Bestor architecture goes to vermont

In 2007, when Kathryn Alverson and Rich Costey bought a 1783 farmhouse near Putney, Vt., as a weekend escape from their home in Manhattan’s East Village, the thought of perhaps living there full-time someday didn’t even cross their minds.

Mr. Costey, a Grammy-Award-winning music producer and mixer, who has worked with bands such as Foo Fighters, Interpol and Death Cab for Cutie, was busy at Electric Lady Studios, and Ms. Alverson was pursuing graduate studies in photography, philosophy and art history at the New School.

As they settled into their new life in Vermont, they had to adjust to tight quarters: The 1,000-square-foot farmhouse had only one proper bedroom, and Ms. Alverson’s mother ended up sleeping on the living room sofa. To make the property more livable, they hired Barbara Bestor, a Los Angeles-based architect who had previously renovated a home for them in California.

Story by Tim McKeough & photos by Yoshihiro Makino

photo by Yoshihiro Makino