If every picture tells a story, this home is a book full, with every chapter a fascination. A former horse stable — long, somewhat narrow — with a central entry into a grand, high-ceilinged room that once served as the stables’ hayloft. It is now a light and art-filled comfortably, elegant abode that is home to two Hudson Valley artists.
The gallery-like walls of the great room bear many pictures tastefully hung and almost wall-to-wall. There are water colors, oils, portraits and landscapes that hold all kinds of stories, created by storied artists, mostly friends and acquaintances of the inhabitants of this house. It has taken a lifetime to gather them here. As we walk by the homeowners name each artist introducing me to them as if the painters themselves stood in the room. While names like Donald Elder and Richard Segelman are well-known to me, others are delightful introductions: Melinda Stickney Gibson, Guy Pene du Bois, Lucille Blanche, Charles Rosen, and so many more. The quarter-sawn oak Arts-and-Crafts furnishings that accompany the art seems as though they could belong nowhere else, and are a dedication to the integrity of the extraordinary vision here.
Down the long hallway to the east, with plaster walls containing horsehair insulation, there is a shelf with an elegant, Greco-Roman bust of Thalia as well as a bold contemporary creation by Tim Rowan. This corridor leads to the cozy primary bedroom, once housing horses, as well as one for guests. In the inviting bath there is a lovely clawfoot tub that sits atop authentic Mexican Saltillo tile.
Every room has a story. The story is told through the art that draws you in. It’s difficult not to be impressed. I am slightly starstruck by all these painters, and delighted to feel the love and enjoyment the paintings have brought to this home’s inhabitants. Michael Valenti and Linda Brewer are notable artists themselves, and their own remarkable work intermingles with the carefully curated pieces by their fellow artists.
Linda is a ceramicist and Michael, a painter. From the eclectic kitchen with the original cabinetry surrounding the high-end Viking stove, her well-crafted cups and saucers serve us coffee, as she points out Michael’s beautiful series of tomatoes that he painted for her, in celebration of her birthday.
A catch-all room, in the east wing leads to a screened-in porch, displaying an exquisite array of Linda’s various pots on a table, sitting in contrast to a casual stand of fly rods. It seems a perfect still life. Michael is a fly fisherman when he’s not painting or working on his collection of toy trains.
We leave the house, and walk through the yard with Linda’s raised beds now dormant until Spring arrives, to the studio. I respect and appreciate how full the lives are, that dwell here. This home, born out of stables built in the nineteen-forties, offers an inviting foundation for the life of creativity and artistic appreciation that is so evident on my visit. It is well-served to be standing today. The story is rich. And time has added value to humble beginnings. I remark on the beauty. Michael tells me, “We are very happy here.”
Join the family! 
