps beyond The Barn, holds guest rooms for the talent and other guests and room for soon-to-be-offered yoga. The property comprises nine acres. Heather points out the lawn that was cleared for outdoor use and protected wetlands beyond.“ If you just step a few
74 // BERKSHIRE MAGAZINE Holiday 2025