The Party Barn
Perennial entertainers get the down-home venue of their dreams .
When you have forty-five people coming over for Thanksgiving , you need a place to put them all . Not the types to shy from a good time , these homeowners looked to an existing barn on their property for the solution to their hosting woes .
They weren ’ t afraid to get their hands dirty , either . The homeowners began the interior demolition themselves while the team at Sweenor Builders got to work on the design . The only hitch ? The project , which launched in earnest in February 2021 , needed to wrap in time for the holidays .
Interior designer Kristen Martone pulled together mood boards inspired by rural life , from a rustic cottage in Maine to the Montana interiors in the Paramount Network hit , “ Yellowstone .”
“ The building wraps itself around you because of the warm tones ,” says Martone . “ It speaks very much of the Old West .”
Aside from the rust-colored poured concrete flooring , the space is cloaked in reclaimed wood — a challenge for Sweenor ’ s designers and carpenters , architect Mitch Votolato says , who are accustomed to precise cuts , corners and fits .
PHOTOGRAPHY THIS AND OPPOSITE PAGE ( TOP ): WOLF MATTHEWSON ; OPPOSITE PAGE ( BOTTOM ): COURTESY OF SWEENOR BUILDERS ; OPPOSITE PAGE ( FAR RIGHT ): GETTY IMAGES / BRANISLAV .
42 RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l MARCH 2022